Austin 03-03-09 Set List
 

Gord seemed to be jovial on this first evening of his 2009 tour and I had the pleasure to witness it. Having been off for four months (as he mentioned several times) should put anyone in a good mood.

Opening the show with an abbreviated Cotton Jenny, stopping before he got to the 'sickly South'. He drives right onto Carefree Highway and into the Sea Of Tranquility where he found 14 Karat Gold. I was Never Too Close to see. Pausing to say he recently reached the seven-oh and surprised to still be doing what he does. I was thinking it couldn't be too hard, for he's just A Painter Passing Through but not In My Fashion.Or, perhaps, the Minstrel Of The Dawn. He spoke about the last time he was in Austin. The show was threatened by rain as it was an outdoor concert but they were able to finish the show and were left with only wet chairs. Imagine, Rainy Day People, seeking shelter in the Shadows listening to Beautiful music. About that time I noticed The Watchman's Gone so I tried to take a picture but a Ribbon Of Darkness blocked my lens. However, I did get a picture of the clock tower at Sundown. Gord informed us he would be taking a break after the next song for "twenty minutes, sometimes twenty-one if someone needed to comb their hair" drawing laughter from the audience. Then he educated everyone on The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald.

After the intermission we all sat in a Triangle in some Hangdog Hotel Room while Gord and Rick were dealing with a technical difficulty. There was a problem with an amp. Terry took it upon himself to keep us entertained. Nobody seemed to be Restless by the delay except for Me & Bobby McGee.
After replacing the amp, Gord had us drifting on Clouds Of Lonileness. As we were Waiting For You, we had to Make Way For The Lady. If only you Could Read My Mind right about then. The show was winding down for the evening when Don Quixote arrived and shouted, Baby Step Back out of the Early Morning Rain. Later, he sang a Song for a Winter's Night.

For an encore we enjoyed Blackberry Wine.


Overall, it was a very entertaining show. Gord seemed in good spirits throughout the evening even with the amp malfunction. He spoke to the audience several times between songs. Talking about capos and why he uses them. His last trip to Austin as mentioned above. Mentioning friends from Texas including Jerry Jeff Walker and that he was wearing Walker's jacket on the cover of Don Quixote. He talked of Kristofferson before playing Me & Bobby McGee and said Kris and Lisa drove up from Malibu to see his show in Stockton. I believe he said it had been 30 years since Kris had been to one of his shows. Adding he and Kris had done a show together in Peoria "a long time ago, long before the white man and long before the wheel" drawing laughter from the audience, again. He thanked Elvis for playing Early Morning Rain and joked about waiting for the Beatles to retire before receiving recognition. Was excited to be doing 15 shows in the next 20 days through 'Tornado Alley' before heading home for a short break. The only disappointment was no meet and greet out at the docks after the show. After much begging, pleading, bribing, manipulating, etc.. I finally acquired Gord's first LP Lighfoot! from a relative and was hoping to have it autographed. After about twenty minutes of talking to a few (10) other fans we were all informed Gord probably would not be stopping outside due to a large crowd backstage and he was getting tired. Understandable. Having a two and a half hour drive to look forward to I didn't care to stay around hoping that wasn't true. I would try again in San Antonio but this job thing seems to be in the way. However, I hear Biloxi has some damn fine weather in May.:biggrin:


Set List

Cotton Jenny
Carefree Highway
Sea Of Tranquility
14 Karat Gold
Never Too Close
A Painter Passing Through
In My Fashion
Minstrel Of The Dawn
Rainy Day People
Shadows
Beautiful
The Watchman's Gone
Ribbon Of Darkness
Sundown
The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald

Intermission

Triangle
Hangdog Hotel Room
Restless
Me & Bobby McGee
Clouds Of Loneliness
Waiting For You
Make Way For The Lady
If You Could Read My Mind
Don Quixote
Baby Step Back
Early Morning Rain
Song For A Winter's Night

Encore

Blackberry Wine

Re: Austin 03-03-09 Set List
 

so i take it you were there?!.... great review!

Re: Austin 03-03-09 Set List
 

Thanks for the review! :)

Vickie

Re: Austin 03-03-09 Set List
 

Thanks for the very original review, Roachthroat. Moosedog and Seafarer62 and others I met at Gord's Wisconsin concert last March may be interested to know I just attended my first 'international' music star since then. Jackson Browne and his band played Melbourne's Palais Theatre a few hours ago and it was brilliant. I was pleased they included nearly all of his excellent 2008 album "Time the Conqueror" and dedicated a song to the victims of last month's lethal bushfires near Melbourne. They're playing the Sutton Grange Winery on Saturday and returning to the Palais on Sunday.

Re: Austin 03-03-09 Set List
 

Wonderful review/report!

I'm hoping we'll hear from a few others who also attended last night..

Re: Austin 03-03-09 Set List
 

Great review, I see I'm not the only one trying to weave some of the titles into things.i
Sounds like you had a great time. It seems like Gordon is getting more talkative and relating more with the audience with each passing year. I'm looking forward to next week. Now I have a basic set list that I can add to or rearrange for the Davenport concert.

Kevin

Re: Austin 03-03-09 Set List
 

great to hear all the good things regarding the performance and GL's form

based on the past decade, when does Gord typically add a new tune or two from the vault? following summer vacation?...I believe last year he pulled out If Children Had Wings as well as Me & Bobby McGee...prior to that I believe it was On the High Seas & Christian Island

Re: Austin 03-03-09 Set List
 

Fantastic review, roachthroat! Pretty amazing, 28 songs! And you reminded me of all the other things - the amp (and Terry's impromptu entertaining!), the extra time needed "to comb their hair", etc. I remembered the line from CRT but couldn't remember the context - as you said, it was when he did a show with Kris in Peoria. And my cousins in Austin remembered the "wet chairs" last time he was there. (I'm going to pass your review on to them!)

Only additional thing I remember was his "hair/hare on the back of the rabbit" joke. :rolleyes:

I didn't get to stay after the show, but it sounds like I didn't miss the meet and greet. Sorry you didn't get your autograph; sometime soon maybe?

Anyway, many thanks for reminding me of the great time! :)

Re: Austin 03-03-09 Set List
 

I apologize for never getting around to posting something about the Texas shows. It was a whirlwind 3 days and I've been catching up ever since!

I can't add too much to what has already been said. But I will venture to agree that all three Texas shows were awesome. Gord was in good voice, sounding stronger than he did last fall. It was great to hear "Minstrel" twice and "Bobby McGee" twice. The audience participation on the latter was great. It was a very fun moment to hear all those "la la la la la la la's" from all the people around me. The crowd reaction was really something to see. In all three cities, Austin, Grand Prairie (suburb of Dallas) and San Antonio, the audiences were very receptive. I spoke to lots of folks in the audience, before the shows, during intermissions and afterwards, and people were simply in awe of how good the shows were. I can't remember if this was already mentioned, but, in San Antonio, the audience gave standing ovations for 7 or 8 songs. They were wildly enthusiastic and it was wonderful to see.

It was a wonderful time and I'm so appreciative that they made the trip all the way down here. I think Gord and the band realize now that they have lots of fans down here in the south country, so, hopefully, they'll be back next year!

Melissa :)

Re: Austin 03-03-09 Set List
 

Good to hear an another additon to the post. I'm glad you had a great time. I did in Davenport!!! Hopefully we'll both be somewhere where he'll be close next year. I think with every concert our love for Gord and Gord's love for his fans grows everymore.

Kevin

Re: Austin 03-03-09 Set List
 

I think you're right, Kevin! (Would you believe, I'm Not Supposed to Care was just playing on my CD....)

Re: Saginaw set list
 

I was in row 20 in Saginaw, Mi @ the Temple Theatre. What a beautiful place. There were a few changes from the Austin set list. No Rainy Day People. The encore was Dan's Old Records. And another joke: "See you at the Rockpile where I'll be a little bolder."
Nice show. Gordy is certainly a Canadian National Treasure. If you can go see him-BY ALL MEANS GO!

Re: Austin 03-03-09 Set List
 

ahhh, great stuff, Melissa...thanks for chiming in:)