Talk about your wheatfield soul.

Playing on a stage surrounded by what was supposed to be a field of wheat -- but looked more like an odd cardboard set straight out of Hee Haw -- The Tragically Hip returned to Toronto last night to play the first of two shows at the Air Canada Centre.

Thankfully, the five-man band from Kingston, Ont., overcame their antiseptic surroundings -- isn't wheat supposed to move in the breeze? -- with plenty of rock and roll heart and soul.

It took a few songs in -- the older, slower- building Springtime In Vienna, and the powerful new tunes Tiger The Lion and The Completists -- before the Hip finally kicked into high gear.

But it certainly wasn't hard for the group to win over the nearly sold-out crowd, who were on their feet and singing from the opening number, My Music At Work, and stayed that way for the next two-and-a-half hours.

This is, after all, a band that remains one of the country's most beloved rock outfits after 15 years and eight albums.

They've also been on the road in Canada as of Nov. 15 -- and in the U.S. since June, shortly after releasing their latest album, Music@Work -- so last night found them warmed up, sounding tight and building momentum as the evening wore on.

Frontman Gord Downie, initially dressed in a suit and tie, was his usual hip-wiggling, leg-raising, stream-of-consciousness self, while the rest of the band -- guitarists Rob Baker and Paul Langlois, bassist Gord Sinclair and drummer Johnny Fay -- kept their heads down and played in workman-like style.

Still, Baker should be singled out for his lead performances on Grace, Too, Wheat Kings, Poets and New Orleans Is Sinking, while Langlois' sweet harmony made Ahead By A Century and Lake Fever that much better.

For the first time ever, The Hip are playing without an opening act, although they've strengthened their numbers with touring musicians Chris Brown on keyboards and Kate Fenner on backing vocals, as first witnessed in June when the duo joined the group for a rare show at Massey Hall.

The band are also taking a 20-minute intermission between two sets, something they haven't done since the late '80s.

They lost a little bit of momentum during the break but regained ground quickly with the rock anthems Blow At High Dough, Courage, Poets and New Orleans Is Sinking.

Otherwise, the beefed-up manpower worked particularly well during Brown's extended intro into Gift Shop, or when Fenner joined Langlois, Sinclair and Downie -- who dressed down for the second set in a jean jacket and red long-sleeved T-shirt -- on Tiger The Lion.

Fenner's deep voice finally got some well-deserved solo time when she traded verses with Downie during Flamenco, much to the delight of the crowd.

And what would a Hip show in a hockey arena be without distinct Canadian references, highlighted by the encore songs Bobcaygeon and Fifty Mission Cap.

The Hip's second performance at the ACC doesn't take place until Dec. 23, which will actually be the last show of their Canadian tour.

Following that, they'll take some time off for the holidays.

Downie also has a much- anticipated solo album and accompanying book of poetry -- both with the working title Coke Machine Glow -- due on March 6.