Here's a re-cap, pics and links to videos. Ya shoulda been there!
THE WAY WE FEEL
10th Anniversary Celebration of Gordon Lightfoot @ Hugh’s Room, Toronto Jan.19-22, 2012
It’s hard to believe that the first of these amazing shows held at Hugh’s Room was in early 2003! The time has gone so fast, the shows are as fresh as the first year and the talent onstage has been varied, surprising and familiar all at the same time. I love seeing the ‘regulars’ I’ve come to love but also look forward to the ‘new’ talent that comes to pay homage to The Man.
This year I attended nites 3 and 4 of 4 only but oh my they were spectacular! Jory has taken the shows he co-founded with Aengus Finnan and worked miracles with scheduling, songs and the talent presented. The first 5 years were a joint effort between the two of them and since Aengus moved on to other pursuits 5 years ago Jory has lovingly respected their vision and presented the music of Gordon Lightfoot with passion and professionalism.
Each of the nights this year had a slight change in the artists who would perform. I knew I had to be there on Saturday and Sunday nites tho. They would be the most varied of the nites and oh what fabulous nites they were. I took quite a few videos with a new camera. Seeing them makes me wish I had all 10 years on video! Some of the performers comments/stories/memories told onstage are also included in the videos I have linked. All the performers have websites etc. and videos online.
Saturday January 21, 2012 (nite 3 of 4)
Toronto has been experiencing a very mild winter with very little snow. We get a few inches and it melts the next day. There have been a few bone chilling days with high winds but the weekend was pretty mild with a small snowfall that quickly melted. The streets were not brown and gritty.
My daughter Lisa and I headed to the city by train and checked into the hotel mid-afternoon. A quick subway ride and we were walking into Hugh’s well ahead of show-time. It’s nice to be there when it’s quiet and a few of the performers are doing sound checks and we can say HI to them without a crowd and noise around. They are all truly lovely people.
In no time it seemed the show was ready to start and Jory was introducing David Newland, the wonderfully talented emcee for the past 10 years who also sings a tune to open the tribute. The house band would comprise David Matheson (piano, guitar, vocals), David Woodhead (bass guitar), Christine Bougie (pedal steel & percussion) and Jason Fowler (guitars and vocals)
1.DAVID NEWLAND (and his more than adorable uke) – DID SHE MENTION MY NAME – so sweet!
http://www.davidnewland.com/ David has a new CD being released in a couple of weeks!
http://www.rootsmusic.ca/about/ David always brings and keeps the shows running smoothly with his introductions full of knowledge and stories about the performers, and a bit of humour thrown in for good measure.
2.DAVID MATHESON – DRIFTERS and DON’T BEAT ME DOWN. – Dave tours with Ron Sexsmith who did “Drifters” on the Lightfoot tribute cd “Beautiful”. He also sang “Don’t Beat Me Down” with Jory Nash singing backup.
http://www.davidmatheson.ca/ David is so multi-talented it’s hard to keep track of everything he does onstage. The addition of his piano playing to the Lightfoot tunes would be lovely to hear at a Lightfoot concert @ Massey Hall the way Lightfoot once did way back when.
3.KEN WHITELEY – COLD ON THE SHOULDER and THE LONG RIVER. With backup singers Suzie Vinnick and Annabelle Chvostek Ken performed a soulful, gospel tinged version of “The Long River”.
http://www.kenwhiteley.com/ Ken Whiteley is a Canadian roots music legend. His musical journey has taken him from jug band, folk and swing to blues, gospel and children's music. Among numerous accolades, he has been awarded a Canadian Folk Music Award, Genie Award for Best Original Song in a Canadian film, Lifetime Achievement recognition from the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals and Mariposa Folk Festival. He has also been nominated for 7 Juno awards and 14 Maple Blues Awards. Ken’s live performances showcase his outstanding musicianship on guitars and mandolin, award winning original songs and his powerful vocals, called "...a cross between Pete Seeger and Tony Bennett on 11!" Whether leading his own group, solo or collaborating with peers at blues, folk, children’s festivals and concerts of all sizes, his “...deep knowledge and infectious passion” guarantee good times for all. As a producer of over 125 recording projects, Ken’s productions have garnered 10 Canadian Gold and Platinum records, 4 American Gold records, 22 Juno and 2 Grammy nominations, and sold over 8 million copies.
4.ANNABELLE CHVOSTEK – EARLY MORNING RAIN. – she had seen Lightfoot on TV when he ventured to the Occupy Toronto site to visit his youngest daughter Meredith who was part of the group living there. He was asked by a reporter which of his songs would best represent the “Occupy” movement. His reply was RESTLESS. Annabelle had never heard the tune but learned it to perform for us. Annabelle has a rich, emotional voice perfectly suited for Lightfoot tunes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annabelle_Chvostek
5.AENGUS FINNAN – MIGUEL and the very appropriate THE WAY I FEEL. Having Aengus back onstage was a thrill for everyone who has previously attended the shows in the first 5 years. He sounded wonderful. While he has been in attendance and even sang with the group in the FINALE a couple of times over the years he has not had his own slot in the line-up. This year he was where he belongs and all was right with the Lightfoot celebrations once again. IMHO. It was heart warming to hear people come and tell him how happy they were to see him onstage again and how much they loved his singing and his voice. I myself could not stop from giving him a big kiss on the forehead! His shy smile and thankyou’s led me to hope and believe that he will keep his music as more of a focus in his life and we will be able to look forward to seeing him onstage more often and perhaps hear of some new tunes written by this uber talent. A GOOGLE search produces videos, pictures and info about Aengus.
and
6.JORY NASH – CANADIAN RAILROAD TRILOGY and MOTHER OF A MINERS CHILD. – Jory says that every folkie has a train song and there are more train songs than trains but only one person has written one about the building of a railway. He had all of us riding the rails across Canada as he performed a very intense rendition of “CRT”. Jory had us laughing with his story of when he took a date to a Lightfoot concert and hoping to impress her he shouted out the name of her favourite song during a Lightfoot concert despite hating the yahoos who do that. Lightfoot acknowledged the dreaded shout-out, sang a few lines and Jory thought he had it made with the girl when she took his hand while they sat in the gallery of Massey Hall. She dumped his ass a week later. lol! He then sang my personal favourite of the Lightfoot tunes he does – “Mother of a Miners Child”. WOW. He had us spellbound.
http://www.jorynash.com/bio.cfm His attention to detail makes these shows run smooth and turn into sold out events every year. And all of you know who else has that detail oriented perfectionist mindset too! – it’s why Lightfoot shows up at these shows when he can. His respect for the performers and the excellence which is apparent with everyone onstage has a lot to do with how Jory brings it all together.
10th Anniv.Lightfoot celebrations @ Hugh's Room,TOronto-3rd of 4 nites
He loved it too.
