Alert the Medic – “Grace, Too”
Local rock outfit Alert the Medic called upon an instantly recognizable name from the Can-Con heydey of the ’90s in Mike Turner (of Our Lady Peace fame) to cover a Hip classic from Day for Night. “Grace, Too” is well suited to Ryan McDonald’s vocal range, and the band sounds great covering this soaring Hip number. Nothing but total pros here.
The Darcys – Vapour Trails
You have to love when a band tackles a song like “Vapour Trails”, that is something of a deeper cut off of Phantom Power. Then they put their own fingerprints on that tune and improve upon it. That’s the case with The Darcys here, as they take a song that hums and simmers across this delicate tightrope, and they choose to pull back the tempo and make it this delicate haunting affair, that still maintains its balance on that tightrope but builds to an emotional howling crescendo, before simmering back down to this delicate fragile tune.
Rose Cousins – “Gift Shop”
C’mon now, for a song that I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Gord howl countless times, this is a fantastic homage to the cut from the Hip’s Trouble At the Henhouse. This might easily be one of my favourite Hip covers; it just brims with emotion and intensity, holding the audience rapt in the palm of Cousins’ hand.
Iskwe – 38 Years Old
“38 Years Old” has always been a song laden with drama and intensity, but when Iskwe sank her teeth into the well known Hip classic, she cranked that dramatic intensity to 11 and imbued the song with an earnestness that wasn’t fully realized earlier.
Jim Bryson – “Scared”
Sure the Hip was viewed as a Canadian institution, but they were also regarded first and foremost as a rock n’ roll band. Throughout the band’s career, they have had these quiet, delicate songs that almost peer into the soul of their songwriter, and “Scared” is one of those great songs that found itself tucked alongside well-known cuts “Nautical Disaster”, “Grace, Too”, and “Yawning or Snarling”, but found a home in the hearts of many. Bryson deftly maneuvers through a touching cover of this Tragically Hip gem.
