SARNIA, Ont. -- The Tragically Hip played to at least 20,000 frenzied fans at Bayfest 2002 at Centennial Park in Sarnia last night.

The crowd was restless waiting for them during the opening performance by the Watchmen, but the veteran rockers from Kingston whipped fans into a partying mood from the moment they hit the stage about 10:30 p.m.

Audience member Jo Sulston has watched Tragically Hip cover bands perform for three years. Last night was her first time seeing the real thing.

"They play the coolest music in all of Canada," she said.

And she may be right.

Why else would thousands pack into a park, jammed against fences until their skin poked through the links? Why would the show sell out in just two days?

Two bars of New Orleans is Sinking and the crowd went crazy. The audience sang loud enough to drown out Canadian rock icon and frontman Gord Downie.

It's a song the Hip has performed thousands of times since 1987 at hundreds of venues, but it still sounds fresh and the band never seems bored of it.

Last night, Downie stuck to the song and didn't weave in one of his famous tales.

Katie Bryson and her friends made a sign out of linen to wave at the band during the show.

"Bayfest tickets= $60, booze= $150, limo= $500. A night with the Tragically Hip, priceless."

And it was a night with the Tragically Hip.

Downie's frequent smiles and gestures to the crowd make a packed park feel as intimate as a living room with just the right amount of friends over.

As cheers came pouring out of a nearby portable toilet at the completion of Courage, it was hard to ignore theintensity of the atmosphere.

As always, the larger-than-life Downie moved to the beat of his own making, his head bobbing and his flapping arms flying.

The Tragically Hip are the epitome of Canadian rock, with interesting lyrics and a distinct sound.

The band released its latest album In Violet Light last month.

The Watchmen, from Winnipeg, opened for the Hip to cheers of "hip, hip, hip," coming from the crowd.

But chants of "hip, hip, hip" were better than the sing-song chants of "borrring" that were coming from the crowd before they stepped onto the stage.

The Watchmen's catchy breakthrough hit Boneyard Tree got the crowd's attention and even got them dancing, especially in the drinking section, but it was short lived. The fickle crowd was quick to go back to group chit-chat and distraction.

It's too bad.

The Watchmen put on a great show.

Frontman Danny Greaves kept his sunglasses on possibly to shield his eyes from the inattentive crowd.

At times it was like they were playing in a near-empty stadium and it took some of the life out of the band.

But Greaves's voice hung over the crowd much the same way he seems to hang from the microphone.

Sometimes explosive and sometimes soft, almost melancholy, his vocals never get tiring. Greaves also plays a mean harmonica.