12-16-2016, 08:55 PM
It appears that the Halifax Secret Path show on November 29th may have only been attended by a few on this forum so I thought I’d pass along my thoughts on the show, albeit a few weeks late. At the moment this stands as Gord’s last show, although I certainly hope this does not end up being the case. Nor do I think it will be.
How was the pre-show atmosphere at the venue?
Owing in large part to the heaviness of the subject matter, the crowd milling about in the lobby prior to show-time was fairly subdued and speaking in more hushed tones. Unlike the high voltage electricity careening off the concourse walls at the Hip’s final shows at the ACC this summer, the pre-show energy in Rebecca Cohn barely moved the needle. This is not a criticism, merely an observation.
The average age of the crowd skewed quite high. Very few teenagers or young 20-somethings were present and most appeared to be in the 35+ age bracket. Hip paraphernalia was notably absent with only a handful of Hip t-shirts (including one Jaws shirt, sans the metallic pants) adorning fans. The make-up of the crowd seemed to be a far cry from the frat boy beer-swilling bro’s that served as a lazy characterization of the Hip demographic in the 90’s.
How was Gord received at the start and finish of the show?
“Warmly and politely” would be an appropriate description for his initial reception. A few whistles but not many hoots or hollers. There was more vigorous applause at the end of the show but the duration of the cheering both before and after the show fell short of that in Toronto.
How did Gord sound?
Gord’s voice was in fine form. He sounded every bit as good as he did in Toronto in October. Both solo shows found him in much better vocal form than Kingston when he was starting to sound a bit ragged, no doubt displaying the toll of a month on the road. This bodes well for any material that he may be recording with the Hip this fall.
“Son” was the only song I could find fault with. He tried to take the “Son, when you dance I’ll be on your shoulder And you’ll feel it” chorus higher than he does on the studio version, much to the detriment of the song. That part of the song fell just short of causing me to cringe. The manner in which he reigns in his voice on the chorus of the studio version serves the song much better. Other than that, he sounded fantastic.
I’m amazed at how well he knows these songs given they’ve only been performed publicly three times now. Yes, he continually glances at the teleprompter for support, but being the consummate performer these are swift glances and would be completely missed by anyone not looking for this action. His only flub was a small line in Seven Matches. The rest was near perfect to my ears. Again, this is amazing considering he was stepping all over lines in songs like Bobcaygeon and Blow this summer, songs that he’s sung hundreds of times.
What was Gord’s stage presence like?
Not the manic energy of yesteryear but more of a restrained intensity. His physicality was undiminished from when I saw him in Toronto in October. Outwardly he appears to be as strong, if not stronger than he was at MMP tour kick-off in July in Victoria. I say this knowing that he “only” had to lay it all out for 45 minutes at these shows and didn’t have to worry about keeping it going like he did for the 2+hour marathons this summer. And regardless of the fact that he can’t flail about like he could years ago, he can connect to an audience with just a gaze better than any performer alive. He has the ability to peer out at a crowd and make it feel like he is making eye contact with every individual in the room and he used this skill to his advantage at the Rebecca Cohn.
In Halifax he commanded a larger area of the stage than he did at Roy Thomson Hall. He acted out many of the actions in the songs, embodying Chanie and the struggles he would have faced during his failed journey home. For example, during “The Secret Path” he took slow steps forward with his head bent downward, miming the struggles of walking the tracks in a cold, blustery wind. He then turned his back to shield himself and gain respite from what one could imagine was the early winter Northern Ontario wind. Near the end of the song he moved to the front of the stage to punctuate Chanie’s frustration with a visceral f**k-off rocks” after which he tried to “tightrope” the wet rail. He also crouched to “warm” his hands over the fire during one song.
During “Here, here, and here” (in which he sings “I hurt, here, here, and here”) while singing the first “hurt” he pointed to his heart and the second one he pointed to his head, possibly stepping out of Chanie’s character and for a moment letting us in on his own personal struggles. At the end of the song he pulled out a move that looked like a bobble-headed ballerina. He robotically rotated back and forth 90 degrees, with a head bobble each time he reached the end of his turn.
Did Gord say anything during the show?
He said nothing during the show. At the end of the last song he said, “I’d like to bring up Chanie’s sisters Daisy and Pearl”. These were the only two Wenjacks present after there being almost 40 present on stage at Roy Thompson Hall. Gord’s final words of the evening were “I hope you enjoy the country’s first year next year. Because that’s what we’re doing. We’re starting over. We’re going forget the last 150 years.”
What Was Different Between the Halifax Secret Path Show and the Toronto Show?
The Toronto show started with an introduction from Mike Downie prior to the band performing. Following this the documentary was played and then Mike Downie emceed a lengthy event which included bringing the graphic artist for Secret Path (Jeff Lemire), the author of the original MacLean’s article (Ian Adams), and all the Wenjacks on stage. Halifax started with a few speeches, the playing of the documentary and finished with the band performing (followed only by Pearl Wenjack’s song). Essentially the music came first in Toronto and last in Halifax.
Personally the show was much different the second time around because I was able to fixate more on Gord, unlike in Toronto when my attention was continually pulled to the Secret Path film (that had yet to air) playing in behind the band. The 45 minutes of music reminded me of just how slippery time can be, for a concert I didn’t want to end, and for a man that I don’t want to say goodbye to yet. I found the show to go by incredibly fast and tried to savour the moment the best I could by focusing more on the songs than I would during a Hip concert. At a Hip show I hope for moments of transcendence (like the outro of Nautical Disaster) when I can tilt my head back, close my eyes, and be carried away. These songs felt like they demanded more of my attention.
What might be next for Secret Path?
The next big WE day is in Montreal on Friday, February 24th, 2017. If the trend of Gord making appearances at these events (he was in Toronto and Halifax) continues, this might be the next time we see a Secret Path performance, sometime that week in Quebec.
How was the pre-show atmosphere at the venue?
Owing in large part to the heaviness of the subject matter, the crowd milling about in the lobby prior to show-time was fairly subdued and speaking in more hushed tones. Unlike the high voltage electricity careening off the concourse walls at the Hip’s final shows at the ACC this summer, the pre-show energy in Rebecca Cohn barely moved the needle. This is not a criticism, merely an observation.
The average age of the crowd skewed quite high. Very few teenagers or young 20-somethings were present and most appeared to be in the 35+ age bracket. Hip paraphernalia was notably absent with only a handful of Hip t-shirts (including one Jaws shirt, sans the metallic pants) adorning fans. The make-up of the crowd seemed to be a far cry from the frat boy beer-swilling bro’s that served as a lazy characterization of the Hip demographic in the 90’s.
How was Gord received at the start and finish of the show?
“Warmly and politely” would be an appropriate description for his initial reception. A few whistles but not many hoots or hollers. There was more vigorous applause at the end of the show but the duration of the cheering both before and after the show fell short of that in Toronto.
How did Gord sound?
Gord’s voice was in fine form. He sounded every bit as good as he did in Toronto in October. Both solo shows found him in much better vocal form than Kingston when he was starting to sound a bit ragged, no doubt displaying the toll of a month on the road. This bodes well for any material that he may be recording with the Hip this fall.
“Son” was the only song I could find fault with. He tried to take the “Son, when you dance I’ll be on your shoulder And you’ll feel it” chorus higher than he does on the studio version, much to the detriment of the song. That part of the song fell just short of causing me to cringe. The manner in which he reigns in his voice on the chorus of the studio version serves the song much better. Other than that, he sounded fantastic.
I’m amazed at how well he knows these songs given they’ve only been performed publicly three times now. Yes, he continually glances at the teleprompter for support, but being the consummate performer these are swift glances and would be completely missed by anyone not looking for this action. His only flub was a small line in Seven Matches. The rest was near perfect to my ears. Again, this is amazing considering he was stepping all over lines in songs like Bobcaygeon and Blow this summer, songs that he’s sung hundreds of times.
What was Gord’s stage presence like?
Not the manic energy of yesteryear but more of a restrained intensity. His physicality was undiminished from when I saw him in Toronto in October. Outwardly he appears to be as strong, if not stronger than he was at MMP tour kick-off in July in Victoria. I say this knowing that he “only” had to lay it all out for 45 minutes at these shows and didn’t have to worry about keeping it going like he did for the 2+hour marathons this summer. And regardless of the fact that he can’t flail about like he could years ago, he can connect to an audience with just a gaze better than any performer alive. He has the ability to peer out at a crowd and make it feel like he is making eye contact with every individual in the room and he used this skill to his advantage at the Rebecca Cohn.
In Halifax he commanded a larger area of the stage than he did at Roy Thomson Hall. He acted out many of the actions in the songs, embodying Chanie and the struggles he would have faced during his failed journey home. For example, during “The Secret Path” he took slow steps forward with his head bent downward, miming the struggles of walking the tracks in a cold, blustery wind. He then turned his back to shield himself and gain respite from what one could imagine was the early winter Northern Ontario wind. Near the end of the song he moved to the front of the stage to punctuate Chanie’s frustration with a visceral f**k-off rocks” after which he tried to “tightrope” the wet rail. He also crouched to “warm” his hands over the fire during one song.
During “Here, here, and here” (in which he sings “I hurt, here, here, and here”) while singing the first “hurt” he pointed to his heart and the second one he pointed to his head, possibly stepping out of Chanie’s character and for a moment letting us in on his own personal struggles. At the end of the song he pulled out a move that looked like a bobble-headed ballerina. He robotically rotated back and forth 90 degrees, with a head bobble each time he reached the end of his turn.
Did Gord say anything during the show?
He said nothing during the show. At the end of the last song he said, “I’d like to bring up Chanie’s sisters Daisy and Pearl”. These were the only two Wenjacks present after there being almost 40 present on stage at Roy Thompson Hall. Gord’s final words of the evening were “I hope you enjoy the country’s first year next year. Because that’s what we’re doing. We’re starting over. We’re going forget the last 150 years.”
What Was Different Between the Halifax Secret Path Show and the Toronto Show?
The Toronto show started with an introduction from Mike Downie prior to the band performing. Following this the documentary was played and then Mike Downie emceed a lengthy event which included bringing the graphic artist for Secret Path (Jeff Lemire), the author of the original MacLean’s article (Ian Adams), and all the Wenjacks on stage. Halifax started with a few speeches, the playing of the documentary and finished with the band performing (followed only by Pearl Wenjack’s song). Essentially the music came first in Toronto and last in Halifax.
Personally the show was much different the second time around because I was able to fixate more on Gord, unlike in Toronto when my attention was continually pulled to the Secret Path film (that had yet to air) playing in behind the band. The 45 minutes of music reminded me of just how slippery time can be, for a concert I didn’t want to end, and for a man that I don’t want to say goodbye to yet. I found the show to go by incredibly fast and tried to savour the moment the best I could by focusing more on the songs than I would during a Hip concert. At a Hip show I hope for moments of transcendence (like the outro of Nautical Disaster) when I can tilt my head back, close my eyes, and be carried away. These songs felt like they demanded more of my attention.
What might be next for Secret Path?
The next big WE day is in Montreal on Friday, February 24th, 2017. If the trend of Gord making appearances at these events (he was in Toronto and Halifax) continues, this might be the next time we see a Secret Path performance, sometime that week in Quebec.
