REVIEW BY: DARRELL PENNER
The Centrium, Red Deer, AB
Friday, November 24, 2000

"If you have a job you love, you never have to work a day in your life". And if your job is making 'Music @ Work'....well, it doesn't get any better than that!

The Tragically Hip showed their fans how much they love their job....they rocked the house for 150 minutes solid, and proved yet again why the deserve the title as 'Canada's Best Band'. The guitar work of Paul Langlois and Rob Baker, Gord Sinclair's bass, and Johnny Fay's tireless drumming painted a lush background. Gordon Downie would then come along and add his finishing touches to create a masterpiece. His vocal quality, poetic lyrics, and trademark rants were, as always, exquisite. Whether it was subtle banana shaking or extravagant gyrations, Gord demanded your attention! You just did not know what to expect! The biggest surprise for me was that his head did not snap clean off during one of these exhibitions. (I used to be that flexible once.....when I was a baby!)

Chris Brown on keyboards and Kate Fenner on backing vocals are an excellent addition, (hint: don't miss 'Flamenco')

The show began with 'Music @ Work' and the boys did not disappoint by playing lots of old faves like 'Fully Completely', '100th Meridian' and 'Ahead by a Century'. The first set finished with 'Nautical Disaster' and 'Tiger the Lion', complimented by a great light show.

'Wheat Kings' opened the second set, and the band kept up the energy through 'Lake Fever', 'Fireworks' and 12 others, including 'New Orleans' to finish off. The encore was 'Save the Planet', 'Let's Stay Engaged' and finally 'Blow at High Dough'.

There have been several criticisms about Canada's lack of culture. Those critics have obviously never seen The Hip live! This show was the penultimate display of what Canada is! No flashy stage, no distracting jumbo screens, skip the scantily clad eye candy; just straight ahead, hard drivin' rock 'n roll. If you don't think the crowd appreciated it, then you didn't hear the 5,500 back-up singers joining in on almost every song!

Yeah, I do remember that goal in '72, and the excitement and then disappointment of Ben Johnson in '88, shocking the Yankees on their track in '96, the Blue Jays World Series, and recently Simon Whitfield in Sydney. Well, add another one....being a part of this Hip experience!

The other day was driving to work with 'Live Between Us' cranked up in the CD player.

I know most of the words to all the songs and was singing along.

I'm 41 years old, but I started crying because the music moved me so much...the passion that Gord and the guys have for their music, their home, their fans. You want someone behind the camera with the same passion and patriotism....and that's me.

My name is Darrell, and I AM CANADIAN!

-- Darrell Penner