He says the Hip are the ultimate Canadian band and the performance Saturday will leave more of a lasting impression than the band has already left on Canada.
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The Tragically Hip mixed fan favourites, newer songs and some politics on Saturday night during the final show of their “Man Machine Poem” tour.
The concert and live screenings across Canada were also an opportunity to donate to the Canadian Cancer Society for brain cancer research.
The tour was announced after lead singer Gord Downie revealed he has terminal brain cancer.
“This was not suppose to happen until the end of the night”, said a teary-eyed, Barb Beavis.
“He’s going to be looking good for about at least 12 more years, I don’t know if they let you go beyond that”.
Trudeau, on learning of Downie’s diagnosis in May, tweeted that the singer “has been writing Canada’s soundtrack for more than 30 years”.
He told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp at the event that he became a fan of the band in university and called it “an inevitable and essential part of what we are and who we are as a country”.
But he also said Mr Trudeau was “going to take us where we need to go”.
Downie’s own history of advocacy includes serving on the board of environmental group Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, as well as performing concerts near the region of James Bay to raise awareness of First Nation issues.
The Tragically Hip, which never achieved widespread fame in America, remains one of Canada’s most beloved bands after churning out hits for decades. “Thank you to Gord, Paul, Rob, Gord and Johnny for an intimate and unforgettable shared experience”.
“Thank you to the prime minister for coming to our show, it really means a lot to all of us”, said Downie, who was pictured by Trudeau’s photographer before the concert embracing the prime minister. “Forever in our hearts and playlists”, the PM wrote. So they’re up there, going through the emotions up there. “They opened with four songs from their 1992 breakthrough album “Fully Completely”: “50 Mission Cap”, Courage”, “Wheat Kings” and “At the Hundredth Meridian”.
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But instead of mourning or quietly bowing out of music, he and the rest of the band – Rob Baker, Gord Sinclair, Johnny Fay and Paul Langlois – took the chance to launch a final tour to celebrate their nearly 20-year career.
