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Auburn Annie · 06-29-2007, 09:33 AM

Concert Review: Old favorites remembered

by: MATT ELLIOTT World Staff Writer
6/28/2007

Gordon Lightfoot captivated Tulsa crowd with poetic lyrics

A pale and gaunt Gordon Lightfoot looked almost like another ghost on the stage of the famously haunted Brady Theater Tuesday night, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

His everyman voice, showcased strongly on the original chorus of "Sundown," seemed weak and paper-thin Tuesday, but that added a warm vulnerability and an almost painful poignancy to his songs of tired-worldliness and longing, such as "Carefree Highway," "If You Could Read My Mind" and "Shadows."

He stood on the stage in black pants and a white shirt with a maroon vest. His thin arms wrapped around a big Gibson acoustic guitar. His gray hair was swept back from his high forehead and his eyes squinted out from his angular face into the spotlight as he sang.

Lightfoot, 68, performed for nearly two hours before a mature crowd at the venerable theater, with a 20-minute intermission in between. Murmurs of approval came from the audience at the opening notes of old favorites, a quiet hum of some folks singing along could be heard underneath Lightfoot's performance. All sat in their seats in rapt attention and no one took to the aisles, perhaps fearing they'd miss a moment they'd later regret.

While his voice made some of his performance unforgettable, such as "Rainy Day People" and "Early Morning Rain," others were ruined by his band, which at times overplayed. It didn't take much, but it was just enough to wash out Lightfoot's singing.

His drummer at times overpowered Lightfoot's delicate songs. And the synthesizer was so loud that its orchestration parts (intended to be a subtle background in a song) often fought with the tasteful melodies from Lightfoot's co-guitarist, making some numbers seem almost like the canned backing track for an "American Idol" competition.

Those things combined to wash out what the fans love, his poetry and his images of peace found in pastoral scenes of warm days and tender nights.

The sound problems seemed less frequent by the second half of the show. The band had mercifully pulled it back by the performance of "Restless," which is an approach that goes better with lyrics such as: "In the quietude of winter you can hear the wild geese cry / And I will always love that sound until the day I die."

The crowd loved the night with Lightfoot, giving him standing ovations for "Sundown," despite the fact that his voice gave out in the famous chorus, and for his Irish folk singer-like performance of "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."

It was hard to escape the synthesizers throughout the night. It gave an unfortunate "Miami Vice"-sheen to "Make Way for the Lady." It also tanked "Old Dan's Records" when the keyboardist played a harmonica part that sounded just enough like a harmonica to ruin the song.

But Lightfoot, of Toronto, seemed to be in a jovial mood, joking with the audience about Oklahoma weather.

"We're down here in Tornado Alley, but it's flood time. We see it all the time up home on CNN. They cover it well," he said, drawing laughs from the crowd.

He also lamented the news coverage given Paris Hilton of late. He trotted out some jokes for the music nerds in the audience.

"We're here to prove one more time that there's hope for capoed music," he said, referring to a small bar or clamp placed over the strings on a neck of a guitar that raises the instrument's pitch without fretting a chord.

It was the right venue and the right crowd. It was a rainy and cool June night with stars peeking out around the clouds looming over the twinkling lights of downtown Tulsa.

But the show made me want to see Lightfoot on a stage by himself or backed only by his second guitarist -- maybe somebody who could sing harmony. A couple of human string players instead of the keyboardist would be an improvement.

06-29-2007, 09:33 AM	#1
Auburn Annie Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Upstate New York Posts: 3,101	Concert Review: Old favorites remembered by: MATT ELLIOTT World Staff Writer 6/28/2007 Gordon Lightfoot captivated Tulsa crowd with poetic lyrics A pale and gaunt Gordon Lightfoot looked almost like another ghost on the stage of the famously haunted Brady Theater Tuesday night, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. His everyman voice, showcased strongly on the original chorus of "Sundown," seemed weak and paper-thin Tuesday, but that added a warm vulnerability and an almost painful poignancy to his songs of tired-worldliness and longing, such as "Carefree Highway," "If You Could Read My Mind" and "Shadows." He stood on the stage in black pants and a white shirt with a maroon vest. His thin arms wrapped around a big Gibson acoustic guitar. His gray hair was swept back from his high forehead and his eyes squinted out from his angular face into the spotlight as he sang. Lightfoot, 68, performed for nearly two hours before a mature crowd at the venerable theater, with a 20-minute intermission in between. Murmurs of approval came from the audience at the opening notes of old favorites, a quiet hum of some folks singing along could be heard underneath Lightfoot's performance. All sat in their seats in rapt attention and no one took to the aisles, perhaps fearing they'd miss a moment they'd later regret. While his voice made some of his performance unforgettable, such as "Rainy Day People" and "Early Morning Rain," others were ruined by his band, which at times overplayed. It didn't take much, but it was just enough to wash out Lightfoot's singing. His drummer at times overpowered Lightfoot's delicate songs. And the synthesizer was so loud that its orchestration parts (intended to be a subtle background in a song) often fought with the tasteful melodies from Lightfoot's co-guitarist, making some numbers seem almost like the canned backing track for an "American Idol" competition. Those things combined to wash out what the fans love, his poetry and his images of peace found in pastoral scenes of warm days and tender nights. The sound problems seemed less frequent by the second half of the show. The band had mercifully pulled it back by the performance of "Restless," which is an approach that goes better with lyrics such as: "In the quietude of winter you can hear the wild geese cry / And I will always love that sound until the day I die." The crowd loved the night with Lightfoot, giving him standing ovations for "Sundown," despite the fact that his voice gave out in the famous chorus, and for his Irish folk singer-like performance of "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." It was hard to escape the synthesizers throughout the night. It gave an unfortunate "Miami Vice"-sheen to "Make Way for the Lady." It also tanked "Old Dan's Records" when the keyboardist played a harmonica part that sounded just enough like a harmonica to ruin the song. But Lightfoot, of Toronto, seemed to be in a jovial mood, joking with the audience about Oklahoma weather. "We're down here in Tornado Alley, but it's flood time. We see it all the time up home on CNN. They cover it well," he said, drawing laughs from the crowd. He also lamented the news coverage given Paris Hilton of late. He trotted out some jokes for the music nerds in the audience. "We're here to prove one more time that there's hope for capoed music," he said, referring to a small bar or clamp placed over the strings on a neck of a guitar that raises the instrument's pitch without fretting a chord. It was the right venue and the right crowd. It was a rainy and cool June night with stars peeking out around the clouds looming over the twinkling lights of downtown Tulsa. But the show made me want to see Lightfoot on a stage by himself or backed only by his second guitarist -- maybe somebody who could sing harmony. A couple of human string players instead of the keyboardist would be an improvement.