TORONTO -- 'I feel so patriotic," proclaimed Tragically Hip lead singer Gord Downie to a sold-out crowd at the Molson Amphitheatre last night.

Yes, it was Canada Day and the country' s biggest band was putting on a show.

But while the performance coincided with Canada's birthday, it was really the Kingston, Ont., group's first chance to play songs off their days-old new album, In Between Evolution, in front of a major crowd.

On Tuesday night, The Hip treated a much smaller assembly to a show at the Mod Club Theatre -- the actual release date of Evolution. That appearance was preceded by club gigs in Calgary and Edmonton.

Last night's concert opened with their first new single, Vaccination Scar and The Hip showed no fear in playing well over half of the songs from Evolution.

The gamble paid off.

New tunes You're Everywhere, It Can't Be Nashville Every Night, As Makeshift As We Are and Gus: The Polar Bear From Central Park, in particular, stood out from the new crop of tunes in a live setting.

And while the crowd was sometimes less than enthusiastic for the new material, the beer flowed freely and the sweet smell of pot wafted heavily through the air making for a party-hearty atmosphere. (By the end of the night I had even forgiven the woman in front of me who dumped full beers twice on my purse.)

There was also lots of flag-waving, with some creativity from two fans who wore cloth maple leaf flags on their heads like hats. A special mention also goes to the guy wearing a white goalie mask on a hot summer's night.

Not surprisingly, whenever The Hip trotted out classics like Grace Too, Courage, and At The Hundredth Meridian or more recent favourites Poets, Fireworks, Bobcaygeon, Springtime In Vienna, and My Music At Work the audience -- which was on its feet and stayed there as soon as the band walked on stage -- went nuts.

Playing on a stripped-down stage marked by three arched lighting rigs above them, Downie and his band-mates -- guitarists Robby Baker and Paul Langlois, bassist Gord Sinclair, and drummer Johnny Fay -- proved on more than one occasion why they're still in this game after 17 years.

Some might say the rockers were taking a chance by playing so many new tunes in front of a crowd largely unfamiliar with their new material.

But The Hip are mostly beloved in this country. Especially, it seems, on Canada Day.