Canadians bid adieu to beloved band whose singer is dying
 

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The rock concert did not begin with a rock song. Instead, it started with flag-waving fans breaking into a national anthem, "O Canada."

The impromptu tribute by an emotional sold-out crowd that included Prime Minister Justin Trudeau began what was expected to be the final Saturday performance by the Tragically Hip, a group known as Canada's Band, and lead singer and songwriter Gord Downie, dubbed Canada's unofficial poet laureate.

Downie has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, and fans across Canada and abroad gathered at viewing parties to tune in and bid him farewell.

The bluesy rock band is better known as The Hip, and Downie is known for penning paeans to Canadian life: about hockey and desolate small towns, about literature and the French explorer who named Canada. Being so defiantly Canadian might be one reason why The Hip sent nine of its 13 albums to No. 1 in Canada, but none above the top 100 in the U.S.

After spending three decades together, The Hip returned on Saturday night to where they began as a college rock band, the Lake Ontario city of Kingston. Those who couldn't get into the Rogers K-Rock Centre massed nearby to watch on a giant screen.

While the band was careful not to declare that its now-concluded 15-show "Man Machine Poem" tour would be its last, the concert had an aura that was both celebratory and somber.

Despite being diagnosed with glioblastoma, the most aggressive cancerous brain tumor, an energetic Downie was in fine form as he and his bandmates played an epic 30-song set, punctuated by three encores.

Trudeau, on learning of Downie's diagnosis in May, tweeted that the singer "has been writing Canada's soundtrack for more than 30 years." On Saturday, the prime minister's official photographer tweeted a photo of Trudeau, 44, and Downie, 52, embracing before the show.

Downie acknowledged Trudeau from the stage. The singer called on the prime minister to take action on behalf of Canada's indigenous people, and then said he expected Trudeau would have plenty of time to do it.

"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. But he'll do it," Downie told concertgoers between songs.

Trudeau could be seen in the audience nodding and mouthing "thank you."

Trudeau reminisced in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. about how he enjoyed the band's music during high school and college, and said the band remains uniquely Canadian.

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."

While The Hip became one of Canada's most beloved rock bands, lasting success in the U.S. was elusive - outside of border cities like Buffalo, New York, where viewing parties of the concert's Canadian broadcast were also held.

In Rio, the Canada Olympic House hosted a party for Canadian athletes who wore their red team jackets.

Downie, who started the show wearing a metallic silver suit and hat with a "Jaws" T-shirt underneath, hugged and kissed his bandmates - guitarists Rob Baker and Paul Langlois, bassist Gord Sinclair and drummer Johnny Fay. They opened with four songs from their 1992 breakthrough album "Fully Completely": "50 Mission Cap," Courage," ''Wheat Kings" and "At the Hundredth Meridian."

The Hip then segued into songs from their last album, "Man Machine Poem," before running through tracks from "Music @ Work," ''Road Apples," ''Phantom Power," ''Up To Here," ''Day For Night" and "Trouble at the Henhouse."

The band's biggest hit closed the show, "Ahead By A Century."

Downie gestured as if he was sketching a portrait of the teary audience as the band played the son's final notes.

They then embraced, stood arm-in-arm as the crowd roared, and walked off stage.

Before performing one song, Downie seemed to reference the outpouring of support from fans since his diagnosis.

"Thank you, people, for keeping me pushing and keeping me pushing," he said, which prompted a "Gordie!" chant from the audience.

After it ended, Toronto broadcaster and writer Alan Cross tweeted: "We will talk about this show in hushed tones for years to come. #TragicallyHip"

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Thanks for letting me know this guy exists right before he dies.

Tragically Hip was awesome and well known even outside Canada.

Road Apples... great memories.

My daughter summed up last night's Tragically Hip farewell.

"No one really likes the Hip - until they heard the singer was dying and then it became a pity fest."

I see you are evolving with your death news, you are now including news about people who are about to die or spoilers for "fear the walking dead"...so basically if death is mentioned in any context, you will probably re-post it here :1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

you can say they haven't done much interesting since the late 90s but most people i know like them, some more than others. for some people its "cool" to not like them just because they are so popular.

up to here, road apples, fully completely, day for night all great albums in my opinion. trouble at the henhouse and phantom power to a lesser degree but i never paid much attention to what they did in the 2000's. regardless, downie is a talented man and will be very much missed.

She sounds like a wonderful person.

I grew up rocking out to the Hip...i have seen them in concert...maybe 10 times.

I wonder about the kind of people who feel the need to take a jab at dying people...even more so their parents who feel the need to share that.

Death news copy pasted!

What??? I've never been a fan of the Hip but most people I know in Canada are. They still would have sold out all hose arenas even without him dying. I'm going to assume your daughter is younger than 30.

She sounds like a really awesome person. You should feel so proud.

The disappointment in this thread is getting me down...

"5 for being dumb".

Was a great final concert.always liked the hip and had never had a chance to see them

They are excellent live. The final concert was great, but I did miss all the little Gord stories between songs that he usually did. Part of what made the full experience.

Matter of fact - I am proud. She speaks her mind - unlike the fucksticks here.

Hopefully you had the balls to school your daughter on what is called Respect.

She's the daughter of a meter maid, doesn't surprise me that she'd be a cunt just like her dad. :1orglaugh

How's that for speaking my mind. You proud me of too?

Without me knowing Hip - it is common when people do not care about somebody and they start pitty fest when it turns out said person is dying.
What is so bad about what she said? Besides maybe that some people actually liked Hip (but that is no big deal, people often say "who cares" or "nobody cares" while they do not mean literally nobody).

Ridiculous reaction as if his daughter said something really bad. At most - a little bit "bad".

I was fortunate enough to work stage security for a Hip show back in the late 90's at their Winnipeg stop during one of their "Roadside Attraction" tours. It was spectacular to say the least.

As a side benefit I even met and chatted with Cheryl Crow that day, who was also on the ticket.

Sad to see this be the end of Gord and the Hip, but he/they had an incredible run nonetheless.

And it's "Canada's Beatles", not "Canada's Band."

Did they do The Big Bang Theory theme song?
Or is that Bare Naked Ladies?
I always get them confused.

And if there is one "Canadian band" it's fucking RUSH, not The Blip. I mean, Hip.

(Sorry about the lead singer tho.)

PS: Fuck Bryan Adams. I always take any Canadian opportunity I can to say to Bryan Adams: Fuck you.
And that goes for Celine Dion and her creepy grandfather/husband too.

Carry on.

It's sad you feel the need to over-compensate for your parents quietly referring to you as 'our little disappointment.'

My friend got to see them in Kingston at their last leg of the tour...it's the end of an era for most Canadians. I was never a fan (as I'm a bit younger than their core audience) but there's no denying the vast influence they've had on Canadian pop culture and music in general.

Rest in peace Gord Downie <3

How true ! An outpouring of fake concern:2 cents::thumbsup

No no, we get where it comes from totally by the way you 'pipe up' with nonsense around here too..

I downloaded (on Amazon Music) some of The Tragically Hip's best nineties work. Great band! Sure they focus on all things Canada but not more so than, say, The Guess Who or even Neil Young to some extent.

Anyway hoping for a miracle here for Gord's sake (and ours).