CALGARY -- What happens when the biggest band in Canada gets too big?

It goes small.

That's a brief explanation of The Tragically Hip's current tour which brought the band to town last night for the first of two sold-out Jubilee shows.

The soft-seat, cross-Canada tour is a way for the band to reconnect with fans who may have become disenchanted with the distance bigness can bring.

It's a smart step on the part of the Kingston quintet.

The last time The Hip played Calgary in support of 2000's Music@Work, the hugeness of the Saddledome helped kill a great deal of the electricity the group prides itself on creating.

Even that tour's kickoff a few nights earlier in Vancouver, while marginally better, was only half successful at bridging the gap.

Which brings us to last night.

Were they connected? And how.

The Hip bridged the meagre distance from band to back of room right from the opening track Use It Up, from their latest release In Violet Light. A lacklustre song from a mediocre album was infused with an impressive amount of energy that would only give way to more.

"Music that can take you away," Gord Downie (aka Mr. Mumbles) sang on that opener. By the second track, My Music At Work, that statement seemed apt. And by the third song, New Orleans is Sinking -- only The Hip could offer that so early and still have so much more -- it was a guarantee paid in full.

If you see The Tragically Hip, this is how they should be seen. On stage, up close, you can see every tick on Downie's face, you can hear every note and vocal sung and, most importantly, you can feel the power of a rock band that's been together for almost two decades.

Even the slower or lesser-known tracks weren't a stumbling block as they were in the 'Dome -- you can't get bored when the band is so up inside you. Instead, those tracks just seemed to give some ebb and flow to the evening and add some extra depth.

About the only thing missing from the band was that sense of looseness, that anything-can-happen feeling normally associated with a smaller venue.

There was no interaction between the four musicians spread across the stage and even less with the audience. A minor complaint, really, especially when you are a part of the energy and alive with the electricity that made last night one Hip fans, casual or maniacal, will remember forever.

No matter how well The Hip may or may not perform on any given night, there is one thing that remains consistent about its live shows -- great taste in opening acts.

By Divine Right, Sarah Harmer, the Rheostatics -- The Hip isn't afraid to throw on stage some cool Canadian talent that, during a good show, has the ability to blow it away.

You'd think more of the band's fans would know this because by the time Canuck pop-rock bright light Sam Roberts and his band took the stage, there was an unfortunate amount of empty seats.

Hopefully, it's not something that will be repeated tonight because Roberts and his four bandmates put on an unbelievable opening set.

It's the only time I can recall a warmup act receiving a standing ovation when it was through.

Part Oasis, part Kinks, part Rolling Stones, the too-short, 45-minute set was all melodic rock 'n' roll.

Most of the credit has to go to Roberts, an incredibly enigmatic performer who is the perfect mix of swagger and nice guy likability.

As talent scouts go, The Hip is still batting a thousand. (More on The Tragically Hip)