There was a moment during Wednesday night’s the Tragically Hip show when time seemed to stop, or at least slow down, for Gord Downie.

The band left the stage right after the first encore, and Downie was free to bask in a crowd’s total adoration.

Despite the din that comes from about 20,000 fans screaming and clapping and cheering his name, the Air Canada Centre seemed almost silent as Downie locked eyes with thousands of his fans.

It was a bittersweet bow, one of only a few times the concert turned heavy. For most of the evening, which began with “The Luxury” and ended in “Poets,” fans celebrated the life of the charismatic frontman — they did not mourn him.

And why should they? Downie was full of life, winking at the audience through “Grace, Too” and prancing about the stage in shimmering suits.

Since news broke of Downie’s cancer, fans across Canada have rallied behind the iconic singer and clamoured for tickets to the band’s summer tour, which will end in Kingston on Aug 20.

To an outsider, Downie’s feathered hats, hazy lyrics and art-rock melodies may seem the unlikely focus of mass stardom. But to Canadians, especially from a certain era, he is undeniably a national hero.

For decades, the Hip have provided the soundtrack of the Canadian summer, and the concert has triggered many memories of road tripping with friends and summer bonfires.

Nikki Elliott, who was visiting from Victoria just to see the show, recalled how ten years ago, she and her sister Jenny Te Hiwi picked up hitchhikers on the way to a concert in Michigan—hitchhikers carrying Canadian flags of course.

“We felt safe so we let them in,” Elliott laughed.

Keith Adamson is embarking on a road trip of his own right now, as he plans to see all three shows in Toronto, one in Ottawa and the final one in Kingston, where he first saw the band about two decades ago while a student at Queen’s University.

“It represents a better part of my adult life,” said Adamson, who estimated he’s been to about 35 Hip shows in his life, including one in Europe.

“It's a pilgrimage.”

Adamson was both elated and emotional after the show ended. Everyone’s getting older, not just the band, and Adamson said watching the Hip perform was a reminder of how much has changed.

“I was singing along but I just couldn't finish. Tonight's about friends, friends lost and kind of an end of an era,” Adamson said.

While the band played some of its biggest hits such as “Wheat Kings” and “Bobycaygeon,” it also included some of its locally-themed songs, such as “Toronto #4” and “50 Mission Cap.”

“I don't know how they're going to top it,” Adamson said.

Setlist

The band has been changing up the setlist between gigs, often grouping songs according to albums. On Wednesday, they played mostly classics with a few new tunes from their latest album, Man Machine Poem, including the title track and “Tired as Fuck.”

Here’s how it all transpired:

The Luxury

Little Bones

Fiddler's Green

Three Pistols

In a World Possessed by the Human Mind

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Tired as Fuck

What Blue

Machine

My Music at Work

Lake Fever

Toronto #4

Putting Down

Gift Shop

Springtime in Vienna

Flamenco

Ahead by a Century

Fully Completely

At the Hundredth Meridian

Wheat Kings

Fifty-Mission Cap

Grace, Too

So Hard Done By

Nautical Disaster

Bobcaygeon

Poets

MORE ON THESTAR.COM

Photos: Buzz at ACC bittersweet for Tragically Hip show

On the road with the Tragically Hip — the music, the photos, the farewell

Live-tweeting The Tragically Hip in Toronto

How the Tragically Hip was always ahead by a century

Gord Downie: Who was this lunatic poet?