Almost 12 million Canadians – close to a third of the country – witnessed what is likely to be The Tragically Hip’s final live performance on Saturday night, as the beloved band bow out of touring following a terminal brain cancer diagnosis for songwriter-in-chief and “Canada’s unofficial poet laureate” Gord Downie.
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“We thought it was important to do”, said Latorre “We actually had a different event planned for this evening, but when they announced it we decided together that we thought this was more important to do”. Musical peers like Pearl Jam bid adieu to the band, but Canada’s own Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his own goodbye live from the concert. It culminated in a massive finale in Kingston, Ont., which was broadcast live by the CBC.
Hockey jerseys aren’t exactly uncommon at Tragically Hip shows, but the choice of Phaneuf – the polarizing former captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs who was traded to the Ottawa Senators last season – was a particularly eyebrow raising choice.
“Their reputation is pretty solid as far as being very in touch with the Canadian music scene”, said Burns, who got to meet Downie in Moose Jaw a few years ago.
The band played a three-hour set and ended off with a third encore after playing hits like Nautical Disaster, Wheat Kings and Bobcaygeon.
“There’s something going on north of the border tonight and it involves somebody that we consider a family member just cause they’re part of a group of touring musicians we’ve met over the years”, he told the audience in videos captured by fans and posted to social media sites.
Garvie wasn’t the only fan in Kingston who had already seen Gord on this tour; longtime Hip fan Lindsey White was looking forward to her sixth show of the Man Machine Poem tour. “I was a bit of a born again fan so this show really is bittersweet for me”. “It’s one of those things that brings back so many memories”.
“I could feel that nearly”, said Downie of the energy when he came back for the first encore.
“Thank you to our prime minister for coming to our show”. Downie was emotional throughout, but that didn’t stop him from thanking the fans and the prime minister.
“We’re in good hands, folks, real good hands”.
“[Interviewers] always ask us about our success or lack of success in the States, which I find absurd”, Gord Downie once said.
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For Latorre, Downie and the Tragically Hip have a special place in his memory.
