Like many Canadians, C.R. Avery and Kathleen Nisbet weren鈥檛 diehard fans of The Tragically Hip 鈥� they just lived in a country where the band鈥檚 songs were seamlessly woven into the everyday.
鈥淭hese songs are just everywhere and all around us. They were so much part of our lives growing up,鈥� Nisbet says when the Westender catches up with the pair in the middle of a planning meeting.
The two 麻豆传媒映画musicians are organizing a tribute event to Gord Downie, the Hip鈥檚 frontman, who died in October.
That could present a tricky task in terms of song selection, though the organizers have decided to let the performers rely on gut feeling.
鈥淵ou could literally put on a show with just Gord鈥檚 solo records. It鈥檇 even be hard to pick from that,鈥� Avery says.
鈥淲e have so many great artists in the show and you can鈥檛 just say, 鈥楬ey, cover this.鈥� People have songs that spoke to them at the time, so we鈥檙e going off that.鈥�
Nine local acts are set to perform at the charity show at the Rio on Dec. 14, including Bob Sumner of the Sumner Brothers and Bend Sinister鈥檚 Dan Moxon. Genre-straddling artist Avery, who is hosting the evening as well as performing, is also promising a couple of surprise guests.
A horn section and a house band, featuring fiddle player Nisbet and one-time Hip and Downie producer Steven Drake, will support the performers throughout the evening.
Avery and Nisbet also plan to make full use of the Rio鈥檚 big screen by interspersing performances with footage of Downie and the people he鈥檚 inspired.
Dedicating a night to one person鈥檚 music and inspiration feels very much in the Celtic bard tradition for Avery.
鈥淚n the Canadian spectrum it鈥檚 beautiful because both Kathleen and I tour in Ireland and Scotland, and in both those countries there鈥檚 great pride in the bards and the poets who told their stories,鈥� he says. 鈥溾�� Gord is the one who鈥檚 told this [Canadian] story, the same way that Stompin鈥� Tom [Connors] did.鈥�
Much of the appreciation for Downie also comes from his maturation as an artist and activist 鈥� most notably in his final work, The Secret Path, about the story of six-year-old Anishinaabe runaway Chanie Wenjack 鈥� and how those of his generation matured alongside him.
鈥淭o see his later work, where he鈥檚 doing more solo stuff and he鈥檚 more of a poet and artist 鈥� He鈥檚 got a very broad spectrum in the art he does and we see him in a bigger way,鈥� says Nisbet, who has M茅tis roots.
鈥淛ust his political involvement, too. Near the end of his life he was really inspired by that [Chanie Wenjack] story and by the First Nations people and wanting to challenge the government to meet [its] promises to them. And that was a big part of what was driving him.
鈥淗opefully that will be part of his legacy too, just seeing that carry on, that kind of vision for the country.鈥�
Partial proceeds from the evening will go to .
Nisbet wouldn鈥檛 pick any favourite performers in the lineup, but Avery says he can鈥檛 wait to hear some sweet harmonies by Twin Bandit and Company B on some Hip ballads 鈥� which, as a rock band, had an unusual number of acoustic hits, he points out. Then there鈥檚 the return of cellist Hank Pine, whose performance at last December鈥檚 Leonard Cohen tribute was the evening鈥檚 highlight for many.
鈥淲e have a good group of great singers and a good pack of East Van originals so it will be a dynamic show,鈥� Avery says.
鈥淲ho knows, maybe we鈥檒l have something as miraculous as what Jimi Hendrix did to 鈥楢ll Along the Watchtower鈥� or what Jeff Buckley did with 鈥楬allelujah.鈥欌��
鈥� No Dress Rehearsal 鈥� A Tribute to Gord Downie, Dec. 14, 7 p.m., Rio Theatre. $20.
