How to Watch and Listen to the Final Tragically Hip Show on Saturday

The end of the Tragically Hip as a touring entity is no longer theoretical. It’s real. And the end comes Saturday night when they play a final show in their hometown in Kingston. Most of the country is clearing their calendars so they can break Canadian TV viewing records. The commercial-free CBC broadcast will have the attraction of a gold medal hockey game, a Seinfeld-like finale and a breaking news event all rolled into one.

So how should one watch the show?

Sign up for Live and Out Loud. A couple of guys have been busy putting together a plan for Hip fans to connect worldwide during the broadcast. They want to create the globe’s largest listening/watching party. It’s free!

Help your foreign friends get involved. They might not have access to CBC TV, so send them this article. Point your English friends, your buddies in Western New York and Atlanta to this list.

Find a communal viewing party. So many bars and restaurants–more than 200 at last count–are getting into the act. Chances are one in your neighbourhood will eschew the Olympics for the Hip concert on all the big screens.

Hold your own listening party. Find the person in your circle with the biggest TV and best home theatre set up. You buy the beer. Grab everyone and head over.

Buy and wear a Gord hat. You’ve probably seen pictures of the feathered top hats God has been wearing on this tour. Get them at a place called Lilliput Hats on College Street in Toronto.

Get into social media. Twitter will be smokin’. We just need to agree on a hashtag. #FullyCompleted anyone? (A brilliant idea from Chris!)

If you can’t be part of the final broadcast, don’t panic. Judging from the number of cameras I saw at the final Toronto show Sunday night, the band has been documenting everything about this tour. I think it’s safe to say that there will be plenty of material with which fans will be able to relive things in the months and years ahead.