Gettin' It Done In Hamilton-Nov.2004

[charlene]

Well after a short, much needed nap to rejuvenate my memory I shall attempt to express how incredible the Hamilton Experience was.

Of course there is always the joy of seeing old friends again and the pleasure of meeting new ones. But for those who travelled from overseas to the ones who drove 10 hours or took a train from around Lake Ontario, those who have seen The Man many times to those who have never seen at all him we all were in the same state of anticipation, nervousness, slight worry and downright bloody giddiness that he was back and we were going to see him.

The Man was no less than inspirational. To have recovered his health from that horrible devastation almost 2 1/2 years ago to the point of robust energy, proud swaggering, big huge goofy grins and humble smiles is one amazing thing. BUT to also apply a work ethic that must be astounding in its depth, to his craft, his real love, the music ALONG with the dedication to his physical recovery was truly miraculous. He is the embodiment of "gettin' it done." And he got it done for his fans. He got it done in spades.

The boys in the band assumed their spots, the applause began, people rose in their seats and The Man strode out with the most glorious smile and humble nod of his head. He looked damned happy to be back and we let him know we were damned happy to see him. Being the humble man and not wanting to waste time while this wave of respect and love filled the hall he started playing, forcing us to stop the silliness and get on with the music! And he knew best. I'm sure everyone was breathless and still just waiting for that first finger to hit a guitar string and the magic to begin with the first Lightfoot musical word. Omigod he was singing Spanish Moss! A burst of applause and we all settled back to take in the magic. It was just that - magic.

His voice in the first few songs faded here and there, some lyrics were barely audible at times but he was strong, he looked great in his black jeans, brown boots, burgundy dress shirt and brown-toned vest. At times it was as if the 70's had taken over. Several people mentioned this later - it was a look he wore well back then and he pulled it off again on Nov.28, 2004.

He played a few tunes before addressing the reason why he was there that night. It was very moving to hear him speak so lovingly about the people and place that saved his life. And as you all can guess I got weepy. For the first time. He joked about the nurses telling him after a couple of days in recovery after he awoke to "get your own basin" for bathing himself. And no one loves a Gord joke more than Gord. His laughter was more music to my ears. All the mannerisms, the arms spread and the hands so expressful, the shaking of his head as he chuckled to himself and the leaning forward towards the audience on one leg-it was all there.He was back. And he was having a great time.

Looking around at people in other rows I couldn't help but note the constant smiles - he had us hook, line and sinker. When a song went particularly well he ended it with that lean forward, last flourish on the guitar and the gaze into the audience that said "damn! that was GOOD!" He was pleased with himself and it showed. The band was tip top and not being a techie or musician myself they sounded perfect to me. There were glitches here and there apparently but completely irrelevant to me.

He explained the writing of Harmony and hearing him speak of the "low times, the dips and dives when emotional trauma occurs" like it did for him I could only think that along with the physical trauma and the trauma of worrying about losing his livelihood he was thrust into re-living the emotions of those songs he wrote for the Harmony CD. Others would possibly break from it all but the heart and spirit were obviously strong. And obviously I wept again. The little cracks and imperfections in his voice made me breathless during this song of hurt.

He spoke again about the nurses and doctors and during one list of thank you's he mentioned family and friends AND "The Net People" who were in the audience. And of course the thirty or so of scattered around Hamilton Place let him know we were there. And he smiled.

And he sang a timeless song - Sit Down Yong Stranger to a hushed audience who perhaps understood the message in the music.

His absolute joy in talking about Orillia and Couchiching was, for me at least, quite touching. His obsession with words is one reason why we have had Lightfoot music for so long and I marvelled at how he could take this odd sounding word, the name of the lake his hometown sits on, and make it into a love song for his boyhood home.

The first night brought concern (and a slight myocardial infarction to me) when during IYCRMM he stopped using his right hand and his arm hung unmoving at his side. He slowly tuned and walked back towards Rick while he kept his left hand on the guitar neck playing the chords. Mike looked over to see what was going on and Barry and Terry looked concerned. The song kept going and after what seemed to be a lifetime he turned around, walked slowly back to his microphone, raised his hand to his guitar and continued to sing and play. Another lifetime later my heart began to beat again. It was sometime during the encore I think.....and he nailed EMR to the wall. The depth of his voice and resonance was amazing-like 20 years earlier really.

The next day the review in the Hamilton Spectator said that very same thing we all said after the show. And he knew it too.

The second night started off and he nailed every song from the get-go...the guitar playing was on and the voice was there for the whole night so there were several of those "Damn that was GOOD" gazes into the audience that cracked me up.

He strode out on to the stage in a beautiful pair of black dress pants, a black shirt with a white starburst pattern, black belt and black leather dress shoes. He looked damn fine! The effect was quite amazing. Several of us were quite awestruck actually! LOL - He looked soooooo good!

At one point he did a "guy" thing- perhaps not realizing how close he was to the microphone he gave a good "snort" and swallow. A few beats later he laughingly said "that went down good." Well the whole place cracked up. The laughter went on and he stepped back and had a good chuckle with the band. I thought to myself "you can dress him up but you can't take him anywhere!" I think I laughed about it every once in a while for most of the night. And apparently a lot of others did too. What a guy.

He told of making a promise to a nurse that he would sing Bitter Green for her when he got back on stage. And being the honourable man he is he sang "Bittergreen" for her. He tried to find her in the audience for a few moments before starting but then went ahead and kept that very important promise. It was lovely.

The new songs from Harmony blended perfectly into the set list and it was another weepy moment for me when he sang Clouds of Loneliness. I heard and felt the emotion in that song being performed live much more than when I've played the CD. It was quite moving.

When he started to play "In My Fashion" I thought how much more poignant that song must be for him and his children now, many of whom were there over the two nights.

All I thought of was the wailing I would hear from over the pond when "someone" told her he did Christian Island." I asked for a volunteer for that task and see someone has already performed the nasty deed. I'm hearing the echoes still....I may never be able to listen to C.I. again.

It was a most amazing time....a time for friends to get together and get re-acquainted, to remember past Lightfoot trips and shows, to talk of our lives, jobs and families, our own struggles over the last couple of years but to ultimately get together to say thanks, we love you, we love your music and we're glad you're back to The Man.

And thanks for gettin' it done.


p.s.

And I did have the chance to say "thank you" to him and then I gave him another kiss.

Char
serial weeper and kisser

NIGHT ONE - SETLIST:
Hamilton Place - November 28, 2004
Spanish Moss
Let It Ride
Minstrel Of The Dawn
Rainy Day People
In My Fashion
Harmony
Triangle
River Of Light
Cotton Jenny
The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald
Sundown
Clouds Of Loneliness
Sit Down Young Stranger
Christian Island
Couchiching
If You Could Read My Mind
Old Dan's Records
Early Morning Rain

NIGHT TWO - SETLIST
Hamilton Place - November 29, 2004
All The Lovely Ladies
Spanish Moss
Let It Ride
Minstrel Of The Dawn
Rainy Day People
In My Fashion
Harmony
Triangle
Cotton Jenny
The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald
Sundown
If You Could Read My Mind
Clouds Of Loneliness
Bitter Green
On The High Seas
Old Dan's Records
Early Morning Rain

[BILLW]

Char,

That's an awesome post. Thanks.

Bill

Char, I'm a mess after reading your post. How beautiful and how awesome. Thank you, thank you, a 100 times thank you!!! <huge sigh>. I feel like I was there now, I can see everything you talked about so clearly, how wonderful of you to communicate it to us so well that I can FEEL it!! The love, everything...thank you, again.

Sheryl

[Betty]

Thank you so much for that detailed report, Char! While reading it I felt like I was there! I will be in Toronto in May, I swear!

Can't wait to meet you...

------------------
Betty

Longtime lurker and GL fan. This is my first post. Thanks so much for that fabulous recap of the evening. Sure wish he would find his way back to Nashville next year!

Longtime lurker and GL fan. This is my first post. Thanks so much for that fabulous recap of the evening. Sure wish he would find his way back to Nashville next year!

[banjo]

Great post Char.

I have only one thought to add.

I was at Sunday's show and loved it and am delighted to hear that Monday was even better.

A year ago Thanksgiving (Canadian) the Globe in Toronto ran a lengthy feature and interview about and with Gord. At the time I thought the most moving part of the feature was when the reprter wrote....and I'm paraphrasing.....this is a man who more than anything wants his show back.............

On Sunday as I listened, I smiled over and over and thought......he's got his show back.....the audience knows it and so does Gord.

Salute!

Amen to that!

Sheryl

[Dixie Cick]

Char,

You've brought back sooooo many wonderful memories for me from past Lightfoot concerts. What a fantastic post! Made me teary eyed! I am counting the days until April for his Cerritos show!

And to any relations of Gordo who may be reading and/or lurking around these posts (or... maybe THE MAN his own bad self !!) we love you Gordie! Here's to you singing and writing until you're 106, at LEAST! m.

[LSH]

hey char, little side note, after he said "that went down good" and everyone was laughing, he muttered, "typical guy".
which gave the first few rows more to laugh about.
On Sunday night, he also did River of Light live for the first time. my favorite off the Harmony album.

quote:Originally posted by charlene:

All I thought of was the wailing I would hear from over the pond when "someone" told her he did Christian Island." I asked for a volunteer for that task and see someone has already performed the nasty deed. I'm hearing the echoes still....I may never be able to listen to C.I. again.

[/B]

Char -- who were you referring to? I guess since I'm rather new here, I don't get the inference.

Sheryl

[Rona]

Char,

I can't thank you enough for that post. I am crying, smiling, laughing all at once. You made it real for those of us not luckyenough to be there.

[Janice]

quote:Originally posted by Sheryl Klein:
Char -- who were you referring to? I guess since I'm rather new here, I don't get the inference.

Sheryl

Sheryl, our own Bru (Silverheels) lives "across the pond" in England and Christian Island is her favorite song. When Bru is bummed out she "wails" and those of us who know her, know she was going to be really bummed that she missed hearing him perform this song. Right Bru??

Char, I read your post to the NG but had to read it again when I saw it here. I felt the same pleasure reading it the second time and the same bit still made me laugh and continues to produce occasional giggles as I think of it. Once again your words painted a vivid picture that transported me to that moment in time. I truly hope you are saving all these reviews you have shared with us over the years - they would make a lovely book that any Lightfoot fan would enjoy the heck out of. Hey, maybe LSH can illustrate it for you! I think the two talents would be a nice pairing

[This message has been edited by Janice (edited December 04, 2004).]

[Kel]

Beautiful review. Lovely to read. A true fan couldn't have put the evening into truer words. The imagery it provokes makes me feel almost as if I was there...

[SilverHeels]

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWl!!!

deep breath
HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*sob*

but a great post, Char.

deep breath:
HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWL!

I guess I am the guilty one for mentioning that he performed it...

[SilverHeels]

quote:Originally posted by Gord:
I guess I am the guilty one for mentioning that he performed it...

I'm glad you mentioned it. It proves he thought I was in the audience.

[charlene]

With all of us thinking the same thing and invoking your name I'm sure he was aware of your presence!
lol

[charlene]

With all of us thinking the same thing and invoking your name I'm sure he was aware of your presence!
lol

[SilverHeels]

quote:Originally posted by charlene:
With all of us thinking the same thing and invoking your name I'm sure he was aware of your presence!
lol

[jj]

Char, with the unfortunate passing of perhaps our greatest Canadian author, it's wonderful that someone is already filling his shoes..."cheers"

(or as Pierre might say, "puff" lol

ps) i was on another planet during every note of Spanish Moss (your lucky didn't fall over the balcony durin the first bar, and interupt the concert, i leaned just a bit TOO far forward in awe, lol) , Let It Ride, Minstrel of the Dawn, Harmony, River of Light, Clouds of Loneliness, Sit Down Young Stranger, Christian Island, Couchiching, Early Mornin' Rain and was REALLY loving Gord's rich In My Fashion 'rap' ...while i envied the 3rd row-ers, etc, i really loved looking oe'r the sea of folks during the standing O, that's all i was really there for, ther rest was all bonus, bonus, bonus, etc

[charlene]

yes, sadly we lost a great one. Pierre Berton who wrote those great books "The Last Spike" and "The National Dream" on our railroads (among many other fabulous "canadiana" type books is gone. He oncesaid to Gord in an elevator one day, "You know, Gord, you said as much in that song as I said in my book (about the building of the railroad across Canada)." Gord appreciated the compliment. quote from Songbook)
The funniest thing was two weeks ago on Rick Mercer's show when he was showing how to roll a doobie. I never laffed so freakin' hard in my life. see video at: http://www.cbc.ca/mondayreport/
Both Pierre and Gord were members of the Canadian Railway Hall of Fame. Pierre in 2002 and Gord in 2003 as a special award. http://www.railfame.ca/2003/member/Lightfoot-Gordon <A HREF="http://www.railfame.ca/2002/honour/Berton-Pierre" TARGET=_blank>
http://www.railfame.ca/2002/honour/Berton-Pierre[/url]



[This message has been edited by charlene (edited December 02, 2004).]

[jj]

quote:Originally posted by charlene:
The funniest thing was two weeks ago on Rick Mercer's show when he was showing how to roll a doobie. I never laffed so freakin' hard in my life

lol, i've never heard of that "coner" expression before...duh, hey, i suddenly just realized why all the Lightheads couldn't be found having a beer inside shortly before the concert...only in Canada, eh? lol
http://www.cbc.ca/mondayreport/monre...p_pierreburton

[Auburn Annie]

LOL - thanks for sharing - you'd never see that on a US station these days; maybe the old SNL or Smothers Brothers.

[jj]

quote:Originally posted by jj:
...the Lightheads couldn't be found having a beer inside shortly before the concert...

ok, sorry, i really shouldn't have implied such nonsense... you guys probably just stepped out for some fresh pre-concert air, ahhh

you'd just finished your big meal at Walt's...(Walt's Beanery, )