Downie brings Chanie’s lonely death to life
Cancer-stricken singer ‘making his life count’ with project that tells the tragic story of indigenous boy
TORONTO — On the eve of the 50th anniversary of Chanie Wenjack’s death, Gord Downie offered an impassioned retelling of his story through a collection of songs honouring the late indigenous boy.
The Tragically Hip frontman, who is living with terminal cancer, performed his latest solo effort Secret Path Friday at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto.
The album tells the tragic tale of 12-yearold Chanie, who died in 1966 after running away from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School in Kenora, Ont.
Downie’s older brother Mike introduced the musician to Chanie’s story, which was documented in a 1967 Maclean’s story by Ian Adams called The Lonely Death of Chanie Wenjack.
Adams and members of Chanie’s family filled the front rows as Downie was greeted by a standing ovation as he walked on stage and saluted the crowd.
Downie’s Toronto concert followed his show Tuesday at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and a performance of the lead track The Stranger at the We Day event Wednesday at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
Secret Path originated from a collection of poems written by Downie, which evolved into songs. The album, recorded in 2013, was produced by Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew and Dave Hamelin, known for his work with indie-rock group The Stills.
The 10-track album is part of a multimedia project, which includes a graphic novel illustrated by Jeff Lemire and an hour-long animated special airing Sunday on CBC.
A denim-clad Downie and his five-piece band powered through the songs without a break.
A large screen projected images of an animated film, which depicted the journey of a young boy trodding along the railroad tracks, visibly frightened and soaked by rain, walking in search of home — and never reaching his destination.
About a third of the way through the set list, Downie said to the audience: “Applause will get harder and that’s OK. OK?”
Many in attendance were visibly moved by the conclusion of Secret Path, wiping away tears and openly sobbing as the animated footage of the young boy walking to his death was echoed in Downie’s haunting lyrics to Here, Here and Here.
It was announced in May Downie was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a relatively rare, but aggressive and incurable form of brain cancer. Yet there has been little downtime for the singer-songwriter, who embarked on a cross-country tour with The Hip this past summer.
In an interview before the Ottawa show, Mike Downie said the post-tour work has been a form of physical, emotional and mental therapy.
“Gord’s making his life count,” he said.