I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Copps Coliseum, Hamilton, ON (December 11 1996).

This is the final show on Rheostatics Live in which the band is opening for The Tragically Hip.

For this show, the intro music is also from The Wizard of Oz, but this time it’s Judy singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”  It’s just one verse before fading out and then guitars fading in for Martin to play “A Mid Winter Night’s Dream.”

Turns out that this setlist is similar to the one from Buffalo with a lot of new songs.  Although there are a few older/more popular songs in places.

The new songs include “Fat” which sounds great of course.  I gather they are maybe sharing a microphone because at the end Dave says “See you in the next song, Martin.”  “Okay, Dave.”  This leads into a perfect version of “All the Same Eyes.”

Martin says “We are the Rheostatics.”  Dave says “We are the Rheostatics, not to be confused with The Howell Brothers (?).  They couldn’t make it but we got their jackets.  It’s nice of you to come out early.  We’re playing selections from our new record. Get it before it’s reduced to clear.”  (You can hear someone laugh on tape).

This is a segue into the single “Bad Time to Be Poor.”  It’s followed by another Tim song, “Claire” with the acoustic guitar opening in place.  There’s another lengthy guitar solo, although it’s not quiet as exciting as some of the other ones.  But Martin was saving up for a spirited version of “California Dreamline.”

They end their set with a rough rocking “Feed Yourself.”  During the spoken part, they slow things down to just a bass and washes of guitar.  It’s a pretty intense ending and a good preparation for The Tragically Hip.

[READ: June 25, 2017] The Story of Canada in 150 Objects

In celebration of Canada’s 150th year, Canadian Geographic and The Walrus created this special issue–a fun way to describe many elements of Canadian culture through “objects.”

The objects are grouped in vague categories.  Some have just a few words written about them while others get a few pages.  Some are humorous, some are more serious.  Most are happy or amusing, some not so much.  And all of it together paints a diverse and complex portrait of the country–as well as teaching this person from South of the border a number of things I did not know.

It’s with comic pride and humility that the first object is politeness (which is not an object at all, of course).  The amusing thing about this article about “politeness” is that while the author of it is very pleased to be so polite, he also can’t wait for his fellow Canucks to forget to be polite so he can rub it in with a extra smarmy “You’re Welcome.”

Then on to some objects that do represent Canada: maple leaf, Tim Horton’s and…Santa Claus?  Canada has asserted that the North Pole is part of Canadian Territory since 2008 when it was asserted that “Santa has the automatic right to re-enter Canada.”  While amusing, it also implies that the vast tracts of the Arctic belong to this one country.

The next section moves on to combat: The Canadian Armed Forces, the UN Peacekeepers, the poppy (“On Flanders Fields” was written by a Canadian John McCrae.  The magazine also includes a copy of The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which is an eminently readable document and is hard to misinterpret unlike some elements of the US Constitution.

Obviously Health Care should top the list and is not something that should be fought over for political reasons.  Although apparently when Universal Health Care was introduced in 1962 people were against it.  But not any more.

There are quite a number of objects devoted to Native people, which is pretty cool.  These include The Truth and Reconciliation Bentwood Box, totem poles, Nunavut, and Inuit Art.  Of course there are Inukshuk and Inunnguaq (Inukshuk are stone figures representing people although if it has a head, arms and legs it is an Inunnguag).  There’s also Qimmiq, the Canadian Inuit dog.  Of more significance is Pauline Johnson’s performances as a Native woman conforming to and also undermining white society.  It’s a fascinating story.

When it comes to entertainment Canada hasn’t rescinded Bieber yet (his song “Sorry” is the fourth most watched YouTube video ever).  More historical is Stompin’ Tom Connor’s stompin’ board.  But really how could they leave out The Tragically Hip (or even the Rheostatics).

Also there is Alice Munro with the first Canadian Nobel Prize in Literature.  And, of course, Anne of Green Gables and Generation X.  And while The Group of Seven are notable absent, Tom Thomson (their kindred spirit) does make it.

And of course there is comedy: SCTV and the many many people who came through there.  There are also dozens of Cirques including the most famous Cirque du Soliel which is Canadian, not French.  Even Porky’s was filmed in Canada.

Did you know that Standard Time was created by a Canadian?  Sandford Fleming thought of it first but it was also being considered in The States which helped its mass adoption.  Some technological advances include Blackberry (not so good anymore) Java (all but extinct), and a virtual globe/3D mapping system called PYXIS (look it up, its pretty cool).  There’s also IMAX, Canadarm (the space shuttle’s remote manipulator system).  SNOLAB (particle astrophysics at a fraction of Higgs Boson’s cost)

Unsurprisingly Snowmobiles and canoes were created there.

And then there’s food: maple syrup, pemmican (dried bison pounded to a coarse powder then mixed with rendered fat).  There’s the donair kebab, stubby beer bottles, the Montreal bagel and of course poutine.  Best not to investigate the “sourtoe cocktail” though.  Did you know that canola is a combination of Canada and ola (meaning oil)?

As my country devolves into a land of bigoted jackasses, we can look north to the “arrival kits” that they created for Syrian refugees coming to a cold climate for the first time.  They contained anoraks, snowboots, toques and more.  And that was what you got for arriving in the country, not a lot of bullshit and abuse.

Then there are specifically Canadian institutions like the CBC and The Heritage Minutes (which I used to get to watch on satellite).  There’s also the Order of Canada a medal that actual means something and can go to anyone as long at they are nominated for doing something good.

Natural wonders besides the Arctic?  Sure, Niagara Falls, Algonquin Provincial Park and the Canadian Shield.

It’s sad to envy Canada’ environmental bill of rights–as our government considers getting rid of water safety regulations.

The beaver is the national animal of Canada, but there’s also the Nanulak–a mix of grizzly and polar bear–an unholy combination if ever there were.  There’s also bison, salmon, the walrus (obviously) and those blasted Canada geese (not Canadian geese).  There’s also the creepy snake dens of Nacisse–more than 50,000 snakes gather for warmth in Manitoba’s brutal winter.

Writer Will Ferguson (a favorite of mine) says that the all-Canadian word (so many to choose from) should be katimavik–neither French nor English it is an Inuktitut word meaning “meeting place, a community of communities.”

More down to earth–the paint roller was invented in Canada as well as the Robertson Screwdriver (which is vastly superior to our crappy Phillips head–we need to start using it).   Probably no surprise, but the block heater for your car was invented in Canada, too

And then there’s sports: curling brooms, the Grey Cup and crokinole.  Cricket bats (not invented in Canada but seeing a huge upsurge in popularity).  Also Kabaddi–a mix of rugby, sans ball and wrestling popular in India and Pakistan but played more and more in Canada (foreign players have been smuggled in). Basketball was invented by a Canadian (who was living in Massachusetts).  There’s also heliskiing (which sounds crazy) and Five pin bowling (which sounds crazy because it was made when people found 10 pin bowling too strenuous).  It remains resolutely Canadian because it is played virtually nowhere else.  There’s also Ringette, created for “nice” women who didn’t play hockey.  It used bladeless hockey sticks and a rubber ring.  It was a fast paced game that relied on skill not concoct  It is still played today.

Lets not forget Trivial Pursuit (invented by two Canadian journalists)

Although many would like to forget Olympic stadium.

And of course there is hockey.  From backyard rinks, to Don Cherry’s suits.  There’s even Instant Replay which was first tried out in 1955 on Hockey Night in Canada.  The guy who tried to play back the last 30 seconds of the broadcast didn’t tell anyone else he was doing it and everyone freaked out.  Naturally, #150 is The Stanley Cup.

I don’t know what the US would do if they tried to put together a similar magazine.  These days I fear that it would be full of hatred, bile and fighting.  But I like to imagine that we could come up with 150 things that American can be proud of.   It’s nice to imagine.