By Joe Cornelisse
It was 9:15 when The Tragically Hip (The Hip) took the stage for their third and final show at Casino Rama on their 2015 North American Fully Completely Tour, the packed house welcomed the band with a colossal roar as the first few notes of “Grace Too” were released upon them. If you’ve ever had the chance to see the Hip live before (and I know most of us have at least once) you know that the band never disappoints, Paul Langlois, Rob Baker, Gord Sinclair & Johnny Fay are one of the tightest outfits together today and the frontman that gives us the show of shows Mr. Gord Downie brings us into his little inside joke with ever side glance and flail of his limbs.
This was the first time I’d seen the Hip in a years and what I saw was Gord Downie taking his onstage persona for which he’s well known for to a whole new level of over the top, and at least for me and I’m guessing the rest of the crowd in attendance (except for a few online whiners) it was all good, crazy fun.
The band is currently on their ‘Fully Completely’ Tour, which means that 6 songs into the night they hit us with “Courage” and played the complete ‘Fully Completely’ album from start to finish…a treat for any Hip fan.
Gord did away with the usual between song banter and moved right into one song after another until the end of the night with the lingering echoes of “Blow At High Dough” still resonating in our heads Gord uttered “Thank You Music Lovers”.
Set List
Grace Too (Day for Night)
At Transformation (Now for Plan A)
Escape Is At Hand For The Travellin Man (Phantom Power)
Ahead By A Century (Trouble at the Henhouse)
New Orleans Is Sinking (Up To Here)
Courage (For Hugh Maclennan) (Fully Completely)
Looking For A Place To Happen (Fully Completely)
At the Hundredth Meridian (Fully Completely)
Pigeon Camera (Fully Completely)
Lionized (Fully Completely)
Locked in the Trunk of a Car (Fully Completely)
We’ll Go, Too (Fully Completely)
Fully Completely (Fully Completely)
Fifty Mission Cap (Fully Completely)
Wheat Kings (Fully Completely)
The Wherewithal (Fully Completely)
Eldorado (Fully Completely)
ENCORE
My Music at Work (Music @ Work)
In View (World Container)
Long Time Running (Road Apples)
Poets (Phantom Power)
Blow At High Dough (Up To Here)
Sonic More Music 