It was a Friday night.
The Canucks were in town.
The Hip were in town.
It was Canada-Day-in-October here in DC.
I looked at the half-dozen or so different iterations of
Vancouver Canucks jerseys in my closet, and pulled out the goldenrod, Flying-V
for maximum obnoxiousness. One of the
ugliest, yet most distinctive jerseys in the history of pro sports, its high
visibility turned out to be a catalyst for one of my favourite nights out in
DC, ever.
Meeting up with Ana & Scott before the game, I was
already feeling pretty festive. The Canucks only play in DC once per season,
and to have the game lining up with The Hip’s seemingly annual visit to the
9:30 Club made for a perfect double feature.
Looking around the arena, I saw a handful of Canucks jerseys
scattered around the crowd, but not many – certainly nothing like what you see
at Penguins, Flyers, or (oddly) Sabres games.
The puck dropped and two minutes in, Daniel Sedin scored to
give the Canucks a 1-0 lead. Right
around then is when things got nutty.
I can’t remember if it was me jumping out of my seat when
the goal was scored, or something else that triggered it, but I do remember
Scott tapping me on my arm and saying “Hey, that guy over there seems to know
you…”
I glanced one section over to the right, and standing there,
arms spread wide, wearing the same goofball grin I hadn’t seen in 8 years, was
Chad, with his old sidekick Regier right there next to him.
“BRRRIIIIIIIIAAAAANNNNN THHHAAAAAMMMMMM!!!!!”
“Chad! Holy $#!^ What
the #&@^ are you doing here?”
<at that point, someone else sitting in my section asked
me to watch the cursing. Chad and I decided we would meet on the concourse at
intermission>
The first period ended with the Canucks up 2-1, at which
point we got the download.
Chad, and Regier had been following the Canucks around on an
Eastern road trip as it’s cheaper to see the Canucks this way than it is trying
to get tickets back home. They’d seen
them in Detroit and a few other cities already.
DC was the last stop on the trip.
As we stood on the concourse, getting caught up on our lives
and revisiting old UBC stories, I got it in my head that I wanted to call my
old roommate, Matt, just to let him know that this crazy thing had happened.
Me: “Matt! It’s Brian – I’m at the Caps game tonight. The Canucks are in town, and you’ll never
guess who I ran into one section over: Chad and Regier!”
Matt: “Wow, that’s really crazy that you just called me just
now. I’m actually at the hospital – Jo just
went into labour.”
Me: <silence as brain explodes>
After stumbling through some congratulations and sharing the
news with the rest of the hockey-watching crew, we noted that the intermission
was coming to an end.
Wanting to lock in a way to keep the party going, Chad made
the first move.
“We should hang out after the game – Do you guys have plans?”
Did we have plans? I
couldn’t believe what was just about to fall into place…
“Uh… well… you’re not going to believe this, but we’re
actually going to go see The Tragically Hip right after this”
Needless to say, Chad and Regier decided they would join us.
The Canucks won the game 3-2, but by the time the game
ended, its outcome was totally inconsequential to me. This night was all about riding this
incredible wave of happy coincidences as far as it would take me.
We arrived at The 9:30 Club for the show, picked up a couple
of extra tickets for Chad and Regier, and staked out mine and Liz’s favourite
spot along the mezzanine stairs.
A bit of context for Canadian readers – The 9:30 Club is the
best live music venue in DC. It has capacity for about 1000 people. The Hip would
play there frequently to an audience made up almost exclusively of Canadian
expats. The idea that, as a Canadian
expat, you get access to see one of your favourite, arena-filling bands in that
kind of venue is an underrated perk of living abroad.
I can’t remember what The Hip opened with (edit: it was Yer
Not the Ocean – thanks internet!), but they played New Orleans next, during
which I looked back to see Chad on the phone with his wife, gloating about
where he was at that moment. And why
not? This was certainly a night worth
gloating about. I’ve seen The Hip play
several times since that crazy night, and every show has been great, but
nothing will ever top the amazing confluence of circumstances that made this
particular night possible.
As a Canadian living amidst so much of the USA’s mythologized
history and ideology, the constant assimilatory pressure of US culture can
sometimes threaten to overwhelm competing elements of one’s personality. Even other Canadians get erroneously claimed
by Americans simply because that’s their default view of things: I once got
into a heated debate with someone who was 100% sure that Barenaked Ladies were
from Boston.
But The Hip could never be mistaken for anything else but
Canadian. There are too many inside
jokes, and deep-cut references that only Canadians can claim. It has probably harmed their prospects of “Making
It” in the US over the years, but we’ve never cared. That very quality, that
unapologetic Canadianness has always made them a key touchstone for me, and for
nearly every other Canadian living far from home, the opening strains of every
Track 1 serving as a reminder of where we all came from and what we all share.
The Tragically Hip will never play The 9:30 Club again. As
they embarked on their final tour across Canada, Liz and I gave serious thought
to flying back to Vancouver or Toronto to take in one last show. But after thinking long and hard about it,
worried that a nosebleed seat at the top of an arena wouldn’t deliver what we
were hoping for, we decided that we would prefer to make this night our last
great memory of The Hip.
He sang, 'I'll die before I quit'
And this guy's the limit
Stares into the queer of the firefight
It can't be Nashville every night
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