Maybe not the "mighty," but they've definitely fallen

On my walk home from the subway after work, I took note of the marquee at Hugh's Room: Hothouse Flowers. My first thought: Geez, I haven't heard of those guys in a long time. My second: No wonder, if they're playing a small-ish venue like Hugh's Room. (In fairness to them: better at Hugh's Room than a Holiday Inn in Sarnia.) I mention this because it relates to yesterday's post about the big rock concert experience - since I saw Hothouse Flowers at such a show! It must have been ... hmm, mid-1990s maybe, at Molson Park in Barrie for one of those Another Roadside Attraction concerts that the Tragically Hip promoted and headlined. My friend (and ex-girlfriend) T. bought tickets and asked if I'd go. Strange, since: a) we were no longer dating, and b) she knew I didn't much like the Hip. Not to mention what a bloody drag it would be to get to Barrie on the bus.

But I went, endured tremendous heat and sun, and a lot of rabid (and drunk) Hip fans. The highlight was Daniel Lanois playing a typically wonderful (and low key) set that didn't seem to fit in with the the rest of concert. The other bands that I remember: Pursuit of Happiness (yet-another connection to yesterday's post: PoH's frontman Moe Berg was at the Gabriel SkyDome show - with seats behind me, I might add...), Hothouse Flowers, Midnight Oil, and I think Crash Vegas. It was probably at that show that I thought I might be outgrowing the big concert experience.

Or maybe it was because I just don't like Hip.