Sir: First I just want to say that when I went to the Lockwood-Schatte concert on Friday night, I did not intend to write anything about it after the fact. I went there to hopefully enjoy the performance.
After seeing that performance, I had to express somewhere how good a show that was, especially considering that the final performance of The Tragically Hip was on across the nation the following night. Schatte made reference to The Tragically Hip show during his performance.
Yes, I did watch The Tragically Hip performance from Kingston, on the CBC on Saturday night.
I have heard them over the years on radio, but had never seen them in concert, so when I heard CBC was carrying the performance live, I decided to tune in to the show. I was not disappointed, as it was a wonderful performance, especially by their lead singer, Gord Downie.
Having gone through brain tumor surgery myself many years ago, and having survived it while seeing many other people die, it was hard not to shed a tear for Downie, who I think, gave as courageous and strong a performance as anyone can, considering what he is going through, and will probably ultimately lead to the end of his life here on earth.
At the same time, I’m sorry to hear that the rebroadcast of the show at Tecumseh Park did not draw as many people as the promoters had hoped. Rainy weather did not help their cause.
The fact that we do not have nighttime bus service in this city for such an event probably discouraged a lot of people who take public transit, like me, who might have gone downtown otherwise to take in this event.
All the same, I’m glad I was able to see this event, which was pretty big a deal to bump Summer Olympics off The CBC for a few hours.
For Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to also be in attendance for this event was also a huge sign of The Tragically Hip’s popularity here in Canada!
Frank Doyle
Chatham
