Featured photo by Philip Cosores

The Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie passed away last week at the age of 53 after a battle with brain cancer. Fellow Canadians, including Feist and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, have since paid tribute to the late musician. Last night, another group, Vancouver’s own Japandroids, followed suit.

While on tour in Toronto, the indie rockers surprised the crowd at Massey Hall with a cover of “Nautical Disaster”, the third single taken from The Tragically Hip’s 1994 album, Day for Night. Much like the rest of their live show, Japandroids’ Brian King and David Prowse’s homage was one driven by sweat-drenched, emotive energy.

Check out fan-caught footage up above. Japandroids’ Near to the Wild Heart of Life tour continues tomorrow in Brooklyn, where they’ll be joined by Cloud Nothings.

For kicks, revisit The Tragically Hip’s 1995 Saturday Night Live performance of “Nautical Disaster”: