[Islandgirl]

The above review by Catfish says it all. I too attended the Town Hall performance on Thursday night with my friend who always looks forward to going to see Gord and the "guys" in concert. I had bought the tickets early only to discover that several weeks later they added a concert at the Northfork, Westbury on Long Island, a venue much closer to where we live. But in the end we were estatic that it turned out that way. We went into the city early, walked around Times Square and then went to Bubba Gump's Shrimp Boat Co. for dinner. For those who venture to NYC every once in a while and have never gone to this restaurant,i would highly recommend that you do so sometime. The whole experience is based around the film Forrest Gump and the staff is very friendly, the surroundings entertaining and the food pretty good [mostly seafood]. Then off to the concert...
Town Hall is one of the best venues that I have attended for a Gordon Lightfoot Concert. The seats [row N] afforded us a wonderful view of the stage which was simply decorated with pleated curtains placed in a way that without the lights looked like a bunch of sailboats [to me]. When the lights went down and the stage lights turned on, it then looked like a primeivel forest. Later, the background looked like a city scape with tall buildings. It was very effective and added to the show. [You all can see photos of this performance on another thread where Anne reviews this concert. Thank you so much Anne for providing them.how did you get such wonderful clear photos? Were you near the stage? I think I saw you in the lobby after the concert. Oh, and thank you Char for posting them]
Then the band walked out - much applause... and then
Gordon - thunderous applause.
Gordon went right into Cotton Jenney. I have to say that, at first, I was taken back by the hoarseness of his voice. I last saw GL in concert last year at the Westhampton Theatre and I just couldn't believe the degree of change. My friend, who last saw him 2 years ago, stated that his voice has aged but that in her mind she hears the voice that drew her to the man's music those many years ago. Catfish said just that in the review above ["his familiary distinctive voice....]Don't worry, I quickly got over my initial shock and thoroughly enjoyed the concert. There is one thing about the show that I can say that other's haven't said in thier reviews. To my delight he sang Hangdog Hotel and preluded it by saying something like...[paraphrased]talking about the old days I still hang out with some of those guys like Kris Kristofersen and Jim [??couldn't hear name, maybe someone else did]and this next tune is nostalgic of those times.
Let me end by saying the most amazing thing about the whole night was the audience's reaction and engagement with Gordon and the band. There was no doubt in my mind that most people there were true fans who came to show genuine appreciation for this man who made the world a bit brighter by giving us his music. There was thunderous applause and whistles and whoops after every song and, of coarse, the occassional "I love you Gord". [There was just as much enthusiasm for the band, especially when
Gord introduced them].
And you could tell that Gordon received the message loud and clear. He came out by himself after the two song encore and after taking his usual bows turned his back to walk backstage while raising both arms into the air, thumbs up.

Dorothea

PS Although I don't have tickets, I plan to be at the Westbury concert tonight.

[ April 29, 2007, 10:39: Message edited by: Islandgirl ]