Saskatoon tribute act set to celebrate music of 'The Hip'

Rob McCarthy is still in shock over the news that Gord Downie, lead singer for The Tragically Hip, has been battling terminal brain cancer.

McCarthy, a singer in The 100th Meridian, a Saskatoon-based Hip tribute act, got the news when he woke up this morning and checked his Facebook news feed.

"The headline was like a punch in the face," said McCarthy. 

The last song I ever listened to with my uncle before he passed away was Ahead By A Century on a truck ride to the hospital.- Troy Weppler 

The 100th Meridian was formed out of mutual respect and admiration for the music of Downie and The Tragically Hip. The tribute act has been gigging for about five years now.

"I just hope he's surrounded by people that love him, and he's shown how much he's admired for the rest of the time that he has," McCarthy said.

Oddly enough, The 100th Meridian is playing this Saturday at Saskatoon's Bud's On Broadway. McCarthy said he'd like any and all fans of The Hip to come out and celebrate the music of the iconic Canadian band.

"We're still going to do what we do because we love doing it," said McCarthy. "But it just kind of seems to hold a different kind of tone now."

Superfan reflects after seeing Downie perform over 30 times

On a farm near Swift Current, Sask., Troy Weppler is still coming to grips with news of Downie's cancer. He's followed 'The Hip' all over Western Canada, and has went to roughly 30 shows. Weppler also travels to Las Vegas "every couple of years" to watch the band play at The House of Blues.

"My first reaction was to roll over and go back to bed, wake up again and pretend it wasn't actually real," Weppler said. "It was the soundtrack for a lot of the events in my life for the last 20 years, at least."

Weppler said that it's hard to put the news into words, that he's not "the wordsmith that Gord is," but many of The Tragically Hip's songs can be connected to some of the more personal moments in his life.

"The last song I ever listened to with my uncle before he passed away was Ahead By A Century on a truck ride to the hospital," he said.

Both Weppler and McCarthy said that Downie is one of those people that embody Canada.

"He was just never ashamed and always so proud to be from this country," Weppler said.

"He makes you puff your chest out a little bit more as a Canadian if you think [about] the way Gord acts, and the way he represents us."