Took the better half to the show at Sycuan last night as a birthday surprise. Pretty tough to pull that one off as she pays the bills and wondered what the charge was for. Anyway, having seen about fifteen concerts over the last thirty-seven years, I think this was probably the most gratifying. Lightfoot still has it down. He was clearly thrilled to be back on stage, as we were to have him. His voice was strong throughout the 90 minute--no break--performance. His range was as good as I've heard in his voice since the 90's. There was no vocal fading even toward the end of this long set of tunes. The song selection was terrific, including the best rendition of On the High Seas I've ever heard in concert. It was good to have that one in the mix. There were many older songs, which my wife loves. On a couple of occasions very strange sounds emanated from the keyboard. Could that have been intentional? If so, that's an experiment which should be chucked, and soon. Otherwise, the band did their usual fine job, even without being introduced this time. I guess GL figures we all know them by now, anyway. All in all, a masterful performance, much stronger and cleaner than we expected for the first time out. Gordon still bites off the words like no one else. His illness has not affected his persona or his style in any way whatsoever. It's like he wasn't ever gone. What a thrill. It certainly brought a tear. Go see this guy while you can, folks. Something this good can't last forever.
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