Its not the dream of an artist, where youre maybe seeking perfection, guitarist Rob Baker tellsRolling Stone.
We always had our eye on the near horizon.
The four-hour, four-episode film was the first docuseries to do so in the category.
The Tragically Hip’s story is told in a new documentary streaming now on Prime.Gordon Hawkins*
You watch yourself up there and you get slightly emotional, says guitarist Paul Langlois.
I think its a story of commitment, really.
In the end, we all committed no matter what.
The day after the screening, the Hip are standing high above Toronto in a corporate skyscraper.
But being away from it for eight years?
That was an adult dose yesterday.
Eight years ago was the last time the Tragically Hip took the stage in front of a live audience.
The show was nationally televised on the CBC to a viewership estimated to be around 12 million.
We were just kind of floating out there.
We all went through it on our own, in this fog.
We didnt want to do anything.
But then we gradually hooked back up with Jake Gold.
Gold, executive producer of the documentary, is the Hips longtime manager.
So we had a purpose, but we found each other again.
The project was a labor of both love and legacy.
The documentary is a fabulous on-ramp for that person, Downie says.
You start at zero and were going to get you to a hundred.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Tragically Hip.
The Hip were none of those things, they were simply themselves.
[The Hip] were five high school friends that came from a small town, Downie says.
They stayed true to themselves and became so woven into the Canadian fabric.
The group won 17 Juno Awards, including Entertainer of the Year and Group of the Year.
Nine of the bands albums reached Number One on the Canadian charts, alongside numerous radio hits.
From 1996 to 2016, they were the biggest-selling band in Canada.
For many Canadians, that quiet pride [for the Hip] is real, Downie says.
The music touches the heart.
Its that connection, and then a little bit of a history lesson about these Canadian individuals and places.
I think what made the Hip matter to so many people is that authenticity.
They had this confidence in themselves that was magnetic.
Immediately following the screening of the film, the bandmates stepped onstage to meet a passionate crowd.
With illusions of someday/cast in a golden light, they sang in Ahead by a Century.
No dress rehearsal/this is our life.
We did it out of the love of music and friendship.
