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Graham · 03-15-2003, 02:45 PM

Hello Wes...
I was in the mid-70's...I travelled with three friends from Dundee to Glasgow to see GL in concert.
We were all fans of him and this was the first opportunity we had to see him live..so I was a wee bittie excited.
I forget the venue..but the place was packed..When he came on stage with the band...the place erupted in cheering and waving.. I was in wi' the best o' them....my hands were sore with the clapping and he had not yet started to sing....but ...we hushed and then he began to belt them out....After a few songs he began to talk to the audience..and he seemed a bit, well slurry..then he began 'Endless Wire'....

I have often thought that his diction on some songs is a bit unclear, but my enjoyment of them has never waned. .on this night , his lack of vocal clarity was extremely noticeable..

A couple o' other numbers on...he launched again..into Endless Wire...I don't know how the band felt...but they looked a bit concerned...all the quizical looks to one another ..they did not LOOK comfortable and their discomfort was definitely transmitted to the audience...
He again began talking to the crowd...he was a bit miffed at someone shouting up a request...and then...suddenly ...heated words were exchanged......I don't know what happened then....he signalled to the band....and then attempted..yet again...Endless Wire.....well...that was all that Glasgow crowd needed..slow handclaps..and then a big booming voice shouted over the din.." Gordon..you are a *** banana"...
There followed confusion...people began vacating their seats..hissing and booing...
I looked up..The stage was empty.....

How could it have gone from wild enthusiasm at the beginning....to this angry resentment......
But all was not lost....
Gordon re-appeared..by himself to centre stage...then a hush spread...people looked..a few barbs hurled at him...but he waited until the calm...and said something like.....'just to prove this guy can still sing'....that 's what I remember him saying....then he began his fingerpicking...no band....just him alone on that stage...
My greatest regret about that night !!...
I cannot for the life of me..remember the song he sang...only that there was, in that theatre, a majick woven by his singing and playing, that can still give me shivers and goose bumps when I think upon it..
I cannot describe the reaction of the crowd when he finished...I myself was hoarse with cheering, hands weary with the clapping and the tears spilling from my eyes...
He waved...then left.....

I feel foolish of the telling of how I felt that night..It seems a bit silly now..my total hero worship of the man...

I read in one of the local papers that week following that he vowed he would never return to perform in Scotland ...I think he has kept his word.....

So...I had to leave Dundee and travel to Canada....take the bus from downtown Toronto....and spend the next two weeks travelling west...listening to his tapes...and trying to see what he was all about....."Saskatchewan..here's mud in your eye"..I sang along with him through Alberta..and over the Rockies..to BC....
Living here on Vancouver Island..
."I've come home...to the forest."..

Sitting in a Victoria theatre, seeing and listening to him again..after all those years....he still is The Man..

Cheers..Graham

03-15-2003, 02:45 PM	#211
Graham Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Victoria.BC. Canada Posts: 6	Hello Wes... I was in the mid-70's...I travelled with three friends from Dundee to Glasgow to see GL in concert. We were all fans of him and this was the first opportunity we had to see him live..so I was a wee bittie excited. I forget the venue..but the place was packed..When he came on stage with the band...the place erupted in cheering and waving.. I was in wi' the best o' them....my hands were sore with the clapping and he had not yet started to sing....but ...we hushed and then he began to belt them out....After a few songs he began to talk to the audience..and he seemed a bit, well slurry..then he began 'Endless Wire'.... I have often thought that his diction on some songs is a bit unclear, but my enjoyment of them has never waned. .on this night , his lack of vocal clarity was extremely noticeable.. A couple o' other numbers on...he launched again..into Endless Wire...I don't know how the band felt...but they looked a bit concerned...all the quizical looks to one another ..they did not LOOK comfortable and their discomfort was definitely transmitted to the audience... He again began talking to the crowd...he was a bit miffed at someone shouting up a request...and then...suddenly ...heated words were exchanged......I don't know what happened then....he signalled to the band....and then attempted..yet again...Endless Wire.....well...that was all that Glasgow crowd needed..slow handclaps..and then a big booming voice shouted over the din.." Gordon..you are a *** banana"... There followed confusion...people began vacating their seats..hissing and booing... I looked up..The stage was empty..... How could it have gone from wild enthusiasm at the beginning....to this angry resentment...... But all was not lost.... Gordon re-appeared..by himself to centre stage...then a hush spread...people looked..a few barbs hurled at him...but he waited until the calm...and said something like.....'just to prove this guy can still sing'....that 's what I remember him saying....then he began his fingerpicking...no band....just him alone on that stage... My greatest regret about that night !!... I cannot for the life of me..remember the song he sang...only that there was, in that theatre, a majick woven by his singing and playing, that can still give me shivers and goose bumps when I think upon it.. I cannot describe the reaction of the crowd when he finished...I myself was hoarse with cheering, hands weary with the clapping and the tears spilling from my eyes... He waved...then left..... I feel foolish of the telling of how I felt that night..It seems a bit silly now..my total hero worship of the man... I read in one of the local papers that week following that he vowed he would never return to perform in Scotland ...I think he has kept his word..... So...I had to leave Dundee and travel to Canada....take the bus from downtown Toronto....and spend the next two weeks travelling west...listening to his tapes...and trying to see what he was all about....."Saskatchewan..here's mud in your eye"..I sang along with him through Alberta..and over the Rockies..to BC.... Living here on Vancouver Island.. ."I've come home...to the forest.".. Sitting in a Victoria theatre, seeing and listening to him again..after all those years....he still is The Man.. Cheers..Graham