Gordon Lightfoot
Peterborough Memorial Centre-Peterborough, Ontario
Tuesday April 13, 2010
Peterborough is in an area east of Toronto, approximately 2 hours from the downtown core and one hour from where I live. This is one of Ontario’s beautiful cottage areas known as The Kawarthas. Gentle rolling hills, farm fields and forested areas as well as some beautiful lakes make the drive there relaxing and perfect for heading to a concert where there will be songs invoking the beauty of the Canadian countryside.
The Memorial Centre is a hockey rink where the Peterborough Petes have played their home games since 1956. They are a team in the OHL (Ontario Hockey League). They are the farm team for the Montreal Canadiens. Peterborough has become recognized globally as being a “Junior Hockey Factory”. It has produced a record number of National Hockey League players such as Zach Bogosian, Eric and Jordan Staal, Chris Pronger, Steve Yzerman (Coach of Canadian 2010 Gold Medal team!), Bob Gainey, Mike Ricci, Tie Domi, and coaches/managers with the likes of Scotty Bowman, Roger Neilson, Mike Keenan, Gary Green, and Dick Todd. Dick recorded 500 career victories faster than any other coach in Major Junior A hockey, accomplishing the milestone in just 813 games. They have graduated a record number of players to the National Hockey League, (150+), more than any other junior hockey team in the world. The Memorial Cup is the pinnacle of success in junior hockey and no one has reached it more often than the Peterborough Petes.
http://www.gopetesgo.com
Ronnie Hawkins was there with his wife Wanda and son Ronnie Jr. He lives in Peterborough and has lived in Canada since the late 50's. My aisle seat was on the floor about 10 feet from the boards where the team bench was and where Ronnie was sitting. Chairs were placed on the floor in front of the bench for them and Mr. B. Fiedler. I had a few moments to say hi to Mr. Fiedler and Ronnie. They sat about 15 feet from me but not in the rows where the rest of the seats were.
I’d estimate the head count at about 2500 to 2800. Capacity is about 3200 for concerts.
The sound system was great and Gord’s vocals, raspiness and breathiness included were well amplified.
SETLIST
1. Triangle
2. Did She Mention My Name
3. 14 Karat Gold
4. Never Too Close
5. Let It Ride – he garbled a few lyrics and was a bit raspy.
Band Intro
6. A Painter Passing Through
7. Rainy Day People
8. Shadows
9. Beautiful
10. Carefree highway
11. Cotton Jenney
12. Ribbon of Darkness
13. Sundown
14. Hangdog Hotel Room – a false start. Introduced it as a song he wrote after hanging with Ronnie and his friends.
15. Alberta Bound
BREAK
16. The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald – a bit of a kerfuffle over the lyrics.
17. Ringneck Loon – a song about Loon Love, for the love of a loon.
18. Don Quixote
19. Fine as Fine Can Be
20. Home From The Forest – he said Ronnie Hawkins, wife Wanda and Ronnie Jr. were there. He said,” Ronnie was the kindest and most generous person I know and that Ronnie helped so many in the business over the years, including me.” “Ronnie covered one of my songs a long time ago and it made the charts. I’d like to do this one for Ronnie.”
21. Make Way For The Lady
22. If You Could Read My Mind
23. Baby Step Back
24. Restless
25. If Children Had Wings
26. Canadian Railroad Trilogy – he picked up the wrong 12 string, put it down and got the other one. He was raspy and breathy, struggling for parts of it.
ENCORE
27. Song For A Winter’s Night
28. Blackberry Wine
Of 28 songs I would say he had problems at times during 4 or 5, the most noticeable one being CRT.
As always he sang IYCRMM beautifully with the nuances in his voice of today revealing more about the pain of heartbreak and lost love than the lyrics ever could on their own.
I can’t remember when I last heard Home From The Forest. I checked Wayne’s site –
www.lightfoot.ca but couldn’t find it.. If someone knows please let us know.
It was lovely, one of my favourite tunes and was even more-so with his long time friend listening in. Ronnie seemed quite pleased and I’m sure he was touched with the dedication.
Arkansas born Ronnie was rockin’ Toronto with a young Robbie Robertson, Levon Helms, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko and Garth Hudson back in the late 50’s and still pulling in the crowds when Lightfoot and his peers were doing the folk thing back in the 60’s. Ronnie’s band “The Hawks” went on to tour with Dylan and were known as “The Band.”
http://theband.hiof.no/band_members/index.html and
http://www.ronniehawkins.com has bio and pics etc. It’s worth a look!
Ronnie did The MoonWalk (called CamelWalk back then) decades before Michael Jackson ever thought about it although Ronnie wasn’t the first tho. YouTube- Ronnie Hawkins doing the Moonwalk
other Hawkins videos are at YouTube.
Ronnie headed out of the area where the meet and greet was but we ran into him as we left the building. He was outside having a smoke with a few guys. I said HI again, asked him how he was doing and told him he looked great. He flashed that devilish little smile and said he was feeling good. He's still got that Arkansas 'thang' when he talks..and that southern charm.
Home From The Forest video:
having trouble posting videos..brb..
pics- not the greatest..
I love the good old boy from Arkansas sititing in a small town Ontario town at the local hockey rink with the two adverts for iconic canadian stores signs behind him- Canadian Tire stores and Tim Hortons coffee, while listening to THE Canadian musical icon and legend Gordon Lightfoot! LOVE it!!!
Ronnie listening to Gord, Gord onstage, backstage.