Downie is a man and a musician. Canada is so much more than that.
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“This is a moment that’s going to be extremely powerful for all Canadians, I know”, Trudeau told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Ahead by a Century was the song that closed out what’s likely the last concert for the Hip as their lead singer Gord Downie battles terminal brain cancer.
The Kingston show was the last of the 15-date tour, with thousands of Canadians tuning into a live stream of the emotional show around the country…and around the world!
Meanwhile, as Downie was on stage, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder paid tribute to his pal during their own show in Chicago, Illinois. His rock-and-blues band, often known by the shorthand “The Hip” formed in the 1980s, penned lyrics about small-town Canadian life, that won them a broad national following over the course of 14 albums, though they are largely uknown outside Canada. I have seen The Hip six or seven times but was unable to make a show on this final tour.
Lets just see what tomorrow brings.
While The Hip became one of Canada’s most beloved rock bands, lasting success in the US was elusive – outside of border cities like Buffalo, New York, where viewing parties of the concert’s Canadian broadcast were also held.
This has been a sad year for music fans, with the loss of icons David Bowie and Prince triggering an outpouring of heartache and grief. What’s more, Downie conveyed, with will and determination and, obviously grace, for an audience that appeared to be prepared at any minute if he flounders. Whether the two have met is unclear, but Gord made sure to acknowledge the Prime Minister for showing his support for The Hip. The show is being broadcast live nationally on radio and TV by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. Millions of Canadians, at home and overseas, watched the concert at venues that included parks, theaters and community halls.
The 52-year-old singer and his band are an indelible part of Canadian culture. Eastern, and the concert itself starting at 8:30. He learned of his illness in December, a statement from the band says, and has been “fighting hard”.
“The words were very simple but the gesture was huge”, she said.
Many cities in Canada screened the concert outside city halls, including Kingston, where up to 30,000 gathered. The record ranks among the Top 5 bestselling albums in the country that year, losing the Best-Selling Album (Foreign or Domestic) category at the Juno Awards in 1995 to Celine Dion’s The Colour of My Love but rubbing shoulders with Ace of Base’s The Sign, Counting Crows’ August and Everything After and Pearl Jam’s Vs.
Canadians have been paying homage.
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As the band took the stage for an unprecedented third encore, Downie reportedly told the crowd the band was “officially into unchartered waters”. In British Columbia, a community choir sang a Hip song outside of the provincial legislature building.
