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We're all getting older, but the sounds are still oh, so sweet
Beth and I went to see Gordon Lightfoot at the Collins Center last night. On the way up, we listened to Dar Williams Live to set a mood and ate at Heros, a sports pub with plentiful and wicked good food. I think this was the fourth time I've seen him in concert, but, given the haziness of my early years, it might be concert #5. 47 years, that's how long he's been doing gigs like last night. I discovered him when I was in college at Arizona State, not long after he put out his first album. That was a time for lovers of live music. There seemed to be a concert almost every weekend somewhere in the Valley of the Sun. If there wasn't something at one of the campus concert halls, then it was at the Phoenix Coliseum, Scottsdale's Theater in the Round or another smaller venue. Over a four year period, I saw more live musicians (especially when you add in Woodstock)than most people see in a lifetime. I suspect my cultural self has been much better for it.
Last night, the crowd certainly matched the performer, graceful and gray. I had the pleasure of seeing and chatting with a co-worker from my days at the state hospital who now works with medically fragile children in a group home, a perfect role for a man with his level of calm and compassion.
At first I was a bit worried about Gordon's voice, but by the third song, he was the bard I have known and loved for 40 plus years. Granted he moves more slowly, but so do I. The song selection was a perfect mix of selections covering the whole range of his work. Everyone goes to concerts hoping to hear certain songs and I'm no exception, but to hear all my favorites from a master like Gordon Lightfoot would require a concert lasting six hours. Suffice it to say that I came away sated and happy. The set design and lighting were perfect mood setters. I couldn't help but think as I was driving home that this was likely the last time I'll ever see him live, a thought that would have been unthinkable not so long ago.
comment 1 - calizen on May 13th, 2012 02:33 pm (UTC)
I was thinking about your statement that the crowd "certainly matched the performer, graceful and gray." I like being with the young and knowing what I can about the ever-changing at warp speed world around me. But I also like being with people who have shared a common experience, a common time as well. We Baby Boomers had our own journey and it is good to sit with each other and remember when and see now how we are. And yes, Gordon Lightfoot was always the bard in my time too. He sang stories with grace, with irony, with emotion. I am grateful for that.
Orono Maine concert
