Yer Hipstories: Reflections From The Final Tour - Vancouver Night 2

Ten years to the day. Three fans who were at Rogers Arena for Vancouver night two tell the story - the tickets, the Fiddler's Green goodbye, and the night a one-year-old slept through history.

Episode Summary

Uncharted waters - we never do third ones. Vancouver, night two. July 26th, 2016. Rogers Arena, the third stop on the Man Machine Poem Tour, and the night The Tragically Hip opened with Fully Completely - just like the set-list sleuths predicted. Ten years later, Yer Hipstories: Reflections From The Final Tour gathers three fans who were in the building: Craig from Langley, Tina from Prince George, and Jay from BC - currently in Ottawa, so probably working for CSIS. We're careful what we say.

The ticket stories run the full range. Craig and three coworkers all hit Ticketmaster at 10 a.m. sharp and every one of them scored - no bots, no drama. Tina borrowed a friend's Amex presale code, landed 13th row at the back, then got a phone call: Ryan was trading her his row seven, side of stage seats, because the bigger fan deserved the better view. Jay missed Victoria for a high school reunion, struck out on Vancouver night one, and was mid-refresh with his whole family when his dad popped up with the last row of the lower bowl - exactly where he likes to sit.

Then there's the night itself. Tina brought her daughter - the day before her first birthday - who took in the whole scene, collected high fives across the concourse, and fell asleep against her mom the moment the music started. The panel digs into the songs that hit differently: Craig's 'So Hard Done By' that suddenly wasn't funny, Jay's 'Fifty Mission Cap' with Bill Barilko's ghost and the shiny hats, a 'Music @ Work' section that produced 'Toronto #4' - bonkers - and the 'Fiddler's Green' that became Tina's goodbye moment, her "hey man, thanks" to the band that got her through everything. Plus the 'Grace, Too' moment both nights: three minutes of guitar and an entire building screaming.

Ten years on, the reflections go deep - how Long Time Running reframed everyone's memories, the Spirit of the West parallel at the Commodore, and Tina on what Gord's Kingston challenge to Trudeau has meant to the Indigenous community: a legacy that goes beyond the music. The word this panel lands on: gifted.

The Panel

• Craig from Langley - 18 shows deep, first one in 1993 with his buddy Gord. Went to both Vancouver nights, predicted the Fully Completely opener in writing, and reunited with Dan, his old drummer, before the show.
• Tina from Prince George - Day For Night-era fan with the deep-cut lyric tattoo to prove it. Brought her daughter to the show the day before her first birthday; that kid is now a proud Gord Downie fan.
• Jay from BC - then working at the BC legislature in Victoria, now in Ottawa (no further questions). Walked out of Rogers Arena and bought Calgary night two, because this couldn't be his last.

Timestamps

• 00:00 - Welcome: officially into uncharted waters
• 01:59 - The person you think about: Tina's daughter, one day shy of her first birthday
• 02:47 - Craig reunites with Dan, his old drummer
• 05:30 - Hearing the news: gutted at work, glued to the Sunnybrook press conference
• 06:25 - Craig's on-sale: four coworkers, four wins, zero problems
• 07:44 - Tina's Amex presale and the row-seven trade from Ryan
• 09:57 - Jay: a muted newscast, a missed Victoria date, and dad grabs the last row of the lower bowl
• 15:50 - Songs that hit different: 'Daredevil' both nights, 'So Hard Done By' not funny anymore
• 18:27 - Tina: earmuffs, the crashing-waves interlude, and realizing this is the last time
• 22:45 - Jay: the 'Fiddler's Green' surprise, 'Fifty Mission Cap', and 'Toronto #4'
• 28:36 - The outfits, the set-list formula, and touching all 13 albums
• 30:56 - Gord's memory, the lyric monitors, and showing up how he wanted to show up
• 34:14 - The SNL performance, the Sheldon Cooper theory, and the emoting
• 37:25 - When did it dawn on you? The goodbyes inside the show
• 39:37 - Rowdy going in, stunned coming out: tears and the emptying arena
• 44:05 - The 'Grace, Too' moment: three minutes of screaming
• 48:03 - The one last tour that was actually one last tour
• 49:08 - Ten years later: how Long Time Running rewrote Jay's memory of the night
• 53:28 - Craig: full circle since 1993, and the Spirit of the West parallel
• 56:54 - Tina: Kingston, the challenge to Trudeau, and the Downie Wenjack legacy
• 01:00:08 - Final thoughts and a song from that night on the way out

Resources & References

• Setlist and song-count data: hat tip to setlist.fm - roughly 71 different songs across the tour, touching all 13 albums
• The rehearsal and monitor moments discussed come from Long Time Running
• The first-ever live 'Fiddler's Green': MacEwan Hall Ballroom, Calgary, on the World Container Tour
• Learn more about Gord's Kingston challenge and its legacy at the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund
• Related listening: Yer Hipstories - Victoria, July 22 2016

Join In

This series is a living audio time capsule, and it only works if the community brings the goods. Were you at a stop on the Man Machine Poem Tour? Share your Hipstory and be part of the record. Want more from the network between episodes? Subscribe to Yer Letter, the monthly newsletter from jD.

Closing

Huge thanks to Craig from Langley, Tina from Prince George, and Jay from BC for taking us back inside Rogers Arena - the trades, the tears, and the toddler who slept through the whole thing. The takeaway this week is Tina's word: gifted. We watched them pull a rabbit out of a hat, and we got to say goodbye. So there's that.

Next up: Edmonton Night One, July 28th, 2016, and one last night in the old barn. Get after it.

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