It’s usually closed on Saturdays but the Canadian Nightclub was at capacity last night for a live screening of what some fear is The Tragically Hip’s last concert.
Advertisement
In an emotionally charged final concert in Kingston, Ont., Tragically Hip singer Gord Down paused the show to address the audience, the country, and specifically, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
On Twitter, the prime minister said: “On behalf of Canadians, I thank Gord Downie and the Hip for their decades of service to Canadian music. Forever in our hearts and playlists”, the PM wrote.
He also tweeted a picture of himself writing on a wall of messages to what he dubbed “Canada’s band”.
The Hip, who have become an indelible part of the country’s national identity with songs about hockey, small towns and Canadian literature, returned to the city where their musical journey began in the early 1980s.
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, N.Y., where viewing parties of the concert’s Canadian broadcast were held.
In an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Trudeau reminisced about how he used to enjoy the band’s music during his school and university years. They played an awesome 30-song set loaded with hits, and finished with three encores.
The Hip then covered all the bases, playing songs from their latest album, “Man Machine Poem”, and fan favourites from “Music @ Work”, “Road Apples”, “Phantom Power”, “Up To Here”, “Day For Night” and “Trouble at the Henhouse”.
The nearly three-hour show in Kingston, Ontario, featured music from throughout the Tragically Hip music catalog – including fan favorites like Nautical Disaster, Bobcaygeon and Ahead by a Century, CNN partner CBC News reported.
They then hugged, stood arm-in-arm as the crowd roared – and walked off-stage for good.
Downie said on stage: “Well, you know, Prime Minister Trudeau’s got me, his work with First Nations (indigenous people)”.
“He’s going to be looking good for about at least 12 more years”.
Trudeau told the CBC that the concert represents a way to not only say farewell to Downie, but also celebrate the singer and celebrate Canada.
Before performing the song Fiddler’s Green, Downie appeared to reference the outpouring of support from fans following his glioblastoma diagnosis in December.
Mr Trudeau was seen in the audience nodding and mouthing “thank you”.
The concert, the final show of the tour by Rob Baker, Paul Langlois, Johnny Fay, Gord Sinclair and Downie, that kicked off in Victoria on July 22, before making a trek east across the Prairies to Ontario and not surprisingly, ending in the band’s hometown.
Advertisement
After it ended, Toronto broadcaster and writer Alan Cross tweeted: “We will talk about this show in hushed tones for years to come”.
