Okay folks - I have recovered enough to get night one down on paper. Thank goodness I take notes during the shows!
If Jenney remembers any other details she'll add them when she gets a moment to recover! We had another great time together Sparky!
Friday night pics will be scanned asap - Saturday and Snday have yet to be developed!
Here goes - add what you want Jenney and Jory!
The Way We Feel - Gordon Lightfoot Tribute Shows-Toronto-Jan.14-15-16, 2005 - Hugh's Room.
Friday January 14, 2005.
I can't believe this is the third year I've headed to downtown Toronto to see this amazing show that Aengus and Jory produce and perform in. It's astounding how much work must be involved co-coordinating all the artists with travel arrangements, hotel accommodations, rehearsals, food etc. for all the venues they play. They get a lot of help from super organizer Rachel. It was a pleasure to finally speak with her this year. She does an incredible job and it's obvious she loves doing it. This year the show was in Ottawa, St. Catherines, Port Hope and London, Ontario and then 3 nights in Toronto. This past November saw Jory, Aengus and Terry Tufts take the Tribute Show to the U.S. east coast for several shows at different venues in several states. I flew down to see them in Wayne N.J. and met up with John, Susan, Joan and Bill. Jenney and Skip played magnificent hosts to me for the few days I was there. The venue in Wayne was a "living room" concert with 30 audience members and for the most part was acoustic. In a big old log cabin with a vaulted ceiling the acoustics were stunning. I'm glad we got together to experience the "mini" version in such a unique setting.
So there I was at 4:30 sitting on the GO train from Whitby looking out over Lake Ontario and waiting for that moment when the skyline of Toronto comes into view. And as Gord says "the trains run on time" and I was jumping into Jenney's RAV on Front Street at 5:30. She had trekked the long journey from south of Hartford Connecticut the day before and after 12 hours or so made her way to the hotel and watched the remaining part of the TSUNAMI Relief concert on CBC that featured many, many Canadian artists of all types. I watched at home but alas, no Lightfoot.
After a short stop to deposit my suitcase at the hotel and tart ourselves up we headed due west along Dundas to Hugh's Room and our reservation at 7 p.m. Once again we were seated down front at the same table we had for all three nights last year! lol - Too funny! And of course the ever adorable Jory was over to see us right away. I sometimes fear that I scare him a bit but he keeps coming back for more hugs and kisses so I think everything is alright. He told us that unfortunately Lynn Miles had been unable to make any shows due to bronchitis but Dan Kershaw was stepping in to do a couple of tunes and one would be off the new Lightfoot "Harmony" album! Very cool! And as he did last year Jory asked me what I would like to hear. I love that he does that....even though when I told him that of course I wanted to hear him sing "Mother of a Miner's Child" he said 'Nope-not doing it!" Little bugger! Build me up and then crush me like that! He told us he was doing "Cotton Jenny" and "Minstrel of The Dawn." Still very exciting! He spent a while telling us about the other shows on the tour and how all the artists were glad to be back at Hugh's Room for the last three nights. It really is a great venue for seeing folk/roots artists. There was a scheduled show for Peterborough (where Lightfoot performed for the Flood Relief concert with Ronnie Hawkins) but not enough tix were sold to make the venue break even for them so it was cancelled. Dear Aengus headed to Peterborough that night to meet any ticket holders who did not know of the cancellation and refund their money! Is it any wonder I love these guys? David Newland (MC and performer) came over and got his hug and a few words of encouragement. He has done the most remarkable job of introducing every artist - he speaks so eloquently and so much from the heart that you can tell he is very good friends with many performers and a huge fan as well. The flow of the evening is very much dependant on his introductions, stories of the artists and their accomplishments. Up near the bar/lobby area I gave Aengus his hugs and we had a nice chat. Aengus has spent time these past few months in Inuvik, Northwest Territories introducing a music programme to the Inuit students. All of those children are the better for having had him do that as there wasn't a programme in place prior to his arrival.
Jenney and I had dinner and wine and scanned the room for any familiar faces as JJ (james/Jimmy Jones) had e-mailed me just before I left to let me know that he had babysitting for Harrison and was heading to Toronto to see the show even if it meant standing room area only. YAY!! It was great to see him again and that he made it into town. He surprised me the first year at Hugh's Room when he came over to my table. He was a table away but with his back to me so I didn't know it was him! He didn't make it to any of the shows last January and was eager to see at least one this year.
A lady (Lillian from "Acoustic Harvest"
http://acousticharvest.cjb.net in Toronto) came to the table to ask if I was Char and that someone was there to meet me. I was so happy to finally meet Ron Jones from Vancouver! Lillian and Ron are old friends. (Ron is originally from The Rock – Newfoundland, and I loved hearing the accent in his speech!) Now that was one excited guy - he was lovely and enthusiastic and spoke with Jenney and me for a while. He had a great seat for the show. He had been in Ontario for a few weeks visiting family in Ottawa – a new grand-daughter - and in Toronto. He saw the show in Ottawa the week before and would be seeing the Friday and Saturday night shows at Hugh's Room. Too exciting!
David Newland-
www.davidnewland.com took the stage to begin the show on time at 8:30 as Jory had told me earlier. There were so many performers, songs and stories to hear!
First up was a member of the house band who has also been a "day-oner" with the shows - Jason Fowler.
www.jasonfowler.ca - Jason plays guitar for a Canadian family group "The Cottars" and also with John McDermott when they tour. He was in England and Japan just before Christmas. His website lists all of his guitar playing accomplishments - he's quite the player AND he writes and sings as well. I picked up his latest CD "Temporary Ground" last year and I love it. His first song of the night was "I'll Tag Along" ---remember last years' trip report??...I ended it with a reference to being in attendance for the 2005 shows and "I'll Tag Along, wanna come?" so it was perfect to start to the evening! He does a wonderful version and like all of the performers I wish they would record their "tribute" songs on one of their albums.
Dave Gunning -
www.davegunning.com - a tall lanky guy with a huge smile who comes from Pictou, Nova Scotia. He's up for some ECMA's (East Coast Music Awards –(
www.ecma.ca/index.asp?section=2005MusicNominees#Awd7 ) and did a rousing "Carefree Highway." Dave told us that J.P.Cormier had suggested to Stompin' Tom Conners that he have Dave play stand up bass for him on tour a couple of years ago. Stompin' Tom is another great Canadian performer - been around for years, sings great songs with a lot of Canadian content and issues and is dearly beloved from coast to coast to coast. He hails from The Rock and puts on quite the show. Well Dave was doing a show with Tom at the Governor General's residence, Rideau Hall in Ottawa and when he came off stage through the curtain he bumped someone on the leg with his bass. As he was apologizing he saw it was none other than Gordon Lightfoot! He reached out, shook his hand and said very enthusiastically "You're my favourite!!" LOL - and seeing him on stage recount this story I am sure it was just as endearing to Gord. Gord then asked Dave how he liked touring with Tom as he'd learn an awful lot from him. Dave then told us that there's that show called "Riverdance" and then there's the Stompin' Tom show - Liverdance! Where you learn to drink and hold your liquor. Apparently Tom is quite the beer drinker and smoker. Dave then performed his favourite love song - "Shadows." It was lovely and I wish him well at the ECMA's!
Madviolet was next. -
www.madviolet.com - These two beautiful young ladies were on the show last year and were amazing. They sang harmonies that blew us all away. Last year they did "Poor Little Alison" and "The Way I Feel" and this year they did "Poor Little Alison" again but then sang the most amazing version of "If You've Got it." It was slow and sultry and wickedly good. Brenley and Lisa harmonize like siblings not just friends. They really enjoy themselves on stage and feed off of each other so well. Brenley, with assistance from Lisa, told her story of shaking Gord's hand last year and saying "Those are the softest hands of any man I've ever touched" to which Gord after mishearing "hands" for "pants" replied "Thanks, they're my favourite pair." It is still a funny story! The girls are heading to Australia to do some festivals in March with their new CD. They will be making a video and are also up for some ECMA's!
Dan Kershaw performed last year and was very gracious to step in for the ailing Lynn Miles. He was joined on stage by Joey Wright -
www.independentbands.com/cd/joeywright/seasons.html (husband of Jenney Whiteley). Dan is a member of a couple of groups and a winner of numerous awards. -www.deepbluefunk.ca/broscosmoline.htm and you can hear his 2002 award winning song at -
http://www.ocff.ca/02songs.htm . Dan sang a quiet version of "I Heard You Talking In Your Sleep" and "No Hotel." He mentioned he had only just very recently heard the new "Harmony" cd and loved "No Hotel." He stayed true to the sound of the Lightfoot version. It was nice to hear a new song being sung!
Jenny Whiteley -
www.maplemusic.com/artists/jwh/default.asp Jenny is a Juno award winner from 2001. Aengus performs her song "John Tyrone" on his "Fool's Gold" cd. Her husband Joey Wright provided backup for her. She sang "10 Degrees and Getting Colder" and for their young daughter she performed what she thought was a beautiful lullaby, "Fine As Fine Can Be." She has a beautiful voice and makes singing seem so effortless!
Jory Nash -
www.jorynash.com - Jory is one of THE sweetest people around. Just thinking of him makes me smile. His smile is big and happy and he is so welcoming. And his eyes twinkle with a bit of mischief that is too cute! Just the fact that he knows he's going to get numerous hugs and kisses and pats on the back and allows me to do it and comes back for more makes me love him even more. I attended the first shows to hear Lightfoot music performed by a group of musicians I really didn't know. They astounded me, amazed me and made me come back for more. The second year I was more familiar with their own music and magic and loved it. Hearing them sing Lightfoot was just icing on the cake! To think that Jenney would drive all this way TWICE based on my enthusiasm for the show and the scope of amazing talent that I described made the last two years even more special. Plus she got to meet Jory! Like all the performers and Lightfoot himself, Jory is very modest and humble about his talent and accomplishments. He has just released his 4th CD and co-produced all the tribute shows with Aengus. He plays a Martin guitar like nobody's business and his voice is warm and mellow and lovely. His own songwriting is beautiful and full of captivating lyrics that make you go back, over and over to listen so you don't miss anything. He's a traveling troubadour, a hat lover, a Toronto Maple Leaf fan, a Lightfoot aficionado and a damn good person. And he's adorable. Jory sang a mighty fine "Cotton Jenny" and then Jory had the audience laughing with his story of the time when he was 21 and headed to a Massey concert to see Lightfoot with a girl he really liked. He was really into the relationship but she was on the fence. Jory had first seen Gord when he was 9 years old. The girl he was taking was a huge fan and told him of all the songs she'd love to hear. She mentioned one song that Jory had never heard him perform. Their seats were first row, top balcony of Massey and the view was great of the top of Gord's head. Jory told of how there are always people who feel it is their job to programme the concerts even though Gord has a set list, follows it and generally doesn't do "requests." (at least not back then) These yahoos drove Jory nuts. BUT - he thought that maybe, just maybe if Gord would do this song it would cement the relationship.....so at the most opportune time he called out the song title. Lightfoot looked up - way up and said "that's a great old tune" and then sang a few lines!!! The girl had reached over to hold Jory's hand while he gave a silent "thank you Gord!" A week later she dumped his sorry ass..... I can hear that story over and over! All I can say is that girl missed out BIG time!
To my absolute surprise and pleasure he then did "Mother of a Miner's Child!" The little darling WAS singing it for me! I wish he'd record it...it's so beautiful. I suppose I should mention that earlier on in the show, perhaps at the very beginning Lightfoot ambled in and parked himself at the back wall on a stool. So the possibility was there that this change in songs had more to it than Jory remembering my wish......After the show Jory broke my heart when after a huge hug for doing Miner's Child he told me "yeah - Gord had arrived so I changed the song." Again he built me up and then crushed me. I gave him a smack and said I thought he did it for me! He laughed and grinned his little devil grin and said "oh and for you too!" As if Jory! I was just glad to hear it again even if it was for that Lightfoot guy!
I'm sure very few people, other than those in close proximity even knew that Lightfoot was there. James (jimmy jones) told me later that he had been sitting on a stool against the back wall and got up for a moment and left his seat. When he came back to sit down some guy was on it. It was dark and it took a moment for James to realize that it was Lightfoot! LOL
Dave Matheson -
www.davidmatheson.ca and Mike Ford -
www.maplemusic.com/artists/mfr/default.asp (Moxy Fruvous bandmates - /www.fruvous.com/ ) Dave performed last year and I really enjoyed his energy. This year with Mike it was electric! Their performance of "Steel Rail Blues" was amazing. Mike had a harmonica and the sound of the train added so much to the song - it was great! Both of them have powerful vocals that carried the audience along on the big steel rails. They then sang "Summer Side of Life." Another powerful vocal performance of a timeless song.
It was now time for a break! What an amazing show so far! AND Lightfoot was there and seemed to be staying! woo-hoo!!!!
Lots of mingling, talking with Ron and James, watching Lightfoot chat up Lisa and Brenley on the stairs and then come down to the lobby. Jenney and I were standing not far off and he leaned over to shake Jenney's hand and I took the opportunity to get mine shook too! LOL! Plus a quick peck on the cheek! He looked SO happy to be there - I think he's been grinning and smiling since the concerts in Hamilton! He appeared to be alone as we didn't see Bernie who had been with him last year. He had his black leather coat on, black jeans, black leather boots and a funky patterned shirt with his braces/suspenders. He was looking SO comfortable with the whole damn evening it made me feel extra fabulous for him!
Jenney corralled Aengus and Jory and Gord for a few quick pics and then it was time for the show to begin again! It was SO encouraging to see Lightfoot head to sit down and stay for the rest of the performers! What a guy!
Aengus Finnan -
www.aengusfinnan.com - what can I say that I already haven't said to many of you...numerous times! As the co-producer of this Lightfoot tribute show, as a lifelong Lightfoot fan himself, as the singer/composer of the song "Lightfoot" on the Beautiful Tribute cd he had me hooked right there!. But add to it his own songwriting, his beautiful voice, his endearing and utterly shy, humble persona along with the intense but twinkly eyes and the seemingly hard to come by huge smile, I adore this guy. The tiny bit of the Irish accent he grew up with in his beloved Shelter Valley, Ontario home can be heard in some words, perhaps some people mistaking it for a wee bit of Maritime influence, add to his Lightfoot interpretations and his own beautiful songs. Having had the pleasure and honour to attend a live CD recording over two nights in his hometown of Grafton, Ontario last May was certainly a thrill for me. Jory and David were there as well and I can only wait patiently for the day when Aengus releases this wonderful moment in time. I promise not to bug him about it any more. After quitting his teaching job, his dedication to a life of songwriting, singing and performing all over North America and beyond for 6 years had him take a much needed breather late last year. So he headed to Inuvik NWT to teach music. Amazing. The province of Saskatchewan will see him performing at different venues in a week or so and then Aengus may stay south. I know he has more to write, more to sing and as I told him this past weekend, those who love his music will be the poorer for it if we don't hear any more of the Finnan magic. I hope he will stay true to his dreams and make them happen - for himself, and for his fans. Aengus is beyond humble....
He was joined on stage by Jory and they launched into "The Wreck." The audience loved it! I can't imagine what a daunting task it must be to set out to perform any Lightfoot song but The Wreck (and CRT) are huge!
Aengus then spoke of listening to Lightfoot from a very early age and having notes sent home from school for singing about "fast women and hard liquor" in the schoolyard and schoolbus! LOL By Grade 2 with the help of Lightfoot songs Aengus knew all there was to know in life! But as is the case with Lightfoot songs you have to wonder where he came from when writing the songs, where his characters were and where they were coming from. In "Did She Mention My Name" Aengus thought it possibly could be a character in a jail. He then sang this "toe-tapper" with a bluesy, slow, kinda laid back feel that certainly made you re-think the lyrics! Very, very insightful and interesting to say the least! I'm still pondering on the whole thing....
Susie Vinnick - (can't find a website) Susie sang IYCRMM. She has a fabulous voice and did a beautiful job of this Lightfoot masterpiece. Her next number was "I'd Do It Again" and she was accompanied by the house band in a rockin' blues style version of this song. The audience was right into it with them and she received a huge ovation. Fascinating twist to the song.
I should mention that Anne Lindsay - fiddle -
www.anne-lindsay.com , and David Woodhead on bass guitar -
www.davidwoodhead.com joined Jason Fowler on guitar on many of the songs the performers did. Each of them are an awesome force on their own but as a trio are absolutely fascinating. Check out their websites!
Jason Fowler performed "Cold On The Shoulder" with a cool easy style. He's got a great voice and the guitar work on all of the songs he played on showed why he's won so many prestigious awards. Jason recounted his "Boilers" story and like Jory, Jason is quite the raconteur. He once again told of meeting Lightfoot when he was working in a music store that Lightfoot frequented. He would always call ahead before he showed up. Sometimes he would bring in his guitars for repairs but the repairs would have to be done that day so he could pick it up and not leave it in the shop overnight in case the place burned down! LOL Sometimes he would just wait. He would also buy his strings there. The boss at the store told Jason to ask Lightfoot about "boilers" one day. So he did. Lightfoot was kind of surprised to hear the word but told Jason exactly what it meant. Apparently back in the days of touring with john Stockfish and Red Shea they didn't have a lot of money to buy new strings all the time and Red Shea started the "boiler" method of cleaning and keeping strings last longer. They would do this in the motels rooms on a hot plate.Gord proceeded to explain the method to Jason. Jason does an imitation of Gord that is quite good so it makes it all the funnier. He said that you have to get a pot of water going to a rolling boil,,,and get a pair of tongs..."do you have a pair of tongs Jason...you don't want to burn yourself"...take the strings off your guitar and coil them up. Drop them in the boiling water for 7 minutes, take them out with the tongs and lay them out flat on a Scott towel to dry. This would remove the finger oils and dirt and on some "molecular level" he believed it worked. When the strings are dry store them in a zip lock bag and put a piece of red electrical tape on the bag. Jason asked what that meant. "Red - "R" - stands for Ready to go." So you don't get mixed up you should put blue tape on the strings that come off but aren't boiled yet - "Blue - "B" - stands for ready to Boil!" LOL Jason was a classical guitar player at the time and a phone call to the shop an hour or so later at least showed that Lightfoot remembered this fact. "Jason - don't boil your nylon strings! They’ll ruin the pot in one go!" - Just in case Jason didn't clue into the boiling was to be on brass strings only! Lightfoot brought a set of” Boilers" in to the shop for Jason one day and was handing them over when he thought to ask of Jason had a D18 to put them back on. It was very important that the boilers be put on a guitar like the one they came off. Jason said no, Lightfoot began to snatch them away when Jason said "but my dad does!." Gord gave him the strings and Jason tried them on his dad's guitar and then put them back in the bag where they remain to this day, tucked away with some great memories.
Justin Rutledge –
www.justinrutledge.com – Justin’s record company has just signed on with Warner Brothers Records so his music will be well distributed. This young man looks very young and very shy. I don’t know his age but he was quite shy. On stage he seemed almost uncomfortable and had a “deer in the headlights” look at times. Quiet and breathy, making a listener pay attention to every word that MAY come out of his mouth. He told of meeting Lightfoot and “just being scared when he’s around.” I felt like Justin needed a big reassuring hug. He sang a very slowed down “Sundown” with a mix of hurtin’ and sadness. He also sang “Early Morning Rain” with a “pain that never ends.” Omigosh it was sad. Justin writes some deep and dark stuff – check on his website for samples. I was intrigued by this young man.
Rick Fines –
www.rickfines.com – once again Rick was back on the Tribute Show lineup and graciously thanked Lightfoot for doing his set in Peterborough when Ronnie Hawkins held the Flood Relief concert. Rick and his family were out of their house for 6 weeks or so while the whole first floor was removed and everything re-built. Rick did his blues version of “I’m Not Sayin” and “Ribbon of Darkness.” What a talent! The blues voice coming out of that face and the sounds out of his guitar are astounding. His “Riley Wants His Life Back”, the title song of the CD of the same name was judged #1 song at the International Songwriting Convention last year. One of the judges was B.B. King! Awesome! Rick told me he is busy writing for three different projects so I look forward to hearing them.
J.P.Cormier -
www.jp-cormier.com – J.P. (John Paul) is another ECMA nominee this year. On January 11, 2005 he released his own personal tribute to Gordon Lightfoot with a remarkable CD that was 6 years in the making. On “The Long River” J.P. plays all instruments and all songs are Lightfoot tunes except the last one called “The Poet.” What a beautiful, heartfelt message about the influence of Lightfoot on his life and career.
www.jp-cormier.com/dailynews_jan13_05.htm All of the tunes are superbly done as were the two Lightfoot tunes that J.P. did on stage – “Home From The Forest” and “The Canadian Railroad Trilogy.” J.P. is also a very, very accomplished guitarist which was clearly evident as he performed “Home From The Forest” alone on stage. J.P. sang “The Poet” after the two Lightfoot tunes. I felt very proud for him that Lightfoot was in attendance to hear this performance on this special night. J.P. said there was a lot of money in making CD’s and his Tribute album was available for 20 bucks…..and he owed Gordie 25 bucks for each one! I enjoyed his set a lot. I’ve been told his earlier CD’s have a definite Lightfoot feel to them. I believe samples can be heard at his website.
The whole ensemble then gathered on the very small stage and thanks were given to the artists, the audience, the folks at Hugh’s Room and Rachel for the huge efforts they put in to make the evening and whole tour such a wild success. It was now time for a group/audience participation song. “Alberta Bound” was sung with great energy and we demanded more when it was over. Aengus started us off with the first song off the first album that Lightfoot recorded – “Rich Man’s Spiritual” – different artists sang the verses and the audience clapped and sang along. It was amazing that close to 3 ½ - 4 hours had sped by so quickly…they couldn’t leave yet - there were SO many more songs to sing!! Well deserved bows were taken and all filed off the stage to a standing ovation. Many of the performers mingled with the crowd as they left Hugh’s Room after purchasing their new CD’s to listen to on the way home.
Heartfelt hugs were passed on to Aengus and Jory (and Ron Jones)but James (jj) had disappeared int o the night to make the trek back home. Jenney and I headed back to the hotel to try to sleep after such a wonderful and emotional night. The saving grace was that we knew we’d be doing it again the next night!!!!
The Way We Feel-night ONE-Tribute Show report-Jan.2005
Sheesh! 
