The Way Feel-2005 Night three report

[charlene]

The Way We Feel - Gordon Lightfoot Tribute Shows-Toronto-Jan.14-15-16, 2005 - Hugh's Room.

Sunday January 16, 2005.

It was a lazy day in Toronto. A short walk along Yonge Street, a shopping spree in SAM’S and we were ready to head back to Hugh’s Room for the last show of this great tribute event.

We were welcomed by young Garritt at the door who told us we had the best table in the place! And he was right! What a great spot to watch the show. Right beside the two stairs down to the lower floor and about 20 feet from stage. Our table was in a little nook with a “half-wall” on two sides – very quiet and private.

Another excellent meal and bottle of Merlot and we were ready to be entertained. Jory had come by with his love, the lovely Sarah. It was great to see her again after meeting her in May/04 at the Live CD recording that Aengus did in Grafton, Ontario. What a beauty she is!

David Newland took the stage and asked who was here etc. and pointed to us and said “You’ve been here 11 times!” LOL . No – just 7 for me and 6 for Jenney!
Close though!

Jason Fowler – “I’ll Tag Along”
Dave Gunning – “Carefree Highway” and “Shadows”
He had his guitar signed by Lightfoot on Friday night.

Mad Violet – “Poor Little Alison” and “If You’ve Got It”

Jenny Whiteley – “10 Degrees and Getting Colder” and “Fine as Fine Can Be”

Jory Nash – “Cotton Jenney” and “Mother of a Miner’s Child” which I KNOW he sang for me since that Lightfoot guy was nowhere to be seen. I’ve heard Jory do this numerous times but this performance had me wiping my eyes.

Rick Fines – “I’m Not Sayin” and “Ribbon of Darkness”.
He also thanked Gord again for showing up at the Peterborough flood relief concert. – “Peterborough – home of the blues.” This drew a lot of laughs as Peterborough is a hot bed of WASPS – White anglo saxon protestants and I’d think it’s safe to say that the only “blues” guy” in town is Rick himself. Pretty funny!

Intermission

Aengus came over for a chat and I said that I was intrigued by his version of “Did She Mention My Name.” He then explained what he thought about the song and what he took from it. He felt it was a guy in jail talking to an old friend who was now “seeing” his girlfriend. “And when the morning came do you remember if she dropped a name or two” – his friend and old girlfriend had spent the night together and perhaps in the morning she spoke of him, spoke his name? He was asking about his hometown that he hadn’t seen for a while and the people back home because he was away from things, sitting in jail. That Aengus is a deep thinker….his own beautiful songwriting is a testament to that fact.

David Newland sang a song of peace – “Leaves of Grass” to a very hushed audience.

Aengus Finnan – Jory Nash – “The Wreck”

Aengus Finnan – “Did She Mention My Name” – I know I listened with a new interest this time. Lovely.

David Newland then told us that the picture of Lightfoot in the Harmony booklet has Gord walking in Toronto, Queen St. I think he said, and in his hand he has a CD. It is a copy of the fabulous “North Wind” by Aengus Finnan. Pretty cool. (David was off to the side leaning on a fire hydrant…lol) I’d like to hear the story behind the picture….

Susy Vinnick – “IYCRMM” and “Cherokee Bend”
She spoke with Lightfoot on Friday night and he asked her what she was singing. She told him “IYCRMM” and “Cherokee Bend.” (a more obscure song but she didn’t say that to him!) When she said “Cherokee Bend” he sang some of the second verse with her and she can now put on her list of credits “sang with Gordon Lightfoot” ! LOL

Jason Fowler – “Cold On The Shoulder” with audience participation.

Justin Rutledge – “Sundown” and “Early Morning Rain”
I found his performance quite riveting…you have to listen carefully for each word. Absolute silence during his performance. Intriguing.

Dave Matheson and Mike Ford – “Steel Rail Blues” and the very funny “mock song” that Gord supposedly played for them in Denmark! Then they belted out “Summer Side of Life”

J.P. Cormier – “Home From The Forest” and “C.R.T.”
On Friday night he knew Lightfoot was at the back in the corner and even two pair of underwear didn’t help his nervousness when he sang his tribute song “The Poet.” After the show he asked Gordie how he liked the song. “Interesting” was Gord said and he was smiling. This song tonight made me teary – it is so heartfelt, much like “Lightfoot” that Aengus wrote. Words and emotions we all feel about Lightfoot put on paper and shared with all of us. Very, very nice.

The whole group assembled on stage, thanks were given and we all sang along to “Alberta Bound” and “Rich Man’s Spiritual”. Every night during “Rich Man’s Spiritual” David Woodhead the bass player made his way for his solo to the front of the stage and got up on a speaker to impress us even more. The first night was quite a shock to us in the audience. I don’t know if he’d done it before at other venues or not but it was quite something. He did it each night and got a bit of a needed boost on the last night. I can’t wait to see the pics!

I can’t say enough about how fabulous these shows are. I wish all of you could see them – the excellence in performances, the heartfelt emotions expressed in the words spoken and songs sung is truly lovely and quite breathtaking at times.

Aengus and Jory do themselves proud, do Lightfoot proud and really do Canada proud in bringing these magnificent songs and awesome performers together for this true labour of love in a grand tribute to Gordon Lightfoot. It just keeps getting better and better. Thank you Aengus, thank you Jory, thank you Gordon Lightfoot.

[jj]

quote:Originally posted by charlene:

David Newland then told us that the picture of Lightfoot in the Harmony booklet has Gord walking in Toronto, Queen St. I think he said, and in his hand he has a CD. It is a copy of the fabulous “North Wind” by Aengus Finnan. Pretty cool


i LOVE those anecdotes you throw in (and David)...i can see the white cardboard sleeve now as i look

btw, Grant Ave co-owner and mastering wizard (Harmony included ) , Paul (JP) Reimens has released his new CD (with Bob Doidge playing here and there also)

these are GREAT, char!

[charlene]

David is a great storyteller - he had more but I didn't write them all down. How cool is it that Lightfoot was holding Aengus's CD?
And in a million years you would never hear Aengus tell that story. One day we may hear how the whole thing came to be....

[Jenney]

Char thank you for writing these reports so eloquently. You do a far better job of it than I ever could. I know you took many notes this year, but even with those, your memory and writing ability far exceed mine!

A couple of comments I'll throw in here, not in any particular order. The last night Dan Kershaw could not be there, so David filled a bit by singing a song he sang last year, Leaves of Grass. I have to say I considered the lyrics far more this time than any time I"ve ever heard it before. I don't know if it was due to the absence of musical accompanying it, but I found it extremely moving. I got a bit misty ( a hard thing to accomplish with me and music!) at the verse, "and the brave keep falling to honor the names, of the ones that have gone before". What a wonderful line.
Char only cried once during the shows that I can remember. It was the last night, and I don't recall if it was Jory or Aengus singing, but it got her!
Aengus's take on DSMMN really was thought provoking. I'd never paid that much attention to the line "and when the morning came And when the morning came
Do you remember if she dropped a name or two?" It says a lot when a performer makes you reconsider a song you've known for 30 years like that.
Last year I became a big fan of Madviolet and Rick Fines after hearing them at Hugh's Room. I bought their cds, and was thrilled to see them both in the tribute shows again. They didn't dissappoint, and were even better than I remembered them as being. I especially enjoyed Rick's spin on I'm Not Sayin'. I wish he would record it, and I wish Madviolet would recorde Poor Little Allison.
I also really enjoyed Dave Matheson and Mike Ford's redition of Summer Side of Life. Their harmonies and enthusiasm made it a great performance. I sing it the exact same way in the car, but don't get nearly as good a response from passersby.
This years knockout performance for me was Suzy Vinnick. She did a good job with IYCRMM, but what she did with I'd Do It Again was spectacular! I got a kick out of watching Kenyon during that, and the last night watching the audiences reaction to it. I would go see her again in a heartbeat, and bought her cd. I sat up and "heard" that song like it was the first time. She put a robust bluesy sound to it, that shook the rafters. I hope Gord appreciated it as much as the rest of us did.
It was great seeing Dan, Nanci, Jimmy and Patti, wonderful to meet Ron Jones, and terrific to see Kenyon again. I still want to take him home as a present for my daughter, but he still won't come! One thing that surprised us was how few known Lightheads there were in the audience. I would have expected to see more people from the newsgroups there, but would be hard pressed to figure out who as there doesn't seem to be that many Lightheads that live near Toronto.
Hey Char, let's do it again next year!!
jenney

[charlene]

You kow I'm there Sparky!
lol
I got weepy when Jory sang (for me) Mother of a Miner's Child on the last night and also the last night when JP Cormier sang Home From the Forest. I was sent into a bit of mistiness when I heard the line in Leaves of Grass as well. That song will never lose its' poignancy. Unfortunately.
Every performer put their unique spin on the songs they sang and all were done with repect and reverance for the original version. I loved it all.
We'll do it again!

sparky 2



[This message has been edited by charlene (edited January 23, 2005).]

[Kenyon]

I must say that I had quite a time at the Saturday Lightfoot Tribute thanks to our very own Char and Jenny for getting me a place at their table. A hearty thank you to the both of you. It was such a great show with so many wonderful versions of Lightfoot's material, but I must say the icing on the cake for me was Suzy Vinnick's version of "I'd Do It Again". I had never really considered this song one of Gord's greats, but after hearing Suzy do such an incredible bluesy rendition, I realized just what a great song it is. Sometimes when other artists give a new take on a familiar tune, it can bring out another side of the artist who wrote it and in this case Suzy really did. Definitely one of Gord's most under-rated songs. The finale was great too seeing all these talented people singing Alberta Bound and Rich Man's Spiritual together...almost brought a tear to my eye.