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By Photos by Spotlight Central, Love Imagery
Gordon Lightfoot Live! at Ocean City Music Pier
July 28, 2022
The Ocean City, NJ boardwalk is bustling with people heading inside the Ocean City Music Pier on the evening of this Monday, July 18, 2022, a sold-out concert of live music featuring legendary Canadian singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot Is.
As his fans are well aware, over the years, Lightfoot has experienced many personal challenges in his life. Each time, however, he has managed to overcome adversity and spring back with a vengeance. She is a survivor whose work has influenced many top-flight artists, and her songs are beloved by music lovers around the world.
Inside the historic Ocean City Music Pier Auditorium, tonight’s opening act, Jake Wildhorn, takes the stage. The New York City singer/songwriter, son of Broadway musician Frank Wildhorn and famed singer Linda Eder, delivers audiences a 30-minute set of quality material while wowing the crowd with his simple and engaging persona.
Greeting the audience, Wildhorn said, “Obviously, I’m not Gordon Lightfoot.” Adding, “I’ve had the privilege of opening for a few of his last shows, and it’s been an absolute pleasure,” Wildhorn jokes, “and today, I got to experience the whole of Ocean City — I had ice cream and pizza on the Boardwalk and here. Even some birds from Jersey attacked.”
One of the highlights of Wildhorn’s set is his original composition, “My, My, My,” a song he wrote about getting back out and seeing people again after the pandemic. On this folklore number, Wildhorn’s expressive and resonant voice cries with emotion as he sings straight from the heart.
The crowd applauds and Wildhorn remarks, “I heard there’s no alcohol here in Ocean City,” before joking, “It’s a problem because my body doesn’t produce its own alcohol.” A story about a girl named Wildhorn “Mercy” continues with the song, at which she effortlessly swings in and out of her floating falsetto voice.
Following a composition about a recent trip to London, Wildhorn performed “This Better Days”, an upbeat number that he sings with his eyes closed as he speaks to the crowd about his personal musical journey. draws on.
Concluding, “I have another song, and this is a cover,” Wildhorn takes on the Beatles’ interpretation of “Yesterday” by inviting the audience to “sing, clap, or do whatever you want”. . Audience members sing as Wildhorn captivates the crowd, impressing the music lovers in the house who respond to their sets with whistles and applause.
After a brief intermission, the audience jumped to their feet as they cheered on Gordon Lightfoot and his band – guitarist Carter Lancaster, keyboardist Michael Heffernan, bassist Rick Haynes and drummer Barry Keane.
PHOTO: Blue lights and smoke rise as the famous musician plays his acoustic guitar while singing “The Watchmen Gone.”
With his staccato phrase, he sings “Just like the birds of a feather / We’ve followed the golden sun too / It feels great / Know it” on this folk-rocker as Carter Lancaster strums the strings of his electric guitar. Huh. As he chooses a melody.
After a thunderous applause, Lightfoot greets the crowd, saying, “Here we are in this beautiful part of the United States,” and suggests, “For tonight, enjoy everything around you. And forget about all the ‘BS’ going on in the world.”
PHOTO: Fans of white light go out in rays that paint the ceiling with swirls and figures that go to “Too Many Clues in the Room”, a story song with a shifting meter, and the crowd watch Lightfoot attentively as she walks through the country- Winder performs, “Now and Then,” on the up-tempo folk tune, “Ribbon of Darkness Over Me,” before shining colored lights on his guitar.
A highlight of tonight’s set is Lightfoot’s performance of his 1974 #1 hit, “Sundown”. Audience members sing along to the nostalgic “Sundown, you better take care/If I feel like you’re crawling around my back stairs”, and audio enthusiasts in the house are impressed by the pristine sound of Lightfoot’s band.
The crowd cheers, and Lightfoot introduces the members of his musical ensemble. After sharing stories about the group’s current tour of the United States, a patron shouts, “Thanks for coming!”
Lightfoot jokes, “Once upon a time, Bob Dylan referred to me as the Luciano Pavarotti of folk singers,” before he and the band launched in “14 ct gold.” On this short-key folk rocker, Rick Haynes’ bass and Barry Keane’s drum accents sound along with Michael Heffernan’s ethereal keyboard pads, along with Lightfoot and Lancaster’s guitar work.
Audience members giggle with joy when they recognize the introduction to Lightfoot’s 1971 classic, “If You Could Read My Mind”. Music lovers in the crowd accompanied Lightfoot singing “If you could read my mind, what story could love / My thoughts tell,” his songwriting artistry being “Ghosts”, “Wells of Desire”, “Heroes”. Combines images of. ,” and “Movie Queens”, all lost in the name of love. At the end, the audience stands up, cheers and applauds.
Following the slow groove of “Make Way for the Lady” and the story-song “Home from the Forest”, Lightfoot’s composition skills are again on display on the beautiful “Beautiful”, a scintillating composition that featured a unique chord progression and a melody. is the arrangement that swirls around like a warm embrace.
After admitting, “It must be ironic to do a song like this in Ocean City in the summer because it’s a song about winter,” Lightfoot and the band perform “Song for a Winter’s Night”, where acoustic guitar With jingle bells, soft keyboards, and bass on this rhythmic folk-winding.
On Lightfoot’s 1974 Top Ten hit, “Carefree Highway”, audience members join in singing “Carefree Highway/Let Me Slip Away On You” before Lancaster plays a delicious electric guitar riff and a jazzy guitar coda. ends with someone who receives cheers and applause.
Before launching into his 1976 hit, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” Lightfoot recounts the story about the 1975 tragedy on the Great Lakes where 29 people were lost.
PHOTO: Swirls of lights on the ceiling add to the mystical mood of the music as Lightfoot sings, “Legend lives down from Chippewa / Big lake they call Gitche Gumi,” and the crowd nods their heads in rhythm to the story’s compelling lyrics. Is. 6/8 m.
Lightfoot admitted, “I have some tunes recorded by Elvis,” revealing, “We went to Graceland in Memphis and saw the Jungle Room where they recorded my tune.” He plays his 12-string guitar while the band accompanies him on their sweet and gentle folk song, “Early Morning Rain”.
The crowd whistled and applauded, and Lightfoot replied, “Thank you very much,” before he and his band walked off the stage. The audience stands and applauds until he and the musician return to perform a double performance of Lightfoot’s 1975 radio staple, “Rainy Day People.”
The ensemble performance of this easy-to-listen folk-rock tune leaves music lovers standing, cheering and whistling for Lightfoot and his talented band of musicians.
As the audience exits the auditorium and heads back onto the Ocean City Boardwalk, we chat with several concertgoers who share their opinions about tonight’s performances. Ocean City’s Michael said, “Gordon Lightfoot did a great job!” Explaining, “This is the first time I have seen him. He sang all his hits in a packed house, and tonight he really made a good memory for me. Brick’s Frank said, “Gordon Lightfoot gave it all his time tonight, his band was stellar, and the crystal-clear sound and creative stage lighting made it an exceptional live concert experience.”
“I’ve known Gordon for more than 40 years—I was his road manager from 1970 to 1981,” admits Richard of Wyoming, PA, before noting, “The sound was really clean tonight, and Gordon was one of the Soldier – I just loved his show.” Richard’s fiancée, Sherrill from Wyoming, PA, agreed, before revealing, “Richard and I are getting married this September, and we were so happy that Gordon played our wedding song, ‘Sundown’ tonight.”
(NOTE - the song was BEAUTIFUL as RIchard told me later.lol)
We also chat with a group of family members attending tonight’s concert as part of the family reunion in Ocean City. Harriet of North Carolina said, “It was the highlight of our whole reunion! It’s the music of our youth, and Gordon Lightfoot did all his biggest hits. We’re all so glad we came tonight!”
Sandy from Georgia agrees, saying, “Gordon Lightfoot was fantastic! I loved all his songs and I knew every word,” before noting, “It’s wonderful that he’s still performing at his age. – It totally gives hope to all of us.” David of Alabama commented, “He’s such a soldier, and he’s captured every song so well.”
“Gordon Lightfoot’s music makes me feel like I did when I was a kid,” admits Janice, of South Carolina, before admitting, “I’m surprised he remembers every single word in those songs. Me. Just love his music, and I just love that we all get to see him here in Ocean City.” David of South Carolina agrees, before concluding, “If on the shore and on the boardwalk take me back to my younger days. wasn’t enough to go on, so Gordon Lightfoot’s music certainly did!”
OCEAN CITY,New Jersey - July 2022
