OTTAWA -- Someone asked me if I was pumped up for The Tragically Hip's Corel Centre concert last night.

"Pumped" is usually reserved for the serious fans, the ones who gyrate spasmodically whenever the words "The Hip" are spoken in succession.

I responded with a polite nod.

The question, frankly, was moot. It's hard not to anticipate a top-notch show by one of Canada's hottest live acts. Lead singer Gord Downie does his slinky dances and unintelligible mumbling, Paul Langlois and Rob Baker put in yeoman's service on guitars, with the always-into-it bassist Gord Sinclair and drummer Johnny Fay anchoring the good ship Hip.

Plus, former Bourbon Tabernacle Choir members Chris Brown (on keyboards) and Kate Fenner (backup vocals) have been recruited to add a new dynamic.

Still, memories of the Kingston quintet's past two visits to the nation's capital swirled around as often as the spotlights did during Tiger The Lion, one of several tracks from The Hip's eighth studio effort, Music @ Work.

Their last run-through, in February 1999, was long on artsiness, short on band power, and certainly devoid of any connection between audience and band. By contrast, their summer '97 Another Roadside Attraction headliner at Rideau Carleton Raceway was more straight-ahead rollickin' good fun.

So, where did last night's "An Evening with The Tragically Hip" -- designed to fit in 15 years and eight albums' worth of Hip material into two 70-minute sets (separated by a 20-minute break) -- rank on the scale of hipness?

Somewhere in between.

One -- or any of the roughly 11,500 in attendance last night -- would want to believe that The Hip tried to build up momentum from the get-go. Surrounded by stage props made to form a wheatfield, Downie and company kicked off with My Music At Work, and let their music and stage presence speak to the crowd.

Yet, by Grace, Too -- a crowd-killer on any other occasion -- The Hip nearly fell into a let's-get-this-over-with trap in the first half, marginally saved by the odd older hit (Three Pistols, At The Hundredth Meridian) and the occasional pipe-in of Fenner's voice to harmonize during Springtime In Vienna and Ahead By A Century.

Better utilized was Brown's keyboard work, lifting Gift Shop to chilling new heights.

Still, something was missing. Usually Downie, in all his mumblings-about-God-knows-what glory, would nod or wink to the crowd. Or Sinclair, Langlois or Baker would deliver some sort of sign of encouragement.

In the first half, the music did all the talking. Not the band.

On the other hand, the second half seemed more alive, more relaxed and better paced.

Even some of the newer cuts (Stay and Chagrin Falls) adapted better to the arena-rock format than their album versions would lead one to believe.

And just as the building rocked to the strains of Blow at High Dough, Courage, encore number Little Bones and the always edgy New Orleans is Sinking, the place lit up -- literally -- at the apex of softer tunes Long Time Running, Flamenco and the Gord-and-Kate duet Scared.

But back to the original query: Was this a quality Hip show?

In entertainment value: So-so. Though musically tight, The Hip again suffered under the weight of muddy acoustics. Momentum hit a few potholes in the first-half, but regained power in the second.

In fan-speak: Yes, considering the wealth of material that was included. And though the crowd could've received a "how ya doin' " or "thanks a lot" once in a while, perhaps The Hip's music at work provided better dialogue, anyway.