‘Ottawa’ Review: Tragically Hip Give Fans Last Chance to Celebrate Canada’s Band
The Tragically Hip
Canadian Tire Centre
Reviewed Thursday
For the 21,000 fans packed into the Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday to see The Tragically Hip, the intention was to get caught up in the moment of our beloved band’s final performance in Ottawa.
As every Canadian knows all too well, barring a miracle, the band’s illustrious career is soon to be cut short by the scourge of cancer. The band revealed in May that singer Gord Downie had been diagnosed with glioblastoma, an incurable form of brain cancer. The disease is currently under control and the band decided to tour, but doctors have said it will come back.
This unthinkable news has turned the Hip’s summer tour into an emotionally charged farewell excursion, for which fans will be eternally grateful. Thank the gods of rock ‘n roll, we have one last chance to revel in the guitar-driven melodies and Canadiana-laced lyrics of the act affectionately known as Canada’s band.