The Tragically Hip fully and completely made sure Estevan had a happy hour or two on Monday night.
The Canadian rock icons, fronted by Gord Downie, showed they can fill a room with sound and have a lot of fun doing it. They were the latest act to roll through Spectra Place.
Downie proved he is the penultimate showman, with an ageless energy, arms spread wide above his head, mock-checking his fingernails, and flashing doughy eyes and boyish grins at the crowd. While the rest of the band wore jeans, Downie performed in a clean, white suit, accented with a black vest and tie and wide-brimmed hat.
He handles lead vocals while the band includes Paul Langlois and Rob Baker on guitar, Gord Sinclair on bass and Johnny Fay supplying the percussion.
On stage, Downie created a character with his mic stand, as though it's the thinner half of their silent comedy duo. During the last song of the main set, Downie took his mic and mimed to the crowd like he was casting a fishing rod. He didn't need to. At that point, the crowd had been reeled in a long time ago.
Downie appears to be having the time of his life on stage, and his charming, giddy persona infected the crowd. The fifth song of the night was Ahead By a Century, and the crowd belted out the chorus along with their conductor in the white suit.
With their main setlist complete, the band was beckoned back to the stage by chants of "Hip."
Beginning the encore with Music at Work, Downie quickly asked the crowd, "You got time for a few more?" which was answered with perhaps the loudest cheer of the night.
The band closed out the encore and the evening with a series of hits: At the Hundredth Meridian, Bobcaygeon, Courage and Little Bones.
The Tragically Hip has been one of Canada's music darlings since their debut release, Up to Here, in 1989. They followed that up with 11 studio albums in 23 years, cementing their name in Canada's rich catalogue of music, as well as a literal cementing of their name on Canada's Walk of Fame.
Their latest album, Now For Plan A, was released last October.
Opening for The Hip was The Rural Alberta Advantage, a three-piece rock band featuring vocalist and guitarist Nils Edenloff, Paul Banwatt on drums and Amy Cole filling out each track on keyboard, percussion and providing backing vocals.
Their brand of high-energy, fast-paced acoustic rock won over the Estevan crowd that may not have known their name beforehand.
They finished their set with a cover of Gord Downie's Canada Geese, with Downie coming up from behind the stage to perform with them.
The next show at Spectra Place is Celtic Thunder, when they perform on Sept. 17.
