LONDON, Ontario - A cold Ontario night and a hot Canadian band proved to be the perfect mix at the John Labatt Centre last night.

The Tragically Hip were full of power and the 8,600 in attendance were ready to soak up their energy and give it back in a rousing concert.

The Hip were close to 20 minutes late for their performance, but as soon as the lights went down and the band arrived, the party started and never really let up.

There was a brief pause as frontman Gord Downie yelled out that he was freezing.

"Can somebody give me something?"

A woman's black sweater and a red jacket were thrown to the stage. Downie preferred the sweater as it fit in with his head-to-toe black ensemble of jeans, buttoned shirt, ball cap and footwear.

In return, he gave the woman a microphone stand and asked her not to hit her boyfriend with it.

It was quintessential Downie goofiness.

He also reached out to the audience, extending his arms to both sides of the stage, in gestures of inclusion.

"Won't you join our family band?" he asked, before he sang Family Band.

The crowd responded with more screams, which they did before and after each song played.

It did seem the band was among family.

At times, it was hard to catch what Downie was saying. It was also difficult to hear some lyrics, which was especially frustrating when trying to listen to their new material.

The Hip opened with The Lonely End of the Rink, off of their latest album World Container, which they are touring to support. They also sang the title song from that CD, a lovely little ballad.

But it wasn't exactly lonely at their end of the rink as fans pushed against the barrier up front, trying to get as close as they could to the Canadian rock icons who continue to generate hit songs.

In View, the third track from World Container, was released as a radio single and music video in October. It reached top spot on the Canadian rock music charts.

World Container was produced by Bob Rock, known for his work with Motley Crue and their Dr. Feelgood album, among others.

The Hip mixed up the old and the new last night and included many hits such as New Orleans is Sinking, At the Hundredth Meridian and Ahead by a Century. The latter is from the 1997 album Trouble at the Henhouse, which garnered two Juno awards, including album of the year. The Hip have won 14 Junos over the span of their career, which started in 1983.

The last time the Hip was at the JLC, in 2004, the band's concert was released as a download for purchase as part of the The Hip Live Series.

The Hip used to frequently rock London, but at much smaller venues, before they became Canada's No. 1 rock band.

The other members of the Kingston quintet are guitarists Rob Baker and Paul Langlois, bassist Gord Sinclair and drummer Johnny Fay.

Opening last night for the Hip was hiphop artist Buck 65.

The Halifax-area native, whose real name is Rich Terfry, is a Juno award winner who crosses genres to include rock, blues and country music.