Milwaukee, 9/24, Review

[vlmagee]

www.onmilwaukee.com/music/soundcheck/articles/lightfoot.html

[charlene]

I'm glad to hear he's feeling so good...and hopefully now that he's home that a doc clears him for the rest of this years tour...
He and the band have quite a jaunt across Canada coming up....makes me wish even more that I could get to one of the shows on that leg of the tour...
thanks Val....

[Moosedog]

Yes, thanks for posting that!

Vickie

[GeoMan]

Hello:

Gord not being able to play at the moment because of health reasons does not bother me (except for him personally). There are and have been so many entertainers who only used the guitar as a stage prop during their careers that Gord's interuption of playing only solidifies him as one of the best ever.

John

[Iron]

Many of Gord's followers do not even realize His acoustic contributions,and those that do surely understand and will not be in anyway dissapointed.I,ve said before,I'll say it again, I'd go to a show just to hear Him shoot the bull for an hour or so!!

Thanks Val

[Glenmark]

I got the impression that he's still playing, but has to adjust his style on some songs and can't play some others (yet). Some performers end up with debilitating arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome and can't play at all, so Gord's fate, though truly sad, at least has not deprived him of his playing ability altogether, and from what I've been reading, there's every reason to hope for a restoration of his temporarily lessened repertoire. You never know, even if he never gets full use back (God forbid), the new style he's compelled to adopt might result in some interesting interpretations of old songs and maybe some new ones to boot. In any event, I'm counting the days until Edmonton on Oct. 5.

[talbot10]

Originally posted by vlmagee:
www.onmilwaukee.com/music/soundcheck/articles/lightfoot.html

Thanks Val,
bill

[geodeticman]

Thanks for the article Val, and I now know what we are.... UBER-FANS ! oon't he iz vundebaar !, ya Mama ? ..... Ya, Papa.
geo Steve

[Jennifer]

Sunday night was my first live Lightfoot concert experience and I'm happy to tell you he looked and sounded GREAT! His voice sounded strong and yes although I did notice he paused on the guitar a few times, it was so subtle and the music went on seamlessly. I am convinced I only noticed it because I've been following his condition on this site/web and was half expecting/looking for it. As a matter of fact he started apologizing for these supposed "limitations" and he mentioned having the stroke at one point and the audience chuckled as if they thought he was being funny and didn't believe him! Then some guy yelled out "You sound just great Gordon!" and everyone started clapping and concuring with this statement. After that he dived right into a great performance of CRT, no problems, really quite flawless and breath-taking. Hearing IYCRMM live took it to a whole new level and brought tears to me eyes. And I was positively delighted to hear The Watchmans Gone, a song I didn't expect him to do.

I admit, I wasn't sure what to expect after reading the previous posts about his health condition, but he really kept me enthralled. I was also struck by his quiet, almost shy demeanor. Gordon is a very interesting as well as talented man, not the personality that one might expect.

I would write more but I am off to work... just thought you'd all like to hear an encouraging report on how GL is doing.

Thanks Gordon, for an incredible night Sunday, come back again! You're awesome!!!!
:D :D :D :D :D

[Auburn Annie]

Thanks for the report from the field, so to speak. Glad to hear he's adapting (no surprise from him) and sounding so well.

[Cathy]

Jennifer, did you notice whether or not he was able to fingerpick? He's a great strummer, but I have to admit, it's his fingerpicking that has always gotten my attention.

[Gitchigumee]

Jennifer, Thank you so much for your update. I saw him in Mpls on 9/17, and was actually contemplating going to Milwaukee to the concert, now I wish I had. He didn't play CRT when I saw him, and to hear that he is playing it again is very encouraging. Awesome!

[Jesse Joe]

Yes indeed, it's starting to look better, thanks Val & Jennifer, for both your updates... ~Jesse~

[ September 26, 2006, 15:04: Message edited by: Jesse -Joe ]

[boomergirl]

Thanks Val, I am looking forward to Calgary Oct 6, front row centre, cannot wait!
Boomergirl

[Jennifer]

Originally posted by Cathy:
Jennifer, did you notice whether or not he was able to fingerpick? He's a great strummer, but I have to admit, it's his fingerpicking that has always gotten my attention.

Hey Cathy,

I'm inclined to say yes... (but I am really not 100% sure to be honest)

[Jennifer]

Originally posted by charlene:
I'm glad to hear he's feeling so good...and hopefully now that he's home that a doc clears him for the rest of this years tour...
He and the band have quite a jaunt across Canada coming up....

Hi Charlene,

During the Milwaukee show Gordon made mention how much he was looking forward to returning home, to Canada, after touring much of the states. It is just a guess but I bet that being in his homeland will definitely help his recovery. *Home*, after all, is a healing place to be

Jen

[johnfowles]

Today whilst searching for something else I found this BBC page:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A25244336
It is a long article in a section of the UK BBC site that was apparently closed back in February this year , but the contributions and postings still remain on line.
"Gordon Lightfoot by Mark Drobnick (concert review), Riverside Theatre, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A. - Sept. 24, 2006"
which was from July 2007 and contained amongst other things the following that I am pretty sure I have not read before,
Of course I might be wrong but if so it is certainly a good (re-)read nevertheless,
I have now checked this earlier thread
which Val started by giving a link to a review at:-
http://onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/lightfoot.html
that review was written by By Jim Vailliencourt
and Published Sept. 25, 2006 at 8:08 a.m.
but the one I just found was by a different reporter and is completely different
a google for a probably unique phrase in this report viz
"prop was a foam replica created" only gave the one BBC result which strikes me as very odd because the poster to the BBC Collective obviously found it somewhere in order to copy the text to post on that website.
Mind you at the bottom it doth say

Posted: 27 July 2007

E-mail: mark_h_drobnick@yahoo.com

Mark Drobnick © 2007
so maybe he wrote it ,
Yes!! another google revealed:-

Mark Drobnick has been a Beatle fan since the mid-1960's and is accomplished at applied piano and guitar. He is a graduate of Carthage College and University of Illinois and is licensed as teacher, real estate broker, and analytical chemist. He currently resides in Waukegan with his wife and three children.
He is obviously one of us so I think that I'll drop an email to Mark referring him to this thread.Hopefully he'll reply and tell us a bit about himself and if that great review was ever published.
I note that Wayne has no review of that concert on his web site just a setlist at:-
http://www.lightfoot.ca/060924.htm
Anyway all of the following quotes from Mark's article are well worth reading and are different to any other statements in reviews that I can remember, or has anybody else here seen them before??
"and, oh yes, a model, nautical freighter, complete with mid-section deck of cargo hatches, through which could be loaded (scale size) iron ore. Okay, so we were going to get to hear "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" tonight. Such was to be expected. After all, it references the Great Lakes, Wisconsin, and as Gordon later instructed, the craft had been built here, in Milwaukee! The prop was a foam replica created by artist, "Jeff Cowell.""
"Gordon began the concert with 12-string acoustic, then alternated to 6-string, recurrently back and forth, throughout the evening. To match his vocal register, he likes them "capo-ed" at the third fret. Lead guitarist, Terry Clements, matched him on pitch, but, for the second half of the program was seen to be at a whole tone higher than Gordon! "
"The rest of the band consists of Barry Keane (drums), Mike Heffernan (keyboards), and Richard Haynes (bass). Gordon praised Heffernan’s musicianship: "my songs are mere child’s play for him." Gord exalted Haynes: "he’s been my guardian angel." The band dressed casually, polo shirts and jeans, as average men, two appearing a bit panzon, and two balding. (By the way, these "average" men played, excellently.)

Then there was Gordon. Somewhat reminiscent of actor Errol Flynn in appearance, always, he looked gaunt and tidy, face expressive. Crowd pleaser that he is, underwent a costume change at intermission. Gordon started the show in long-sleeved, maroon shirt, brown vest, black pants and shoes; finished with black & silver Hawaiian shirt, black pants plus white shoes."

"When Gordon recited the narrative, insert verse of "In My Fashion," about the slide rule, I thought, in these days of the P.C. and electronic calculator, how many even remember or know what he’s referring to? True, it’s not as antiquated as the abacus."

funny! A few months ago, while I was thinking back on my stay at the Hotel Nevada (in the Errol Flynn suite ) years before, it crossed my mind that Gordon does bear a resemblance to the dashing, swashbuckler!

[charlene]

John - if you keep this up I will ask Florian to delete YOU.