EDMONTON -- For the Tragically Hip's 12th appearance around these parts - it might be more; the facts are lost in the mists of history - the band managed to top itself.

This is no easy task for this enigma wrapped in a riddle wrapped in a rock band and led by a guy who, if he wasn't the lead singer in a rock band, could be a ranting street person. Either that or a college professor.

In any case, "An Evening With the Tragically Hip" may have been the best concert they've ever delivered. The 13,000 fans who turned up in Skyreach Centre last night clearly thought so. It was certainly the longest Hip concert ever seen. It was more like two concerts: two sets of the Hip, the whole Hip and nothing but the Hip. Leave 'em wanting less, as they say.

Standing in what appeared to be a UFO crop circle in the middle of a wheat field, the band served up an enhanced version of itself - whatever that is. We're still not quite sure. Pronouncements that they're the "greatest band in Canada" don't really tell the story. Without any outside influences, as if they'd developed in a vacuum, this band has quietly (relatively speaking) evolved into a phenomenon. They're good, red-blooded, hockey-loving Canadian boys who write songs that transcend the simple rock riffs they're essentially made of. It's a pretty cool trick.

Some people don't understand the band, and never will.

The fans get it. Boy, do they ever.

The show last night revealed a greater range of dynamics this band is capable of - moods more pronounced, textures broadened, messages more cryptic, Gord Downie more enigmatiiwc than ever.

"Let's go to work, all right?" was the first thing he said. Then he began to mumble incoherently - and not for the first time - as the strains of My Music @ Work fired up behind him. He changed the first lyric of Grace, Too from "he said I'm famously rich" to "he said I'm Tragically Hip." That got a big hand.

The crowd was on its feet from the first note, shouting out the familiar songs: "Two-fifty for an eyeball and a buck and a half for an ear," and so on, joyously rocking out to the rest.

The "enhanced" version of the Hip heard last night was thanks in part to former Bourbon Tabernacle Choir members, singer Kate Fenner and keyboardist Chris Brown sitting in. Shots of Hammond organ, piano and clavinet added nicely to the counterpoint of guitarists Paul Langlois and Rob Baker. The resulting wall of sound was hypnotic.

During the second set opening of Scared, Fenner sang part of the lead - just a few bars, but a huge cheer erupted in each case. Nothing against Downie - who was in fine voice - but it was a refreshing change.

The familiar hits - highlights like Ahead by a Century and At the Hundredth Meridian coming back to back - were greeted as enthusiastically as the more offbeat moments. While speeding through Little Bones, say, the band seemed to dig deeper into the obscure tunes. Escape is at Hand for the Travelling Man was an interesting diversion, followed by the new tune, Tiger the Lion, a especially cryptic song from the new album, Music @ Work. As green lights strobed around the faux wheatfield, Downie sang passionately, lyrics paraphrased from a biography of composer John Cage. When you have to footnote a rock song, you know you're getting into pretty deep territory.

It's evidence that the Hip is growing away from the beer-swilling, head-banging, soccer hooligan scene of its past. And the fans don't seem to mind a bit.