[Tim]

I’d like to keep my thoughts on Peter’s thread, if for no other reason than to try to equalize the number of posts from the Milwaukee performance.

Last weekend my family and I drove from St. Louis up to Aurora (near Chicago) to see Gordon play again. It is about the same distance as St. Louis to Kansas City, where we saw him last. Both trips lasted about 4.5 hours, allowing us, during the drive, to play the “Songbook” box set in its entirety from start to finish. Therefore, my family came up with a new criteria to decide if a Gordon concert is within our range. We decided that if Gord is within “Songbook Proximity” then we’re in. That goes for next year, and the year after that, and the year after that.

After my son lucked into meeting Gordon after the Kansas City concert a few months ago, my 12 year old daughter was crushed because she missed out. She so much wanted to meet Gordon. That was the main reason why I got on the phone in July and ordered tickets to the Aurora concert the day they went on sale to the general public. I decided that I was going to give this a try, even though her getting to meet Gordon was not a sure thing.

Everything you heard about the Aurora Paramount Theater is true, an absolutely gorgeous setting. We arrived about 25 minutes before the show was to begin. My daughter wrote a note to Gordon and attached a picture of herself and her kitten. This is a pure white kitten she got a couple months ago which she named “Cotton Jenny.” In her handwritten note, Angela explained how the kitten got that name and requested “Cotton Jenny.” I saw this as an excellent way to make the connection between my daughter and Gordon.

When I got to the stage I noticed the concert setup was complete with Gordon’s microphone stand in the center. I wanted to place Angela’s note right next to the microphone stand so that Gord would see it, or at least a stage hand would retrieve it just before the performance and give it to Gord. However, this stage had an additional wooden extension that projected out toward the audience so far that while standing in the center aisle I couldn’t come within 6 feet of the microphone stand with my daughter’s letter. I very politely asked the nearby security guard (the same one that Peter was so fond of) if I could just step on stage for a very brief moment to place my daughter’s message next to the microphone stand. This guy must have had ice water in his veins – he replied that I “could not go up on the stage under any circumstances.” I wanted to confront this guy for being such a jerk for not permitting such a harmless act that no doubt would have brought a great deal of pleasure to Gordon.

My 14 year old son, looking out for his baby sister asked the security guard point-blank: “Then could you put the note up there, please?” The guard’s reply was just to give my son an icy stare and say nothing.

While I should have simply walked up on the stage to drop my daughter’s note off, I decided not to risk arrest. I walked over to the center aisle and leaned as far as I could placing the note about 6 feet from the microphone stand. That was the best I could do. Unfortunately, the beautiful note was never picked up by Gordon’s stage crew before the show, and I don’t think Gord even noticed it in the dark. However, we lost that battle, but didn’t lose the war in the end.

Just prior to the show, I chatted with my family and also to other fans around us. I had the great pleasure of meeting Peter during the minutes before the show. Others asked me about the T-Shirt I was wearing. It was the maroon “Painter Passing Through” T-Shirt from the 2001 Massey excursion. I briefly explained about this internet group that gets together in Toronto about every 18 months and someone in the group usually offers to get T-shirts made up for the group and then sells them just to recover the costs. I got a lot of “I’ve got to check out this newsgroup” comments.

A few minutes after 7 o’clock the lights go down and the guys walk out to take their places. I always loved seeing that. Gordon has the greatest band, such classy gentlemen. It also means the one individual who I consider to be one of the world’s greatest composers, is about to take the stage. When the applause gets noticeably louder at Gord’s entrance, I can’t help but smile. A real treat is about to begin.

While not dissecting every moment of this concert, I will say that I thought Gordon’s voice to be pretty good. I heard reports from the previous night of the cold night at the Rochester, Michigan performance the night before and the possible ill effects it might have brought to this show. To my delight, that would not come to pass. Gordon’s voice was in decent form. I was at the Kansas City concert in late June and I honestly believe that his voice was better this time around. He hit more of the high notes on songs like “A Painter Passing Through” and “Never Too Close.” On “Canadian Railroad Trilogy.” which he did not perform at Kansas City, he also hit most of the high notes that he has opted out of in the recent past.

The show was thoroughly enjoyable. Gord mentioned a couple of times how happy he was to be back in Aurora, the second consecutive year he has played there. The audience was clearly receptive of his performance. It may have been a little more subdued than the Kansas City audience in certain ways. For instance, there were no spontaneous bursts of applause during some of Terry’s guitar work (like on Sundown or CRT) that often happened at other concerts. But the audience was very appreciative.

The setlist posted earlier contained most of the usuals. For me, one surprise was “Ring Them Bells” which I thought was very well done. Prior to “Clouds of Lonliness” he mentioned that it was written in 2001 for “my second ex old lady.” Before “Canadian Railroad Trilogy” he discussed that he was now on a stamp in Canada and could “travel all over the world while staying at home.” That got a good laugh from the audience. I was pleased that he played “Canadian Railroad Trilogy.” His voice was up to it and he opted to sing more of the high notes than I expected, and he sang them well. This song always moves me because of the great synergy of the accomplished band during this performance. The blend of the guitars, bass, keyboard and percussion on these live performances are something I will always appreciate.

After a very spirited “Old Dan’s Records” encore, it’s over. I hate it when it’s over. But is it really over? I decided to make the drive all the way up from St. Louis to give my daughter an opportunity to meet the greatest composer in the world today. Shortly after the lights come up, I see a line forming along the side of the theater near a door leading backstage. Will this be my chance to come through for my daughter? Or will it be a disappointing setback?