ALBERTA BOUND - Lightfoot in Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta
Monday April 13 and Tuesday April 14, 2009.
Char and Bonnie’s excellent adventure.
Calgary, Alberta, Mon.April 13, 2009 – Jack Singer Concert Hall.
A quick decision to head west after a lovely and generous offer of air miles from my friend Bonnie in Calgary had me away and westward bound early on the morning of Monday April 13, 2009.
I love to fly and was looking forward to the trip west as I’d never been west of Ontario and couldn’t wait to see Canada from the air as we flew over the plains of Saskatchewan and Manitoba and then view the Rockies as we headed into Calgary. It was awesome. The immensity of the wheat fields, the quantity of rivers and lakes, the vast expanses of barren land unoccupied and still as untouched as the day the pioneers trekked across the country encountering our native Canadians who lived on the land, was very sobering.
I caught glimpses of the rail lines and thought of the words in The Trilogy –
"For there was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run
When the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sun
Long before the white man and long before the wheel
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real."
It certainly set me to contemplating the history and geography of Canada and then of course that lead to the songs of Lightfoot. I now understand and appreciate so many songs more deeply than I ever did.
Calgary is over an hour from the foothills of the Rockies but seeing them from the plane, posing so majestically on the horizon was truly breath-taking.
Unfortunately that is all I would see of them in my short but eventful trip to Alberta. Other events would intercede with our planned trip to Lake Louise/Banff on Tuesday..but it’s all good..
Bonnie picked me up at the beautiful Calgary airport and we headed to her place for lunch. It was great to see her again! After lunch I had a short nap and we headed to downtown Calgary for a fabulous salmon dinner. The Jack Singer Concert Hall was a couple of blocks away so we decided to walk and get some fresh, crisp Calgary air. The doors were open but they were not admitting anyone entrance to the hall until about 7:30 so we patiently waited for 10 minutes or so.
When we found our seats which Bonnie had bought on-line we were flabbergasted to see they were front row, dead centre. And the stage was literally two feet away. Gord’s mic was right at the edge of the stage unlike at Massey where the front row is about 5 feet away and Gord stands about 4 feet from the edge. Good grief, we’d be looking up his nose! The whole band was a lot closer than at Massey or any other hall that I’ve been in to see them.
Bernie Fiedler came looking for me as he knew I’d be there and he spent a while sitting with us and talking about the tour and the halls, sound, crowds etc. We would catch up with him again at intermission and after the show.
The place filled up in the next 30 minutes and right at 8 the band strolled out with Gord pulling up the rear wearing his familiar blue velvet waistcoat, white shirt and black pants. We all stood and cheered and there were a few shouts of “I love you Gord!” As Terry took his place he saw me sitting there right under Gord’s feet and gave me a nod and a big smile! The audience stood as Gord took his place at the mic and he gracefully and gratefully acknowledged the ovation. He launched into the first song and we were off on another Lightfoot journey.
During the first couple of songs, because we were so close and in full light from the spotlights I caught Barry’s eye as I glimpsed him through Gord’s legs. LOL. He did a double take, leaned a bit forward to see me better and gave me a big smile too! Rick noticed me a bit later and Gord did as well with a wide eyed glance and smile..a bit later there was a smile and a wink. Omigoodness. I was just hoping he wouldn’t fall off the stage!!
As has been mentioned earlier, Gord was experiencing the effects of a cold and drinking water onstage, bending over for several seconds to clear his sinuses. There were moments of huskiness and scratchiness and after some songs he seemed slightly winded and demonstrably surprised and thankful he made it through them.
Throughout the evening he mentioned Ian Tyson a couple of times saying at one point after the 7th song “as my friend Ian would say – ‘let the adrenalin flow!’” Tyson lives about 30 minutes south of Calgary but there was no sighting of him.
Gord was really enjoying himself saying “the energy never stops!”. The audience was a bit subdued with not too many shout-outs but there was some huge applause for Carefree Highway, Rainy Day People, IYCRMM and The Wreck. The sound was low (as usual) so I’m not sure how it sounded at the back of the hall.
After bending over one time he laughingly explained that this was a time that the band might take the advantage to “kick him in the slats!”
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_b...sages/211.html
The introductions of the band with a generous thank you to them and the whole crew was very nice. He mentioned the stage manager, the lighting guy, the sound guy, the 18 wheel driver, the tour manager, and the pilots! 12 of them altogether out on the road from April 8 thru to the 18th.
After 15 songs it was break time for 20 minutes.
Those 20 minutes flew and we were all seated when the lights dimmed and the band walked back out to take their places. The audience was applauding and cheering and as usual Lightfoot came out last with a guitar strapped on, ready and raring to go. He had on a white shirt and one of his brocade vests.
In front of Terry was small monitor that he had to do a quick sidestep around. I kind of worried about him tripping or losing his balance as he continued in a straight line towards the mic but more towards the edge of the stage and not behind the mic where he was supposed to go.
This all happened in a matter of a few seconds and then he did something I still can’t quite believe. He came right to the edge of the stage, bent over, reached out and shook my hand with a big “Hi Char!” omigawd..did that really happen? Well thankfully Bonnie was there to tell me it did! I was quite overwhelmed to say the least.
(Probably what I would have felt at the Feb.2008 Orlando show when he sang “I’ll’ Tag Along” for me not knowing I couldn’t make it to Florida at the last minute!)
The man is full of surprises! Needless to say it was quite a while before the smile left my face and my heart stopped racing.
When he sang “Restless” I thought of Barry Harvey.
During “APPT” I thought of him writing it and quietly acknowledging his place in the world.
“If Children Had Wings” made me wonder about the chaos of his life back when his children were away from him and he was missing them but his much wanted career had taken over and I felt sad for the hurt that was inevitable for him and his family.
“Make Way For The Lady” was sublime and sexy. Oh my.
And the vocals of an older, perhaps wiser Lightfoot made “IYCRMM” resonate with the emotions of a dying love affair.
When he returned for the encore he told us he’s gonna keep “plowing on!”
He sang “SFAWN” and at one point got a tad mixed up with the lyrics and ran several lines together in a very fast fashion that was remarkably like RAP music! He was quite amused as were the band and the audience.
Gord came back for his bows and waves with a spring in his step and a huge smile on his face.
He told his "hare" joke again and made mention of his "first and second old ex-ladies" before the songs he had written about their relationships. He said his first wife was a wonderful wife and he remembers flying home to her after a tour to face the "REAL" music!
Being so close I not only could hear the amplification but I could hear Gord’s ‘live’ voice. Plus I could lip-read. (my talent never ends..lol)
So, for the question of what word he uses in The Watchman’s Gone – it is THIN.
“There's a train down at the station
It's come to carry my bones away
Two engines on, twenty-one coaches long
End to end, twenty-one coaches THIN
The watchman's out, kicking the bums about.”
Bonnie and I made our way backstage for a quick “HI” with Gord after he spent a few minutes changing and then speaking with the other four folks who were back there. Mike H. and Rick H. came out to say hi and we spoke with them while Gord spoke with a couple of fellows who had copies of an Ian Tyson special they had done to be broadcast on CTV. Gord is in it - no airing date as yet.
When the others had left Gord turned my way and with his arms outstretched he gave me a big hug and said he was so glad I came out west to give him moral support! I told him not to worry because “Toronto was in the house!”
He said he was suffering from a cold and had taken some red Sudafed tablets that were playing havoc with his sinuses so he wasn’t taking anymore. I introduced everyone to Bonnie and they were their usual friendly, generous fellows.
part 2 - coming up..