Re: Is this true?
Yes, my wife and I were there that Friday night - Sept. 15, 2006. At the casino in Harris, Michigan- about 15 miles west of Escanaba. Upper Peninsula. We were in the first eight rows or so with a great view.
No announcement - but Gord came out on stage with his 12-string strapped around him starting Cotton Jenny. About 10 seconds later, we looked at each other and wondered why Gord wasn't strumming.
By the second song, he had explained to the audience and there was a noticeable gasp. When he was singing 14-Karat Gold, In My Fashion and Painter Passing Through, I had a massive lump in the throat. If there was ever the picture of perseverance and courage, this was it. He probably shouldn't have kept going. But he made it through the shortened casino setlist. He kept trying to move his hand. He would tried to strum or pick but would wince in pain. Terry Clements adjusted magnificently.
Interesting, we had tickets for the next night. When we arrived at the casino, the exterior concert tent flat as a platter. The signs said that the concert was cancelled due to a structural failure of the tent and was not related to Gordon's illness. We did receive a refund and apology letter a week or so later.
On Sunday night, I was back in the Twin Cities and my son and I went to the State Theater in Minneapolis to see Gordon again. This time, he had an opening act (Adam Levy) and played a shortened set list. He appeared slightly better but did announce his illness to the crowd. It wasn't Gord's best performance ever but still a miracle he even kept going on the tour.
I gave Wayne Francis the set list so you can go out to his website and see what he played at those shows.
I think he played shortened set lists for the next week or so, but apparently was better after that. To my knowledge, he has not had any reoccurance of the mini-stroke.
John- Minnesota
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