Great Venues for GL concerts past and future
 

Was thinking about this the other day. What were all the venues over the 40 years of GL concerts. Which ones still exists. Which ones does GL still play?
What ones do you know the most?
Which ones are the best?

I noticed that there's people from all over on this forum so would love to hear any responses.

The only one I know is Massey Hall in Toronto. I've only seen GL 3 times. Not sure the years. ..guessing 1971, 1985?, 1995?

But my first was when I was 17 and WORKED AT MASSEY HALL as an usher.(had bad fitting dark paints and silly red jacket to wear). He had his 2 week run there then. One of two of the ushers could stay for the concerts to help people out and you'd get $6 extra bucks or so..on top of the $14 or so for the seating of people. Well I stayed every nite for the two weeks. WOW.
I remember how I loved Alberta Bound and many others of course.
I think that was the year of the Palsey thing going on.

Re: Great Venues for GL concerts past and future
 

I know Massey the most-since 1973..for all sorts of concerts but mostly Lightfoot shows..I rmember those two week stints..and when they were in March...spring was on the way when Gord was at Massey!!! I remember those red jackets on the ushers!
A lovely place that I did see him was in Red Bank, NJ at the Count Basie theatre..I know he has played the Van Wezel Theatre in Sarasota for years and it is a nice venue as well.

Re: Great Venues for GL concerts past and future
 

He's played the famous Carnegie Hall in New-York, and has toured all over the world at one point. I remember him describing a tour at the Junos, the night they gave him the Juno hall of fame. It was really impressive, he joked about it saying, "It's a tough and dirty job folks but"... laughed.

He's always said his favorite{best} place to perform was at Massey Hall.

What A Guy eh ! :)

Re: Great Venues for GL concerts past and future
 

WOW John!!! What a thrill and a nice memory to have.

Of the 4 shows I've been to, I have appreciated the acoustics at the Meadow Brook ampitheatre in Rochester Hills, MI. My favorite of Gord's performances thus far. I prefer outdoor concerts and usually find the acoustics to be far better than those indoor.

Known to be one of the best ampitheatres in the world (for acoustics and other features including a panoramic view) is Red Rocks in Colorado. The ampitheatre was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930's. It has recently been stabilized/restored.

A "CCC Boy" who served in Colorado considers this to be one of the best recreational projects of the Civilian Conservation Corps. I wondered if Gordon had ever performed there and the CCC'er told me that he remembered seeing Gord's name listed as one of the performers there. He said that there's a wall at the interpretive/visitor's center -located in the ampitheatre, which lists the names of all who have performed there.

When I had an opportunity to ask Gordon some questions when he was here in Connecticut earlier this year - I did ask him what his favorite venue was. His response was, "The Canyon Club". He told me why it was his favorite, but I can't recall exactly what his response was. I believe his response indicated a combination of the acoustics and the ambiance.

For outdoor venues...he told me that the Mariposa Folk Festival was his favorite...but I can't recall the location of where that is held.

Pam

Re: Great Venues for GL concerts past and future
 

Mariposa is held in Orillia..he was there in 2000, 2005 and this past July as well..
A caller on the CFRB radio show asked if he'd be there next summer but he won't..not usually every year..
this past summer was the big Lightfoot vs Lightning show..it's a beautiful venue..right on the shores of Lake Couchiching..in Tudhope Park.

Re: Great Venues for GL concerts past and future
 

....and he sounded fantastic, as did John Denver and .38 Special was astounding....among many others.

Re: Great Venues for GL concerts past and future
 

This deserves a list.

I am going to try and start one.

lightfoot.ca has his concerts dates..i can't remember if it has the venue..i'm gonna check.

john
(might be a long list with 40 years of concerts!)

Re: Great Venues for GL concerts past and future
 

Wayne also has all previous tours with the venues listed back to the 70's...
goodluck!
;)

Re: Great Venues for GL concerts past and future
 

aaaaaaaaaaahhh I remember reading that!! That's a great story (despite or in spite of the weather!)

Re: Great Venues for GL concerts past and future
 

Toronto's Massey Hall was built in 1853???
And its great for the fan and performer both...Great accoustics!

In Toronto there is the Molson Amphitheatre. I've seen a few shows there...Lyle Lovitt..Jimmy Buffet I think.. a few others.
I now refuse to go there. Its an awful place for me to see a concert. All concrete, horrible sound.

Of GL's many places he performed.. Are there some old ones like Massey around... that are great for fan and performer alike.??

I'd like to visit such places and perhaps catch a GL concert.

john

Re: Great Venues for GL concerts past and future
 

John - Lyle is going to be at Massey with John Hiatt on February 13..I've seen him there and at Convocation Hall/U.of T..(his new CD is great)
I've seen several shows at Ont.Place/Molson Amp.-JB, Alan Jackson, John Cougar, Lyle, John Prine..not great for sound..

Massey was built 1893/94
http://www.masseyhall.com/aboutMH/1890_1920.cfm

Re: Great Venues for GL concerts past and future
 

I was at Gordon's performances at 2 historic (and more recently renovated) theaters...The Warner in Torrington, CT and the Paramount in Aurora, Ill. Both charming and the acoustics were decent+.

At the Warner, some "orbs" appeared in photos that a friend of mine took. They were hovering on stage over the crew after the show, and in another photo taken inside the theatre after the show. Not that I believe they are 'anything' at all but perhaps an anomaly/phenomena inherent in camera lenses.

YIKES :eek: !!! omg I take that back. FREAKY...WOW!! I was going to attach the photos showing these things and much to my surprise, they no longer appear in the photos :confused: . hmmmmmmm I even went back to the original email in my saved folder, and they've disappeared from those photos too!

Okayeeeeeeee well then!!! Ummmm...so you thinking you still wanna go to one of these places? hehe

Re: Great Venues for GL concerts past and future
 

One of the most beautiful outdoor venues where I've seen Gordon perform throughout the 1970s and 1980s is at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (known as SPAC), located near Saratoga Springs, nestled in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. The walk from the parking lot to the ampitheater is about a quarter mile through the pine woods and the fans are treated to a beautiful view of trees and creeks on the way to the outdoor ampitheater. It seems add so much to the ambiance of a Gordon concert.

The beautiful strains of Knotty Pine, Christian Island, and Canadian Railroad Trilogy run through my head on this beautiful walk to the SPAC ampitheater, and I wonder how many of those will I be fortunate enough to hear directly from the Man tonight? Finally, I arrive at the site. At the end of the ampitheater I can see the stage with the familiar set up of microphones, guitar stands, drum set and steel guitar (or keyboard). About 10-20 minutes of cool Adirondak air to take in, the ampitheater eventually fills to capacity as the anticipation of Gord taking the stage continues to build.

Yes, SPAC was a great venue for a Gordon concert.

Re: Great Venues for GL concerts past and future
 

oh PHEW false alarm!!!! Mystery solved (me thinks). I forgot that my replacement monitor is on the dark side...so I couldn't see them until I lightened and enlarged the photos!!!

None of these 'orbs' showed up in any of the photos I took at the theater that night, just my friends. The only time I've noticed any from photos I've taken was at sunset in downtown historic Newport, RI last year. I thought for sure this was due to a reflective issue until I noticed that the 'tail' of one from the Newport photo...sort of wraps arond the shadow of a house. And it appeared on a road sign in a shot a few minutes earlier.

Still, my take on these things is that they're a reflective lens issue.

Re: Great Venues for GL concerts past and future
 

Were you there in 1982 and 1983? I somehow never realized you had seen him at SPAC too.

Re: Great Venues for GL concerts past and future
 

Val,
I saw Gord at SPAC in 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1983. In '83, I ended up front row center for the second half, so I probably was not far from where you were sitting. (a friend of ours knew one of the ushers and got him to move us up there as a surprise present).

Re: Great Venues for GL concerts past and future
 

That sure would be a surprise present all right. There's nothing like front row center. Happy for you Tim. :)

Re: Great Venues for GL concerts past and future
 

I think it was Ravinia in Illinois around 1982-83. Outside amphitheater style, we had seats under the pavilion. It was a perfect day.

When Gord started into The Wreck, the sky let loose with a barrage of thunder and lightning! It was a surprise to us, as it had been sunny all day. The rain came down in droves; a five minute thunderstorm, and it was over before Gord finished the song.

I chatted with Gord backstage at Massey in '96 and he remembered that show some 15 years earlier.

So it's right up there with all my favorite venues...

Landon