Tragically Hip Put On Tremendous Show

On the day of Canada’s one-hundred and thirty seventh birthday, the Tragically Hip came back home to Canada to celebrate with the people of Toronto at the Molson Amphitheatre. In what was a typically Canadian atmosphere where everything from Canadian hockey jerseys and Molson Canadian beer to Canadian tattoos and gigantic Canadian Flags could be seen amongst the crowd, the Tragically Hip added to the celebration of Canadian pride by treating a capacity crowd to some of the songs most synonymous with Canadians and their country.

If one has never seen the Tragically Hip in concert, it is difficult to fathom not only the level of energy they perform with but also the level of energy they generate out of the crowd. From the moment the Hip took the stage at around 8:40pm until they finally left the stage after two encores at 10:45pm, the crowd was on their feet cheering for more. While laughing at the people who paid a considerable amount more for reserved seating but ended up standing the whole time, from where I stood on the edge of the grass section, I was given an excellent view of the stage while being blown away by the sound of many of the Hip’s excellent tunes.

The highlights of the show were the performances of Poets, At The Hundredth Meridian, My Music At Work, and New Orleans Is Sinking. Each song sent the crowd into to roars of approval and caused the excitement level to continue to rise.

The show was opened by a band called the Joel Plaskett Emergency. Featuring songs that were heavy in Canadian content, they were an excellent choice to start off the show on Canada Day.