Final Concert of 2008

[Texan Tom]

This report is a bit late, but I thought I would pass along a brief review of Gord’s last concert for 2008. The venue was the Civic Center in Amarillo, Texas, which is about a two hour drive from our residence in Lubbock. Lightfoot announced prior to the next to last song, that it was their 62nd concert in 2008, and the last, and that he and the band would be headed home to Toronto that night.

Seven of us made the pilgrimage, and were all glad of it. Steve, my college roommate, and a first grade through high school classmate at the same West Texas rural school, was pleased to come, along with his spouse Brenda and adult daughter Liz. My wife Mary and I owe a deep debt to this couple. It was actually Steve who first introduced me to Lightfoot music at the dorm in the early 70s and a couple of years later Brenda introduced me to Mary. The other couple, Mike and Mary, are dear friends who go back more than 30 years.

Not that it mattered, but we were an intensely diverse group politically. Steve and Brenda are staunch Democrats and enthusiastic Obama supporters. Mike and Mary are conservative Republicans. Mary and I are disillusioned Republicans who recently have tended to vote Libertarian, largely as a futile, Don Quixote like protest . It could have been an explosive evening, but we all made a “concerted” effort to put politics aside this evening for the greater good.

My wife and I were the only ones who had previously attended a Lightfoot concert. We managed it in the early 80s and again last year in Ft. Worth. I put together a “preview and review” for Mike and Mary about a week in advance, showing them video clips ranging from the debut of CRT to the duet with Johnny Cash to Inspiration Lady and much more. Steve and Brenda were not involved in this as they do not live in our immediate area. I should note that Mary and I are the most devoted Lightfoot fans of this group, but the others were definitely on board for a fun evening, and I don’t believe that any of us were disappointed.

I learned from last year’s Ft. Worth experience to get tickets as early as possible! We pulled all the strings we could back then and were still seated in a nose-bleed section. This time, thanks to an e-mail alert from Valerie Magee I knew about the concert months in advance and began calling before the folks in Amarillo were even aware of Mr. Lightfoot’s impending visit (“Hey Joe, you heard anything about a Gordon Lightfoot concert?” “Nope, me neither. They never tell us nothin’ around here.”) I kept calling and the day before tickets were scheduled to go on sale, managed to get some great seats relatively close to the stage.

The show started at 7 on the dot with “Triangle”. Lightfoot’s hair was longer than I have seen it—possibly shoulder length. I must say that he looked more frail than we remembered from last year. Not surprisingly, he struggled at times with the vocals. “Don Quixote”, in particular, was almost painful—he seemed almost hoarse through much of it and struggled with his air, probably a lingering symptom of the multiple abdominal surgeries a couple of years ago. On the other hand, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald was just about flawless as was IYCRMM, other than a minor slip in the second stanza when he flubbed a couple of lyrics (actually seemed to forget for just a second). He recovered nicely from that and did the best rendition of that song I have heard live. Our group, as well as the entire audience wildly appreciated all of his efforts. I heard no disparaging comments at all. We heard him sing numbers we had not heard before live—including “The Minstrel of the Dawn” and “If Children Had Wings” (otherwise known as “By and By” to another reviewer). Liz, the youngest of the group at possibly 21, and the least initiated to this music said that she thoroughly enjoyed it was really glad that she got to come.

Lightfoot characteristically did not talk a great deal, but did tell the two jokes which were related by other reviews. He commented that they had toured for many years but he could not remember being in Amarillo before. He looked at the band for confirmation and a lady from the audience yelled, “We’ve been waiting!” Another yelled, “We love you Gord!” Needless to say, there was no lack of affection shown by this audience.

The set list was constructed a few days later and probably has several songs out of order. For those who are statistically minded, I counted songs from “Shadows”.

Triangle
Cotton Jenny
14 Carat Gold
Never Too Close
In My Fashion
Carefree Hiway
Shadows
The Watchman’s Out
Rainy Day People
Beautiful
Ribbon of Darkness
Sundown

Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Clouds of Loneliness
Restless
Waiting for You
Minstrel of the Dawn
If Children Had Wings
Alberta Bound
If You Could Read My Mind
Baby Step Back
Early Morning Rain

Blackberry Wine

At the end of the evening, I was delighted that our friend Mary grinned and said, “Thomas, you hit a home run with this one!” The truth is, however, that Lightfoot hit the home run, and my only contribution was making sure that the seven of us were there to witness it.

[jj]

Originally Posted by Texan Tom

Liz, the youngest of the group at possibly 21, and the least initiated to this music said that she thoroughly enjoyed it was really glad that she got to come

this is wonderful to hear

sounds like a great evening and thanks for sharing

[vlmagee]

Hi Tom,

Great to hear that your concert experience was so good! I'm glad to have been a "facilitator" as it were.

[charlene]

Happy to hear all went well and even the young'un had a great time..
Thanks for the report!

[imported_Next_Saturday]

Thanks for the review Tom. For the sake of accuracy--"The Watchman's Gone"...

[Texan Tom]

To "Saturday": Thanks for the correction. I guess that is what I get for making fun of whoever posted the "By and By" song title.

[BILLW]

Great review Texan Tom. Thanks for sharing !

Bill

[mandoann]

Excellent review; thank you!

[Jesse Joe]

Great review thanks for sharing Texan Tom.

[Texan Tom]

Thanks to all for your kind words.

I know that this is "preaching to the choir" with regard to regulars of this board, but if there are lurkers out there who have resisted attending a concert on the basis that Gord may not sound like he does on the albums, I would encourage you to reconsider. He is, after all, still Gordon Lightfoot and is a brilliant performer. Moreover, you owe it to yourselves and to Lightfoot to pay tribute to this one of a kind artist not only for a single concert performance you may choose to attend, but also for a fantastic and unforgettable career which has brought countless hours of listening pleasure to so many of us.

My advice is to forsake further delays and go for it! Lightfoot, just like the rest of us, is not getting any younger. Pick a concert and get tickets early! You will not regret it.

[mandoann]

Originally Posted by Texan Tom

Thanks to all for your kind words.

I know that this is "preaching to the choir" with regard to regulars of this board, but if there are lurkers out there who have resisted attending a concert on the basis that Gord may not sound like he does on the albums, I would encourage you to reconsider. He is, after all, still Gordon Lightfoot and is a brilliant performer. Moreover, you owe it to yourselves and to Lightfoot to pay tribute to this one of a kind artist not only for a single concert performance you may choose to attend, but also for a fantastic and unforgettable career which has brought countless hours of listening pleasure to so many of us.

My advice is to forsake further delays and go for it! Lightfoot, just like the rest of us, is not getting any younger. Pick a concert and get tickets early! You will not regret it.

Well said, Texas Tom! Gord, like all of us, is a "work in progress", as I see him.