Hello again music lovers and welcome to this edition of “It’s A Bleedin’ Board!” Please join me, the Stereo Dictator, as we unlock the vaults to find yet another pearl in music history deemed essential to a finely crafted rock and roll collection.

In the words of my Deadhead buddy Barry, “It’s a Bleedin’ Board!” because it’s low-gen or first-gen, it comes from an FM source or the board mix, and it sounds great.

In the words of Rocket J. Squirrel, “And now, on with the show…”

When it comes to Canadian exports, I am a big supporter of select items: the music of Neil Young and The Guess Who, Labatt Beer, Canadian bacon, moose and squirrels, and one of the most criminally underrated bands of national legend, The Tragically Hip.

Having been a Hip fan since 1989 with the release of Up To Here, which contained the classic, “New Orleans is Sinking,” I feel an obligation to convey to you, the unwashed and unknowing in internet land, be you American or otherwise, the power and passion that is the Tragically Hip.

Members of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the band holds the record for the most number one album debuts on the Canadian charts with eight. Their catalog features eleven studio projects, one live album, a live concert DVD and a box set.

Coming from a blues-rock base, the Hip stretched itself with each release, progressively embracing a fuller, more developed sound similar to what U2 has done over its career.

Our trip through my archives jumps past their first U.S. tour to what is a landmark gig in the band’s career: May 3, 1991 at the Roxy in Los Angeles.

On tour in support of Road Apples, the band was poised for its breakthrough after two full-length LPs, a self-titled EP from 1987 and about eight years of touring experience. The buzz about them was good and they were building a fan base across America one show at a time. An energetic and mesmerizing band live, those powers are fully evident here.

Vocalist Gordon Downie leads the band in his inimitably manic style acting as the off-kilter story-telling captain of the ship. The band – Rob Baker and Paul Langlois on guitar, Johnny Fay on drums and Gord Sinclair on bass – is a powerhouse. They slam, bang and groove their way through ten songs in all and just get hotter as the show goes on.  Don’t miss “She Didn’t Know,” “Twist My Arm” and “On the Verge” among others.

This show is a gem among collectors because it includes two of Downie’s most revered and sought after concert stories in the vast sea of Hip bootlegs: the “Double Suicide” version of “Highway Girl” and the “Killer Whale Tank” take on “New Orleans is Sinking.”  It’s simply Gordie at his best.

If you know the latter-day Hip music and have never heard their early work, consider starting here. You may be very surprised at what a rock and roll machine they were. It’s straight ahead, it’s hard and loud and it’s a bleedin’ board!

Download complete zip of the entire show

Highway Girl
Little Bones
She Didn’t Know
Twist My Arm
Cordelia
Trickle Down
Three Pistols
New Orleans is Sinking
On the Verge
Blow at High Dough