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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Illinois
Posts: 186
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Part II of III
Belated Happy Dominion Day - Happy Independence Day
(My apologies for such a long post, I put the setlist at the bottom if you’d like to scroll down directly. I noticed it being nearly identical to the other shows on this recent tour)
It was finally beginning. The events of the day melt away as you join all the other fans in the theater embracing GL with applause. Gord steps up into the spotlight and up to the microphone, he’s got his Gibson 12 string, capo on the second fret and starts strumming. First you hear the a few measures of Gordon strumming alone (it sounds very precise), then Terry's guitar licks come through, my son & I immediately recognize it as "Cotton Jenny." The crowd responds with a healthy dose of applause as Gord begins. His voice sounds good. Now it had been over 6 years since I've heard him live, and I am acutely aware of what he's been through in the meantime. I did notice a hint more of raspiness in his voice on the very highest notes, but it sounded great and the crowd was really into it, clapping in rhythm.
Cotton Jenny comes to an end after the second verse and Gord quickly launches into "Carefree Highway." An enthusiastic reaction from the very friendly crowd. Again, the hint of raspiness everytime he sings the word “Highway” I turned to my wife, Cindy, and whispered about Gord's slight raspy quality on the high notes. Now Cindy, an accomplished choral vocalist, leaned over and whispered "It sounds kind of sexy." If she said that about any other singer in the world I would have been a bit jealous...but that comment from my wife of 26 years was delightful. The crowd was absolutely into it, and applauded and cheered loudly when "Carefree Highway" ritarded to a smooth conclusion. I noticed throughout the evening that Gord and the Band were flawless on all intros and endings. That kind of precision usually requires a lot of practice. I always wondered what GLs band rehearsals were like. Do they rehearse at home in Toronto? Or usually on the road before a performance? Carefree Highway was one of young Tim's requests on his note. (This will become significant later on). With Carefree Highway done, and loud applause resounding throughout the theater, Gord talks about how he noticed in the news that the Bald Eagle had been taken off the endangered list. The crowd responded with applause knowing that the American National Bird was again thriving. "This next song has a reference to bald eagles" he says, and he launched into what I knew would be "Sea of Tranquility." I noticed his voice getting a bit stronger and louder. Many of you have observed in the past that Gord's concert voice opens a bit tentative and then gains strength after the first few songs. On this tune Mike's keyboard and Barry's fills were absolutely superb.
To the six string. But before beginning Gordon talks about being in "tornado alley" and that this region was in the news a lot lately. I think he was referring to the flooding rains in Texas and Oklahoma (where he had been just a few days before). He mentioned that he was
happy to be in Kansas City again. Then a lady shouted from the crowd: "When are you coming to Florida?" Gord answered: "Next year." (I guess the woman didn't know that Gord frequents Florida on a very regular, bi-annual basis). Another yelled out "Tennessee?"
Gord again answered "Next year" but I think he’s hitting that region this year if memory serves. At this point I wanted to shout out "What about St. Louis?" He has not been here in quite a few years.
After the consultation of his 2008 tour itinerary was through, Gordon launches into "14 Karat Gold." I noticed the background lights a captivating green pattern, flowing and evolving throughout the song. When it was done, my son Tim, who had been very enthusiastic, but not
saying much to me, turned to me as the song ended and said: "That was awesome." Then it hit me, it must be pretty unusual for a 40-something Lighthead to have a teenage son next to him enjoying a Gordon concert as much as me.
Gord picks up his 12 string and begins "Never Too Close." He opted for some lower harmony notes during the high melody portions on this tune. I was impressed that my 12 year old daughter noticed that. She took up the Cello this past year and has been learning a lot about music theory. Barry's drums were particularly good on this one. During one of the instrumentals, Gord stepped back away from the mike and called out to someone off-stage for something. I think it was for a bottle of water because someone brought one out to him after the song was over.
Back to the 6 string for "In My Fashion." This one came off great and was always one of Gordon’s personal favorites. For my fellow guitar-players, I don't know if you ever tried playing it and reciting the spoken part of the song: "Now take a look at me....." It's more difficult than it looks. Gord, of course, did it perfectly. Then came "A Painter Passing Through." He attempted to hit all the high notes on this one ... and nearly got them all. This song, as it has done in the past, really struck me as poignant as Gord was singing about himself on his own "walk of fame" and being just a painter passing through history. The line "I am still alone, remembering at last" seemed to hit hard on me this time.
After another enthusiastic reception, The Man launches into "Rainy Day People." The band was great, as was Gord. Mike’s keyboard sounds really nice and Terry's lead was spot-on with his hammer-on's being perfect as ever. Angela, my 12 year old noticed the background lighting was like her lava lamp.....lots of bubbles. My son noticed that Rick Haynes was using a different bass than from past appearances. I remember he used a deep red bass guitar, and the one tonight was a lighter blue-ish color. Up in the upper balcony, we seemed to be in a perfect place to catch the reflection of the spot lights off of Rick's bass all night long. It reflected off of us frequently during the show, which made things kind of interesting.
The next song was "Shadows." Before starting Gord mentioned that this song was in a strange key and he added "I like strange keys." During this tune Terry's and Gord's acoustic guitars sounded great. I love the sound of new strings on a Martin guitar. The only thing better is
new strings on two Martins (Gordon's and Terry's) played by accomplished guitarists. Then came "Beautiful." This means a lot to me and my wife because this song was played at our wedding back in 1981. My son, Tim, knew this and whispered to us: "Come on, get closer." We both snickered, but ended up holding hands by midway through the song. Terry's Martin sounded fantastic throughout this one.
Back to the 12 string. But before beginning the next song Gord prebriefed the audience that there would be two sets with a 20 minute break in between. Then Gord added "when we say '20 minutes' we mean '20 minutes, we are very punctual." I know this is true of all of Gord's performances since I first started frequenting them in 1976.
Then Gord started strumming the 12 string. At first, I actually had trouble identifying this one until just before Gord sang the first lyrics. Then the light bulb went on: "The Watchman's Gone." The band was fantastic on this one, especially Terry and Barry. Then came "Ribbon of Darkness" which was great. At the very end, Gord used the pause to hook the audience. The last line when he sang "Come on home and take away, this ribbon of arkness...." The crowd was completely silent, waiting for Gord to sing the last words of the song "Over Me." As a veteran of many Gordon concerts, I personally didn’t know whether he wanted us to respect the pause (like on CRT) or was he looking for audience participation on the last two words. Before I could settle this debate that was furiously raging inside my head, he switched gears into "Sundown" and the crowd roared (and my son chuckled). There was a lot of appreciation for Terry's solos on this one, more than I've ever hear before. That was good to see, and Terry really appreciated it. I also noticed the crowd singing along on this one, and though I'm not a fan of crowd sing-a-longs at a Gordon concert, this didn't sound half bad. It kind of added to the intimacy. The theater was fairly small, I’m guessing about a 2,000 capacity, and every seat was filled. All 2,000 of those people gave a very enthusiastic response to Sundown when it was over.
As enthusiastic as that response was, it got even louder when Gord launched into the "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." Not only after the first few measures, but halfway through the first verse, between the first and the second verse, and again between the second and third verse there was a wave of appreciative applause and hoops. You know that has to make Gord feel good, to hear a crowd provide such energy and appreciation to his music. I’ve never seen that before. Gord seemed to feed off of that energy. There was a standing ovation after that song, finally Gord calls out "See you in 20 minutes." He and the guys walk off stage.
During the intermission we chatted with some of our neighbors in the crowd. All really nice people....no surprise at a Gordon concert -- a couple from Minnesota in front of us, and a gentleman from central Missouri next to us. They were about our age (40 or 50 somethings).
19 minutes later Gordon's Martin 6 string and two of his Gibson 12's are brought back on stage, as well as Terry's guitars. 1 minute later the lights dim. The applause returns as the guys, and then Gord return. He traded in his white shirt and black vest for a blue short sleeve dress shirt, gray slacks and white sneakers.
Before starting, Gord chats a bit about this next song which is about an area "a little bit east of here" and launches into Triangle. In earlier years I remember Gord would start the first song of a set without saying a word. In more recent concerts he often chats a bit before his first song. He has become quite a bit warmer presence on stage in my opinion. On this song, Gord and Band were very smooth. The volume seemed a bit low. Sometimes Terry's beautiful Caribbean-like guitar leads were not as perceptible as in the past. But it was still fantastic.
When the song was over, and of course an enthusiastic response, he talks again about how he is happy to be in Kansas City. Then he reminisces about when he used to stay up all night with friends such as Jerry Jeff Walker and Kris Kristofferson. He added that many years
ago "right here in Kansas City" he stayed up with Jerry Jeff till 8 in the morning, just jamming. (at this point, my heart jumped – is he gonna play “Hangdog?”) He quickly said "I don't do that anymore" and that he was more professional. But this next song was about those times and the all-night jam sessions. Here comes "Hangdog Hotel Room" which was on my note - requested in memory of my Dad. [Flashback: whenever I would return home to visit my parents in upstate New York, a guitar and singing session was daily event during my visits and Dad absolutely loved singing that song. Then I wondered again if Gord had gotten my note]. But I quickly stopped thinking about those things and enjoyed the song. It was flawless, Terry's leads, Rick's bass, Barry's drums, all perfect.
Another loud response from the crowd, Gord returns to the 6 string and talks about this next song being deeply into nature. He adds that it has a reference to "my old man, Gordon Senior." (In the past, I’ve never heard him discuss his Dad when introducing this song, was he reminded of Gordon Senior from my written request for “Hangdog” which he just concluded?) Then he begins "Restless." The green backdrop lighting was perfect on this tune and the beautiful harmonics that Terry provided were loud enough to be heard throughout the theater. It was all magnificent.
A very loud appreciative applause when "Restless" was done and Gordon went into what would be the only song from his most recent Harmony album. It was "Clouds of oneliness." Perfectly done.
The next song was "Waiting for You." Young Tim never misses a detail, and he noticed that Terry was playing his acoustic on this one. I think every past performance of this song had Terry on the electric. Terry's acoustic sounded great on the song, but I did wonder why the switch. On this song, Gord stepped around some during the instrumental interludes, but he did not move forward toward the edge of the stage as he has done so many times in the past.
With a "let's get down" remark, Gord launches into "Make Way for the Lady." Very good symbol work by Barry. Then came my favorite song in the whole world "If You Could Read My Mind." There was a thunderous applause then Gord and Terry started the first few measures. Gord
even delayed starting the lyrics because the applause was so loud. Then he starts singing and it seemed at every opportunity (instrumental bridges and between verses) more shouts and hoots of appreciation poured forth from the crowd. Ordinarily I would have thought that to be obnoxious, but it provided such a positive energy and the crowd was showing their appreciation the only way they knew how. Every time I have heard this song live, I have always loved the sound of Terry's Martin on the instrumentals. This night was no exception. He nailed it, as did the entire band.
A long, and loud......loud and long response when it was done. The applause continued, and continued, and continued for quite a long time. In fact, it would have gone on longer had Gord not finally cut in with "Don Quixote." The audience was very quiet on this song, wanting to hear every subtle nuance to this tune. When DQ ended they erupted again with a very loud applause.
Baby Step Back was next. I noticed again, a great deal of appreciation for Terry on this one. Terry seemed to be having a really good time. Then it was time to introduce the band. Lots of cheers for every one of these talented musicians. Gord then remarked that they do about 50-60 dates a year. This current swing includes 8 shows in 9 days. "We love doing it" he says, then adds "It's a privilege to tour." Lots of crowd response on this one.
Then Gord discusses that this next song was recorded by Elvis, and that Elvis changed one word in the fourth verse from "can" to "might." He launches into "Early Morning Rain" to a very appreciative audience and the fourth verse featuring the line "As cold and drunk and I MIGHT be." On this tune I have always loved Rick Haynes bass lines and this night was no exception. Absolutely perfect. Another thing I noticed about Gord's concerts is that he has never compromised on what key in which the songs are played. What I mean is that as he gets a bit older, I'm sure it has occurredto him to lower the key on some of his performance tunes to help him hit those high notes, but he never has. Although his band is accomplished enough to be able to handle that, he has always kept the original keys, I admire him for that.
Okay, EMR is over, lots of applause and cheering. Then Gord picks up the 6 string and begins "Blackberry Wine.” On this tune a disco ball, that was hanging in the center of the theater is lit up with a spotlight, and the effect was tiny lights all over the theater. This gives the theater, the audience, the band a very interesting effect. When the song is through, Gord takes a bow and he and the band leave to a thunderous ovation. This night, like every Lightfoot concert in the past, I get the same feeling at this point - "Is it over already? Where did all the time go?" I always get lost in the concerts without realizing how long it has been and how many songs Gord has
performed. Gord and the guys return, the crowd is still standing and cheering.He takes another bow, picks up his 6 string and begins "Old Dan's Records." What a reaction. The yells and hoots of appreciation came forth from the crowd between every verse. When it was over, another
roof-raising ovation. Gord and guys leave. Gord comes back by himself for one last bow and a "thank you." He leaves again and the lights go up. I've always hated that moment because of the finality of it (the show is definitely over) but I also know that is somewhat selfish on my part. Gordon gave it his all and even if he sang for 8 hours I'm sure I'd be disappointed when the lights finally came up. Disappointment quickly gives way to appreciation for another night of unforgettable memories.
Two things to add: Canadian Railroad Trilogy was the most notable song he left out, but I'm not complaining at all, the show was great. Secondly, throughout the concert I paid very close attention to Gordon's strumming and fingerpicking because of some troubling reports that his right hand or arm was having problems. That was definitely NOT true this night. His strumming and fingerpicking were superb, with absolutely no sign of irregularity or problems of any sort.
We think about hanging around to try to meet Gordon, but know that it is very hard to get back stage and that we didn't have any "special connections" on this night like we had in the past. Tonight, we'll be happy with what was a fantastic show. I knew we'd see Gord again. We
just didn't know how soon.
(sorry for the excessive length. Thanks for staying with it, below is the setlist-- Stay tuned for part III).
As promised here, without commercial interruption, is the complete
setlist :
Cotton Jenny
Carefree Highway
Sea of Tranquility
14 Karat Gold
Never Too Close
In My Fashion
A Painter Passing Through
Rainy Day People
Shadows
Beautiful
The Watchman's Gone
Ribbon of Darkness
Sundown
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Intermission
Triangle
Hangdog Hotel Room
Restless
Clouds of Lonliness
Waiting for You
Make Way for the Lady
If You Could Read My Mind
Don Quixote
Baby Step Back
Early Morning Rain
Blackberry Wine
Encore
Old Dan's Records
[ July 15, 2007, 21:36: Message edited by: Tim ]
__________________
Tim
"Children are all that the Earth has to Show, Children are all that the Earth wants to Know"
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