I too, was at Wolftrappe for the concert, as the below is what I wrote for Folksingers group on Yahoo. It has been a long time since I have been on this site or posted. I was at Wolftrappe for Lightfoot last year too. Like many of you, I have all of his studio CD's, like 22 or so. I too saw a man with the Massey Hall T Shirt, as he had a son with the same type of shirt.
Next concert, Great Big Sea in August.
Mike Marmer
Last night Linda and I saw Gordon Lightfoot again at Wolf Trappe in Vienna, VA, the only Performing Arts Venue, outdoor, run by the National Park Service.
We see him everytime he comes to Wolf Trappe.
We had a great dinner before the show at Clyde's location in Vienna, the place that inspired Bill and Tafty Danoff, to their only one hit, "Afternoon Delight" while eating at the Georgetown, DC location a long time ago.
It was good to see both the pavilion and lawn nearly sold out, as only Jackson Browne, I believe has completely sold out Wolf Trappe this year.
Gordon had his usually 4 piece back up band, as I believe at least two of them go way back with him. I believe Rick Haynes and Terry Clements where there.
He got a standing ovation when he came out.
I think 14 Karat Gold was either the first or second song he sang. Others he sang where Spanish Moss, Don Quixote, Alberta Bond (I think he sang that), Beautiful, Sundown, Carefree Highway, If You Can Read My Mind, Early Morning Rain, Ringneck Loon, A Painter Passing Through, Let It Ride, Triangle, Baby Step Back, If Children Had Wings, Ringneck Loons, Shadows, Hang Dog Hotel Room. The second set started wit the "Wreck Of the Edmund Fitzgerald and he ended the show with Song For A Winter's Night. The encore was Blackberry Wine.
He did mention that he was in Buffalo for a Elvis Presley show and was suppose to meet him after the concert. But when he got back to see him, he was gone. He then sang Early Morning Rain, as I did not know that Presley recorded that, as well as some other Lightfoot songs, he told us.
Before he did If Children Had Wings, he mentioned that he wrote that after divorce number 1 in 1970 happen, as his ex and their two kids moved to France, as he made fun of why they moved to France! But he missed his kids, so he wrote that song for them, as it is on the Endless Wire CD.
For Ringneck Loon, he asked if anyone knew how to do a Loon call,as he got lots of good and bad loon calls from the audience. During the song, some did the Loon call. If I knew he was going to ask for loon calls, I would of brought my loon call thing I have, as the Loon is one of my favorite birds. The Loon has three calls, I would all three. O
!
Overall it was a great show.
But sadly, his voice is not the same as it was, as we know that age, he is 70 and the medical condition he had, has taken a toll, but it is still fine with me. A couple in front of me, did leave at intermission, as I am sure they where there just for the mega hits he had and had no clue to what was going on with Gordon nor did they probably know anything more about his career before and after the mega hits. Shadows and Salute from the 1980's are two of my favorite CD's. I would go to see Gordon again in a heartbeat no matter his voice.
He did say that he is doing 70 shows this year, as I believe tomorrow he is in PA near Philly.
He did mention, as he did last year, as the days at the Cellar Door in Georgetown are still remembered by him and that he misses John Denver and Harry Chapin who played at Wolf Trappe. I was lucky to see Denver at Wolf Trappe twice, once with a string quartet. I am a big fan of Chapin, but never got to see him perform live, as he died in 1981.
My only complaint about the show is with the people taking cellphone pictures. It is annoying to me, to have this bright light backflash to me. And probably to the performers. My wife told me the lady next to her was texting the whole time during the first half of the show. She did try to conceal the light, but again, it is annoying to see this. I told my wife, I would of told the lady to turn it off. I do not understand people when at a concert, baseball game, etc., they have to be on a phone or texting. If it that important, please stay home. I am sorry that many pay good money for a show and can not enjoy the performance. Are those with the urge to phone that bored? Okay, off the soapbox now.
Great show, looking forward to next year.
Our next concert at Wolf Trappe is Great Big Sea from St. John's, Canada. If you have not heard of Great Big Sea, go to their website.
http://www.greatbigsea.com/ Not only is the music great, but I have never been to a "folk" concert with a zillion people jumping up and down waving Canadian flags. LOL Especially when I saw them at Wolf Trappe last year.
Mike Marmer