VANCOUVER -- Avril Hughes has followed the Tragically Hip since seeing the band in concert in the 1980s, so she didn't think twice about making the long road trip from her home in California to British Columbia to catch the farewell tour.
"I cannot believe I'm sitting here anticipating seeing them for the last time live," Hughes said upon arriving in Langley, B.C., on Thursday.
The Tragically Hip kicks off its final cross-country tour in Victoria on Friday, with performances lined up in Vancouver on Sunday and Tuesday, part of a 15-date cross-country trip.
The tour, promoting the band's latest album "Man Machine Poem," was planned following the announcement in May that frontman Gord Downie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.
Hughes said she was shocked when she heard the news of Downie's condition.
"I saw them in October. It was spectacular," she said. "He had all the energy in the world."
Despite already catching the band's performance in San Francisco last year, Hughes said she wasn't going to miss the final tour.
She was among countless dedicated fans who were glued to their computer screens the evening pre-sale tickets for the farewell tour became available.
"I looked at the countdown clock and the second it was time I pressed the button, and it came up there were no tickets that matched my search," she said.
After several more searches, she said she finally landed two tickets at the first Vancouver show that she'll be attending with her brother Paul Hughes, who lives in Langley.
Victoria's John Garside said he also failed to track down tickets initially, despite being one of the first people in line at the box office, working his mobile phone and enlisting friends to work the phones from their homes.
Finally, after searching for tickets at every tour venue, he picked up two platinum seats for Sunday's Vancouver concert. Garside, 41, said he paid $1,400 for the two front-section seats.
"I'm going with my best friend of nearly 30 years," he said.
"He just moved back here with his family from Australia, where's he's been since about 2002. Is there any better way than to say welcome back to Canada and do a Canadian thing than to take him to a Hip show?"
For Jordan Kennedy, seeing Downie and his bandmates perform in Toronto next month will be his 17th time hearing them live.
While a university student 21 years ago, Kennedy was an extra in the band's music video for the song "Silver Jet." There he had the chance to spend the day hanging out and chatting with the musicians.
"They say 'Don't meet your heroes because you'll be disappointed.' But I at least personally had the complete opposite experience with Gord and with the rest of the guys," he said. "It was a dream come true and I wish I could do it again."
Kennedy said the Hip's lyrics referencing various Canadian people and places even inspired him to learn more about Canada.
He will be going to the show with the same friend who accompanied him to his first Hip concert -- also his first ever concert -- in 1995.
The Hip's Victoria performance is already sold out, but the venue will be offering up 50 additional tickets for sale Friday to those who have put their names in a lottery.
The Vancouver shows are almost sold out, with only platinum seats remaining, through Ticketmaster and resale tickets are available on the website StubHub.
The Tragically Hip's final performance of the tour will take place in the band's hometown of Kingston, Ont., on Aug. 20.
