TORONTO -- If the Hummingbird Centre sounds like an odd place for the Tragically Hip to perform a sold-out concert, well, you're right.
But don't let that mislead you -- last night, the pride of Kingston, Ont. confidently rocked out the erstwhile home of the National Ballet of Canada and other fine arts anyway, in the first of two sold-out shows in the band's so-called "Theatrical Extravagnza," a cross-Canada tour of intimate concert venues.
Although the stage was a little smaller and the surroundings a little more reserved than what the Hip are used to, Gord Downie and the rest of the band put on an energetic show that delighted the thousands of noisy, raucous fans. Nobody sat down for a single minute of the Hip's hour-and-a-half set -- least of all Downie, whose bizarre mannerisms are part and parcel of any Hip show's entertainment.
The spastic frontman was at his animated best last night -- he was like a manic puppet, as he kicked his legs, pointed and gestured, struck poses and flopped around the stage, dancing to the music. He may well possess the most energetic stage presence this side of Green Day's Billy Joe Armstrong.
The band's setlist was a well-chosen mix of the old and new. Receiving the loudest ovations were, of course, old favourites like Courage, New Orleans Is Sinking, Poets, Grace, Too, Little Bones, Escape Is At Hand For The Travellin' Man, My Music At Work and At The Hundredth Meridian.
But the newer material from their most recent album, In Violet Light, such as Silver Jet, Use It Up, A Beautiful Thing and Are You Ready, matched up well. Perhaps the best song of the night was another one of their fresher singles, the lovely It's A Good Life If You Don't Weaken. If there was anything that was perfectly performed last night, it was this startlingly beautiful ballad. It's the kind of song that makes Hip-haters take pause and marvel that these are the same guys who gave us the grating My Music At Work and Poets.
Meanwhile, Montreal singer-songwriter Sam Roberts performed a lively opening set. And, perhaps as part of the Theatrical Extravaganza conceit, there was even entertainment between the two acts -- a juggler on stilts and a fire-eater kept patrons amused in the lobby. And even recently re-signed Hockey Night In Canada host Ron MacLean -- who is, presumably, a Tragically Hip fan -- affably signed autographs and posed for pictures with fans during the intermission.
But make no mistake -- the Hip put on an excellent show. As Mac-Lean's blustering colleague on Coach's Corner would say, "Good ol' Kingston boys."
