Some days, it seems that there will never be another band like The Tragically Hip. And, in the phenomenal new docuseries No Dress Rehearsal, they are given their due.
In The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal, we’re invited to participate in a love story with one of Canada’s greatest musical voices. Even after the tragical death of lead singer Gord Downie, The Tragically Hip remain a Canadian treasure that conquered the nation with their unique blend of alternative rock. As such, and the surface, this documentary series appears to be a romance between a country and their hometown musical legends. But, on a deeper level, this is also the sort of brotherly love between warriors who have fought the rock and roll wars together over four decades and the triumphs and tragedies that they endured along the way.
Directed by Mike Downie (Gord’s brother), The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal is nothing short of exceptional. Told over four episodes, each segment feels like a piece in a much larger puzzle. Although we’ve heard stories about the Hip before, Rehearsal really allows for deep dives into their lives and stories. Told in their own words and using their personal video footage, this series is less about chronicling their status as it is showcasing their normal lives. For fans of Canadian music, few names have achieved the success of the Hip yet the series never deifies them. Downie never allows us to see them as anything more than Kingston boys at heart while also pointing out the scope of their impact.
This notion is embedded within the series’ title. While No Dress Rehearsal may be taken from their lyrics, these are also men who are living their lives unfettered. Some days, they found themselves top of the Canadian pop culture zeitgeist. (Wait… is there one?) And others, they were struggling to get noticed. To them, success came absolutely as the result of hard work but, at the same time, they weren’t always prepared for it.
In fact, this notion plays into moments where Downie invites the boys to discuss the measuring stick for success. Despite their monster fanbase within the country, the Hip seemed to struggle to find glory in the US. Often held as the bar of career achievement, this perception seemed lost on the Hip who knew that they mattered to their audience. While they were able to tour the US and play Saturday Night Live, their career did not depend on American approval.
What sticks with the viewer most is the way that the band continues to use the word ‘together’. There’s a certain collective nature to their creativity that extends far beyond their brotherly bond. Over the years, we’ve heard stories about egos destroying the power of music’s most powerful groups but the Hip fought instead to keep things together. There’s a collective nature to their creativity that comes through, allowing every member of the band to have a voice within their process. It’s this bond that sits at the core of No Dress Rehearsal. After all, these were five young Kingston, Ontario boys who blew up to superstardom. Yet, they somehow never lost that piece of themselves. The soul of their band stemmed from the energy of their relationships, even in moments when they found themselves tested.
After all, families fight. But what matters most is if they fight through these moments.
But, following the tragic death of Gord, that soul was damaged. Saddled with grief, things spiraled for each of them. In these moments, Rehearsal pulls no punches. We listen to the testimonies of this (literal) band of brothers as they share their hears about the loss of one of their own. In the wake of Gord’s passing, they are each struck down and looking for answers. (“I had to dig myself out of it,” Langlois tells us.) These are men who have lost a central piece of their family and it understandably weighs heavily upon them. They may be high-profile musicians but Rehearsal ensures that we know that they’re human too.
These are real people who bear real scars.
Even so, this series doesn’t merely sit in the hard moments. Instead, it also shows the resiliency of these men in the face of tragedy. Instead, it’s a reminder that there truly is No Dress Rehearsal to life and what matters most is the impact we have on others along the way.
The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal is available on Prime Video on Friday, September 20, 2024.
