Three things you're guaranteed to see, hear and smell at a Tragically Hip show: lots of guys in ball caps, lead singer Gord Downie's tangential vocalizing and the sweet smell of hash.

As soon as the Hip took the stage at a sold-out Halifax Metro Centre on Monday night, the doobies were lit to the opening chords of Poets from the group's newest, Phantom Power.

And it was smooth sailing from then on as Downie, Bobby Baker, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair and Johnny Fay sliced through the haze to deliver a power-packed two-hour show.

The Hip take the stage again tonight at Metro Centre and Wednesday night at Sydney's sold-out Centre 200.

Barely pausing at the end of Poets, the Hip launched into one of their many signature songs, Courage, before reaching way back to 1991's Twist My Arm and its vintage crunchy-guitar Hip.

It sent the crowd into a frenzy.

Then Downie, who rarely addresses the audience directly, except for his mercurial meanderings, said hello to the "wonderful people of Halifax. This is the nicest stay I can remember."

Of course, the crowd went nuts again.

Downie, dressed in a pink collared shirt, blazer and black jeans, was his usual fevered frontman self.

And it is he who gives the Hip its unforgettable live presence.

From his head and body jerkings to his lyrical ramblings, Downie makes the crowd his own.

He wouldn't be able to do this, however, if it weren't for the capable other hands in the band.

Langlois and Baker provide the sometimes jaunty, sometimes lacerating guitar riffs, while Sinclair gives the music some great bottom.

Fay, whom reports said was suffering from a burst blood vessel in his finger, looked like a man possessed, putting his all into every drumbeat.

Few other bands in the world give to its fans what The Tragically Hip does.

The playing is always top-notch and Downie is always at least a little eccentric.

And that's all that any Hip fan can ask.

When Downie strapped on his guitar to strum the first few chords of Ahead by a Century, the crowd leaped to its feet and continued to dance through the hard-driving Lionized, the funky Chagrin Falls and the smouldering Springtime in Vienna.

The band then began Bobcaygeon, a song about "that ageless conflict between the city and the country," Downie announced in his trademark deadpan.

Then came the wild Nautical Disaster with loads of lyrical meanderings tacked onto the end.

Things eased off a bit with Flamenco before slowly building again with Don't Wake Daddy, directly into the full-out rock assault of Save the Planet, Gift Shop and Fireworks.

At the Hundredth Meridian was one of the best performances of the night, with the band acting like crazed mixmasters during the song's bridge.

All instruments, including Downie's voice, were locked in a machine-gun loop, showing that the Hip does have a hip-hoppy side.

They came back for five encores, the highlights of which were New Orleans is Sinking and Blow at High Dough, the frenzied note on which they ended.

And while a couple of slower selections from '96's Trouble at the Henhouse could have been dropped for songs from other albums, the band did play nine songs from the exceptional Phantom Power.

It's a minor, subjective beef with a show that was all a great rock concert should be - frenetic, fevered and fun.

Openers By Divine Right deserved a bigger and more welcoming audience.

Unless you're The Rheostatics, opening for the Hip can be a daunting task.

The Toronto rockers didn't wilt under the pressure, ripping through their 35-minute set.

With lots of empty orange seats around the Metro Centre, By Divine Right soldiered on, delivering an enjoyable collection of melodic rock from their upcoming album Bless this Mess.