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Wheels · 10-12-2010, 09:19 PM

Hi all, I've been away tending to my father so i've been out of touch. Lots of threads about Gord's NJ area concerts and a lot to catch up on. Thought I would tack this on to this thread but it touches on others.
Here's how Gord's 10/6 Red Bank show went for me. Me and Mrs. Wheels got into town early as some suggested and choked down some pancakes at the nearby Broadway Diner all the while keeping our eye out for Gord or Rick, the easiest to recognize. No success but I got a kick out of seeing the big truck with the Ontario license plates in the parking lot.
It was nice to run into the John Fowles clan. We had a few nice chats during the break and at the concert's end. I was hoping to ride on John's coatails to meet Gord right after but I guess his coatails weren't quite that long. I couldn't get the Mrs. to wait another hour so I gave John one of my CDs to hand to Gord. John accomplished the mission! Still waiting for John's feedback on Gord's reaction to getting it. (cmon, John. I can take rejection!)
Oh yeah, the concert. The Count Basie Theater is a great place to see and hear music. The acoustics and light show (by whoever does it)
were top notch. Gord's playing is still stellar. The band is extremely tight and sensitive to the nouances of each song and the mix was perfect.
Have to agree with gretschviking that Gord could do without the capoing to higher keys. Maybe he just doesn't like to change things.
His show is a well oiled machine. I was surprised to see his setup exactly the same as I saw that morning watching the Live At Reno DVD.
My guess is the thing really dragging down his voice is the fact that he's playing so many shows nearly back to back at his age. I know in my case, at age 59, I can hardly do 2 good long sets unless I've had 2 days rest from the previous gig. I agree with jj in that people come to see him because they love him. His songs grab the heartstrings and pull you in with pure honesty. A guy who is as humble and gracious as he is
is easy to love. You just have to root for him seeing that he's been so "criminally overlooked" (FAME review by Mark S. Tucker) compared to other great singer songwriters like Joni, Dylan, James Taylor etc.
As for "Left Foot Lightfoot" I've sent it out to 270 radio stations and, so far, it has been played by 43 that I know of. Although nobody's really buying it, (not even corfidians) I'm getting a lot of "way to go" encouragement and I'm putting together a nice scapbook of radio playlists sometimes with my versions next to a Gord original!
Life is good! Go Yankees! Cheers,
Tom
PS I'm playing Monday 10/18 again at Rockin Joe's Coffeehouse at 20 Prospect St, Westfield, NJ 7:30 pm with some vocal & violin help from Beth Long. Gord tunes included, of course. Good desserts and no cover.

10-12-2010, 09:19 PM	#18
Wheels Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: New Jersey, USA Posts: 84	Re: Sewell, NJ 10/7/10 Hi all, I've been away tending to my father so i've been out of touch. Lots of threads about Gord's NJ area concerts and a lot to catch up on. Thought I would tack this on to this thread but it touches on others. Here's how Gord's 10/6 Red Bank show went for me. Me and Mrs. Wheels got into town early as some suggested and choked down some pancakes at the nearby Broadway Diner all the while keeping our eye out for Gord or Rick, the easiest to recognize. No success but I got a kick out of seeing the big truck with the Ontario license plates in the parking lot. It was nice to run into the John Fowles clan. We had a few nice chats during the break and at the concert's end. I was hoping to ride on John's coatails to meet Gord right after but I guess his coatails weren't quite that long. I couldn't get the Mrs. to wait another hour so I gave John one of my CDs to hand to Gord. John accomplished the mission! Still waiting for John's feedback on Gord's reaction to getting it. (cmon, John. I can take rejection!) Oh yeah, the concert. The Count Basie Theater is a great place to see and hear music. The acoustics and light show (by whoever does it) were top notch. Gord's playing is still stellar. The band is extremely tight and sensitive to the nouances of each song and the mix was perfect. Have to agree with gretschviking that Gord could do without the capoing to higher keys. Maybe he just doesn't like to change things. His show is a well oiled machine. I was surprised to see his setup exactly the same as I saw that morning watching the Live At Reno DVD. My guess is the thing really dragging down his voice is the fact that he's playing so many shows nearly back to back at his age. I know in my case, at age 59, I can hardly do 2 good long sets unless I've had 2 days rest from the previous gig. I agree with jj in that people come to see him because they love him. His songs grab the heartstrings and pull you in with pure honesty. A guy who is as humble and gracious as he is is easy to love. You just have to root for him seeing that he's been so "criminally overlooked" (FAME review by Mark S. Tucker) compared to other great singer songwriters like Joni, Dylan, James Taylor etc. As for "Left Foot Lightfoot" I've sent it out to 270 radio stations and, so far, it has been played by 43 that I know of. Although nobody's really buying it, (not even corfidians) I'm getting a lot of "way to go" encouragement and I'm putting together a nice scapbook of radio playlists sometimes with my versions next to a Gord original! Life is good! Go Yankees! Cheers, Tom PS I'm playing Monday 10/18 again at Rockin Joe's Coffeehouse at 20 Prospect St, Westfield, NJ 7:30 pm with some vocal & violin help from Beth Long. Gord tunes included, of course. Good desserts and no cover.