Viewing parties held across Canada for Tragically Hip’s last show

BOBCAYGEON, ONTARIO (NEWS 1130) – It wasn’t long after the Tragically Hip started to play their hit single “Bobcaygeon” on Saturday night in Kingston, Ont., that a roar went up a couple of hundred kilometres away.

Almost instantly, the scores of fans that gathered to watch the televised concert on the main street of the small Ontario community pulled out their phones to start capturing the moment. And when singer Gord Downie sang the lyrics “It was in Bobcaygeon, I saw the constellations, reveal themselves one star at a time,” the crowd really went wild.

Kingston was the final stop of the band’s 15-city “Man Machine Poem” tour, which was announced after Downie revealed that he’s battling terminal brain cancer.

Bobcaygeon’s public screening of the CBC’s broadcast of the concert was one of more than 400 that were staged across the country. Celebrations also took place internationally — at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the Canada Olympic House hosted a party for Canadian athletes who wore their red Olympic jackets. Canadians Abroad of Southern California also had a viewing party in Los Angeles.

An estimated 6,000-plus people either stood or sat on lawn chairs along Bobcaygeon’s Bolton Street where both adults and children took in the show on three jumbo screens. The community northeast of Toronto became well known following the release of “Bobcaygeon” from the Hip’s 1998 album “Phantom Power.” The song earned a Juno Award for best single in 2000.

Despite technical difficulties — screens blowing over due to wind and trouble getting the projector to play the CBC stream — people enjoyed beer and sang choruses to their favourite songs.

“I think they certainly helped put us on the map,” organizer Aaron Shaw said. “Anywhere you go in the world when you’re travelling, you say Tragically Hip and they say Bobcaygeon. It’s amazing. I’ve been to Thailand, I’ve been to Dubai, I say it and they say Bobcaygeon.”

In Vancouver, Sonya Howard said she took in a public screening as a way to “say goodbye to Gord.”

“It sounds cliche however they have been the soundtrack to many crucial moments in my life so I wanted to be a part of it,” said Howard, who was among the fans who watched the concert at the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre.

“He’s been such an integral part, I think, of the Canadian music scene…. It’s just sad he won’t be here to keep sharing his gift.”

There was similar reaction at nearby Woodward’s Atrium, where Edward Xie and friends watched the show.

“Besides them being a great rock band, I guess it’s that they tell the stories of average Canadians,” Xie said.

“They tell a lot of stories that everyone knows and a lot of stories that people aren’t familiar with and they let us explore our past.”

Online, social media was buzzing with scores of tweets from fans sharing their thoughts about Saturday’s concert.

“Amazing seeing the viewing parties worldwide … expats everywhere, we are all in Kingston tonight!!!!,” said one tweet.

“Passing by lots of ppl en route to Tragically Hip viewing in Assiniboine Park Winnipeg. Lots of yard parties too. A shared celebration,” another post said.