The Tragically Hip

My husband and I went to see The Tragically Hip at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton last night for what is sure to be their last show here since the lead singer, Gord Downie was diagnosed with a rare and inoperable brain cancer earlier this year. I just wrote a review of the concert for SongKick and I wanted to save it somewhere else for my memory:




The energy of the crowd was amazing as was Gord's energy. Yeah, he didn't do as many dance moves as he has at past shows but he definitely didn't come across as someone who is dying from inoperable brain cancer.

It was an emotional night for many including Gord and his band. A few times during the show, Gord looked like he was about to cry and a few tears may of escaped from him, his band and people in the crowd.

And, the people in the crowd definitely love Gord and the Hip! During the concert, a Canadian flag was passed through the crowd showing our support for Gord and the band as well as a journal someone had started for people to send messages to Gord in. Only in Canada would this happen, I believe.

And, yeah, I would have preferred more of the hits that my husband and I love especially Blow At High Dough for me and Nautical Disaster for my husband but how do you ensure the playlist you play for an audience in multiple cities resonates with everyone especially when you've got 30 years of music to choose from?

Looking at the playlists for previous Hip concerts during the Man Machine Poem tour, they covered a lot of the hits over the whole tour. So, even though they didn't play everything everyone would have wanted at the Hamilton concert, they played for 2.5 hours with one 10 minute intermission and that's darn good for someone I'm sure isn't feeling 100% these days.

Personally, I just feel so honoured that Gord who could have just as easily decided to stay home and get ready for the inevitable next stage of his life decided instead to tour one more time.

As my note in the journal for Gord said, "We love you, Gord and you will be missed".