All time favourite Gord concert

[Dorothea]

Dear all,
Of all the GL concerts you have attended.
Which is your all time favourite.

Frank.

[Frank v]

Dear all,
Of all the GL concerts you have attended.
Which is your all time favourite.

Frank.

[charlene]

I guess being so spoled here in Toronto made me very nonchalant about seeing him at Massey Hall whenever he'd be there. The year 1984 was special because I was days away from having my first child (the name Gordon was floating in my mind, along with Carter and Darryl) Being a hormonal basketcase at the best of times you can imagine what I was like that night. It's very emotional when I see Gord at any time but that night I was so teary eyed all night it was as if I watching from underwater! The baby never stopped moving the whole time and I was believing that I was doing something so good - getting him/her on the right foot for a life of beautiful music. 16 years later I know now I was completely delusional but the future was ahead, my child was coming and I would be introducing it to the world of Gordon Lightfoot. All was right with the world.
Right up there is the July 8/00 Mariposa concert - meeting Gord in his hometown just was so moving and the feeling of coming closer to him was a very real thing to me. It meant everything to be there and I don't think I will ever fully understand it so I just go with it and give thanks for the opportunity.
Char

[charlene]

I guess being so spoled here in Toronto made me very nonchalant about seeing him at Massey Hall whenever he'd be there. The year 1984 was special because I was days away from having my first child (the name Gordon was floating in my mind, along with Carter and Darryl) Being a hormonal basketcase at the best of times you can imagine what I was like that night. It's very emotional when I see Gord at any time but that night I was so teary eyed all night it was as if I watching from underwater! The baby never stopped moving the whole time and I was believing that I was doing something so good - getting him/her on the right foot for a life of beautiful music. 16 years later I know now I was completely delusional but the future was ahead, my child was coming and I would be introducing it to the world of Gordon Lightfoot. All was right with the world.
Right up there is the July 8/00 Mariposa concert - meeting Gord in his hometown just was so moving and the feeling of coming closer to him was a very real thing to me. It meant everything to be there and I don't think I will ever fully understand it so I just go with it and give thanks for the opportunity.
Char

[Dorothea]

Char,
Great storys.
And to think of all the concerts you had to choose from!
Unlike me who has the grand total of one
I'm going back for another read...
I always read your posts more than once.

Frank.

[Frank v]

Char,
Great storys.
And to think of all the concerts you had to choose from!
Unlike me who has the grand total of one
I'm going back for another read...
I always read your posts more than once.

Frank.

[Chris M]

It was Nov. 17,1986 at Massey Hall, Toronto.
We drove from the east coast,US & were nearly
killed on an icey road when an 18 wheeler
jack-knifed directly in front of us. My hubby
had the quick wits to put us in a ditch, thank God. Anyway, It was Gord's birthday &
he told everyone that he'd spent the day
recording "I'll Tag Along". That may have been the first time I heard it. His whole
family was there including his son Eric who
was around 4 years old. He was in his seat
dancing and moving along with the music for
the entire concert. His attention never strayed from his dad. This is a second had
report from my husband as our seats weren't together.

I have a real thing for old buildings, anyway
and Massey Hall is gorgeous. It was worth the harrowing journey. (I hate flying)

[midnightmisty]

It was Nov. 17,1986 at Massey Hall, Toronto.
We drove from the east coast,US & were nearly
killed on an icey road when an 18 wheeler
jack-knifed directly in front of us. My hubby
had the quick wits to put us in a ditch, thank God. Anyway, It was Gord's birthday &
he told everyone that he'd spent the day
recording "I'll Tag Along". That may have been the first time I heard it. His whole
family was there including his son Eric who
was around 4 years old. He was in his seat
dancing and moving along with the music for
the entire concert. His attention never strayed from his dad. This is a second had
report from my husband as our seats weren't together.

I have a real thing for old buildings, anyway
and Massey Hall is gorgeous. It was worth the harrowing journey. (I hate flying)

[Rose]

Now Frank v, for me this was an obvious answer. My favorite concert was the one on Augusst 6, 2000, the day before my 54th birthday. In March I took my siste to Troy for a GL concert for her birthday and on August 6th, my sister took me. We had excellent seats, the best I ever had and they were 2nd row aisle. Gord sounded marvelous. I had the honor of meeting Dan and his family. Meeting Gord was one of the highlights of my life. He is such a gentleman and answered every question I aimed at him. While posing for pictures for us who waited it was as if we were the only person in the world. His family(wife and children) were pleasant and also answered questions. Elizabeth Lightfoot said all people named Elizabeth ae wonderful. (That is also my given name) She was very kind to share her husband expecially since she was headed home and he was headed to Virginia. The concert was my favorite, not only because
I got to meet our Gordon but also Rick and Michael. Gord was also having a good time and his voice sounded like a dream. One more thing before I stop babbling, he sang several songs I had never heard in concert before.

[sundownbuff]

Now Frank v, for me this was an obvious answer. My favorite concert was the one on Augusst 6, 2000, the day before my 54th birthday. In March I took my siste to Troy for a GL concert for her birthday and on August 6th, my sister took me. We had excellent seats, the best I ever had and they were 2nd row aisle. Gord sounded marvelous. I had the honor of meeting Dan and his family. Meeting Gord was one of the highlights of my life. He is such a gentleman and answered every question I aimed at him. While posing for pictures for us who waited it was as if we were the only person in the world. His family(wife and children) were pleasant and also answered questions. Elizabeth Lightfoot said all people named Elizabeth ae wonderful. (That is also my given name) She was very kind to share her husband expecially since she was headed home and he was headed to Virginia. The concert was my favorite, not only because
I got to meet our Gordon but also Rick and Michael. Gord was also having a good time and his voice sounded like a dream. One more thing before I stop babbling, he sang several songs I had never heard in concert before.

[Dorothea]

Midnightmisty,Sundownbuff.
Communicating with you both,would be great enough on its own...but on a topic in which I've had no outlet for,...almost 30 years is amazing! In my life, Gord has been like a mystical figure I've only known through music. The only time I've seen him live,(because of bizarre circumstances)was probably the shortest concert in history!
It took more time to get in and out of the hall!
Back tyt.The fact you talk to him,see him on different occasions,is a world away from me.
That's why I'm so obsessed with this site.
I'm making up for 30 years!
Don't get me wrong..he's well known in England.But, the average person only knows the two hits(IYCRMM,Sundown).
Through sheer perseverance,
I managed to make a couple of regular aquaintances and a good friend.
(His last UK tour promoter and two journalists who know him.One gave me the programmes which I gave Florian to put on this site). I'm still on a mission trying to track down the person who ran the GL(AS) in England, in the seventies.

So before I found this site,thats all I had...Thats why I'm so thankful for you great people...(phew...I need a drink).


Frank.

[Frank v]

Midnightmisty,Sundownbuff.
Communicating with you both,would be great enough on its own...but on a topic in which I've had no outlet for,...almost 30 years is amazing! In my life, Gord has been like a mystical figure I've only known through music. The only time I've seen him live,(because of bizarre circumstances)was probably the shortest concert in history!
It took more time to get in and out of the hall!
Back tyt.The fact you talk to him,see him on different occasions,is a world away from me.
That's why I'm so obsessed with this site.
I'm making up for 30 years!
Don't get me wrong..he's well known in England.But, the average person only knows the two hits(IYCRMM,Sundown).
Through sheer perseverance,
I managed to make a couple of regular aquaintances and a good friend.
(His last UK tour promoter and two journalists who know him.One gave me the programmes which I gave Florian to put on this site). I'm still on a mission trying to track down the person who ran the GL(AS) in England, in the seventies.

So before I found this site,thats all I had...Thats why I'm so thankful for you great people...(phew...I need a drink).


Frank.

[Wingdrops]

Frank -

I have had the pleasure to see 6 concerts (plus the tape from Char). They are as follows:

04/13/74 McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ
06/30/75 Garden State Art Center, Holmdel, NJ
07/01/76 Garden State Art Center, Holmdel, NJ
07/07/77 Garden State Art Center, Holmdel, NJ
03/02/00 John Harms Center, Englewood, NJ
08/09/00 Town Hall, New York, NY

The McCarter Theatre concert was excellent. College crowd, small venue. I was a relatively new Gord fan at that time, with just 3 albums (IYCRMM, Sundown, DonQ). Many of the songs played at that concert were new to me and I do not remember what they were. I would love to have a set list from that concert. I do remember the 3 title tracks, plus High&Dry, Carefree Highway, CRT, EMR and For Lovin'Me (possibly as a medley). I also think he did Christian Island, Seven IslandSuite and Watchman and a lot of other material from Sundown, but I'm not sure of the exact cuts. I bought SSL and Bestof shortly after that concert.

The 3 G.S.A.C. concerts are also non-distinct in my memory, except that it was a relatively lousy venue and that Gord appeared rather indifferent to the audience in the third concert, which disappointed me. I had a front row seat in the second concert, which was great, and more than compensated for the poor venue. I recall him concentrating on his new material in the first half of each concert, so the 1975 concert had a lot of material from COTS, including the title track, RainyDayPeople, All the Lovely Ladies; and the 1976 concert had material from SummertimeDream, including the title track, Wreck, Never Too Close, House You Live In, Race among the Ruins and (pretty sure) Cherokee Bend. It is possible that I am mixing up 1976 and 1977 in my mind to some degree. I remember the Auctioneer from at least two of the concerts, because I remember looking for it when Endless Wire was released and being delighted to see it finally on DSR. I recall that he started at least two of the concerts with If It Should Please You, which is a great opener. I don't recall which songs were the encores.

Twenty-three years later, March 2, 2000, however, is the best for me. I had been passively looking for a local Gord concert ever since I learned to use the 'Net, but I found this one by a chance reading in a local newspaper. I had not yet purchased Shadows, Salute or Songbook, although since the release of GG2 (with its 2 cuts from Shadows) I had been looking for Shadows in several old record stores (I obtained Songbook immediately after the concert and got Shadows and Salute from eBay a few weeks after the concert).

The set list from the Englewood concert was as follows:

14 Karat Gold
I'll Prove My Love
In My Fashion
Beautiful
The House You Live In
Sundown
Carefree Highway
Sea of Tranquility
Never Too Close
Restless
Blackberry Wine
For Loving Me/Did She Mention My Name
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
(intermission)
Waiting For You
Fading Away
Rainy Day People
Shadows
A Painter Passing Through
If You Could Read My Mind
Don Quixote
Early Morning Rain
Song for a Winter's Night
Baby Step Back
Canadian Railroad Trilogy

Encore: Old Dan's Records

I had never heard Blackbery Wine before, and did not own a copy of 14K Gold or In My Fashion, being familiar with those songs only from a friend's copy of Shadows. Obviously, all the songs written since 1977 were new to me as concert performances. I was particularly happy to hear Restless and the other 2 selections from Waiting for You, as well as Painter. I was surprised that he did not do any other selections from Painter, which makes me think that he is not too fond of that album (or maybe I'm just projecting my own view). I also was delighted to hear House You Live In plus Never Too Close, because I did not expect to hear three selections from SummertimeDream (Wreck was the 3rd).

"But anyway," to hear Gord again after 23 years was absolute delight, and it makes this my favorite concert. If he had performed none of my favorites but "Beautiful" I would have been content, but there was so much more. Gord was much more involved with the audience than he had been in the (disappointing) 1977 concert. Hearing so much "new" material was great, and 14K Gold immediately became one of my favorites, which I played incessantly after buying Songbook. The only question mark of the concert was that it felt weird (but strangely appropriate) to be at a concert with so many middle aged people.

I have promised to give a review of the August 9 Town Hall concert, so I will save that for another post. It was a good concert but inferior musically to the Englewood concert, and the New York crowd was highly annoying (walking around, late to their seats, shouting out requests, extensive applause in the middle of CRT, etc.).

More later.

------------------
"And the laughter came too easy for life to pass me by." - SDYS

[2Much2Lose]

Frank -

I have had the pleasure to see 6 concerts (plus the tape from Char). They are as follows:

04/13/74 McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ
06/30/75 Garden State Art Center, Holmdel, NJ
07/01/76 Garden State Art Center, Holmdel, NJ
07/07/77 Garden State Art Center, Holmdel, NJ
03/02/00 John Harms Center, Englewood, NJ
08/09/00 Town Hall, New York, NY

The McCarter Theatre concert was excellent. College crowd, small venue. I was a relatively new Gord fan at that time, with just 3 albums (IYCRMM, Sundown, DonQ). Many of the songs played at that concert were new to me and I do not remember what they were. I would love to have a set list from that concert. I do remember the 3 title tracks, plus High&Dry, Carefree Highway, CRT, EMR and For Lovin'Me (possibly as a medley). I also think he did Christian Island, Seven IslandSuite and Watchman and a lot of other material from Sundown, but I'm not sure of the exact cuts. I bought SSL and Bestof shortly after that concert.

The 3 G.S.A.C. concerts are also non-distinct in my memory, except that it was a relatively lousy venue and that Gord appeared rather indifferent to the audience in the third concert, which disappointed me. I had a front row seat in the second concert, which was great, and more than compensated for the poor venue. I recall him concentrating on his new material in the first half of each concert, so the 1975 concert had a lot of material from COTS, including the title track, RainyDayPeople, All the Lovely Ladies; and the 1976 concert had material from SummertimeDream, including the title track, Wreck, Never Too Close, House You Live In, Race among the Ruins and (pretty sure) Cherokee Bend. It is possible that I am mixing up 1976 and 1977 in my mind to some degree. I remember the Auctioneer from at least two of the concerts, because I remember looking for it when Endless Wire was released and being delighted to see it finally on DSR. I recall that he started at least two of the concerts with If It Should Please You, which is a great opener. I don't recall which songs were the encores.

Twenty-three years later, March 2, 2000, however, is the best for me. I had been passively looking for a local Gord concert ever since I learned to use the 'Net, but I found this one by a chance reading in a local newspaper. I had not yet purchased Shadows, Salute or Songbook, although since the release of GG2 (with its 2 cuts from Shadows) I had been looking for Shadows in several old record stores (I obtained Songbook immediately after the concert and got Shadows and Salute from eBay a few weeks after the concert).

The set list from the Englewood concert was as follows:

14 Karat Gold
I'll Prove My Love
In My Fashion
Beautiful
The House You Live In
Sundown
Carefree Highway
Sea of Tranquility
Never Too Close
Restless
Blackberry Wine
For Loving Me/Did She Mention My Name
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
(intermission)
Waiting For You
Fading Away
Rainy Day People
Shadows
A Painter Passing Through
If You Could Read My Mind
Don Quixote
Early Morning Rain
Song for a Winter's Night
Baby Step Back
Canadian Railroad Trilogy

Encore: Old Dan's Records

I had never heard Blackbery Wine before, and did not own a copy of 14K Gold or In My Fashion, being familiar with those songs only from a friend's copy of Shadows. Obviously, all the songs written since 1977 were new to me as concert performances. I was particularly happy to hear Restless and the other 2 selections from Waiting for You, as well as Painter. I was surprised that he did not do any other selections from Painter, which makes me think that he is not too fond of that album (or maybe I'm just projecting my own view). I also was delighted to hear House You Live In plus Never Too Close, because I did not expect to hear three selections from SummertimeDream (Wreck was the 3rd).

"But anyway," to hear Gord again after 23 years was absolute delight, and it makes this my favorite concert. If he had performed none of my favorites but "Beautiful" I would have been content, but there was so much more. Gord was much more involved with the audience than he had been in the (disappointing) 1977 concert. Hearing so much "new" material was great, and 14K Gold immediately became one of my favorites, which I played incessantly after buying Songbook. The only question mark of the concert was that it felt weird (but strangely appropriate) to be at a concert with so many middle aged people.

I have promised to give a review of the August 9 Town Hall concert, so I will save that for another post. It was a good concert but inferior musically to the Englewood concert, and the New York crowd was highly annoying (walking around, late to their seats, shouting out requests, extensive applause in the middle of CRT, etc.).

More later.

------------------
"And the laughter came too easy for life to pass me by." - SDYS

[Dorothea]

Wow, 2much,
This is going to take a whole afternoon to digest.I'll be back with my thoughts later.

Frank.

[Frank v]

Wow, 2much,
This is going to take a whole afternoon to digest.I'll be back with my thoughts later.

Frank.

[Dorothea]

2Much,
This is such a compelling and well chronicled post.I'm really interested in the venues.I visited New york and New Jersey in 79 and was determined to see Town Hall because it was Gord's Debut arena.
I Couldn't find the place! I Found Madison SG, Manhatten Central no problem.
Whats the difference in size and status of these two Arenas.
There is a comparisam with the Albert hall and Festival hall in London.
Where Gord played 69-75.

Can I email you sometime... brief I promise.

Frank.

[Frank v]

2Much,
This is such a compelling and well chronicled post.I'm really interested in the venues.I visited New york and New Jersey in 79 and was determined to see Town Hall because it was Gord's Debut arena.
I Couldn't find the place! I Found Madison SG, Manhatten Central no problem.
Whats the difference in size and status of these two Arenas.
There is a comparisam with the Albert hall and Festival hall in London.
Where Gord played 69-75.

Can I email you sometime... brief I promise.

Frank.

[Dorothea]

Sorry,2Much,all.
I't should have read 'That was such a compelling' not 'This was' it sounds as if I was refering to my own post, in the past tense!

(Those English lessons were so long ago).

Frank.

[Frank v]

Sorry,2Much,all.
I't should have read 'That was such a compelling' not 'This was' it sounds as if I was refering to my own post, in the past tense!

(Those English lessons were so long ago).

Frank.

[Dorothea]

LOL.......
I DON'T BELIEVE IT!

'This is'(own post) present tense was the mistake....
(I've finally nailed it!)

It's been one of those days folks...

[Frank v]

LOL.......
I DON'T BELIEVE IT!

'This is'(own post) present tense was the mistake....
(I've finally nailed it!)

It's been one of those days folks...

[2Much2Lose]

At the risk of sounding like a obsessed nut case (which many might say I am!), I've seen well over 50 concerts. My first was in 1971 at the American Shakespere Theater in Connecticut. I went every year to Tanglewood, and the Oakdale theater in CT. If there had been an internet then, I'm sure I would have seen more!

My top picks for concerts are:
3. New London CT 1998. My first time in the front row! GL sounded great, the whole thing was wonderful!
2. Massey Hall 1998. My first time at Massey Hall, something I had always wanted to do. I sat in the front row with other "Lightheads" I had met on the internet. It really was a magical time.

And the #1 concert?

Reno, April 2000. The excitement of being there was like no other. Just wait till you see it folks! It will be worth the wait!

Jenney

[Jenney]

At the risk of sounding like a obsessed nut case (which many might say I am!), I've seen well over 50 concerts. My first was in 1971 at the American Shakespere Theater in Connecticut. I went every year to Tanglewood, and the Oakdale theater in CT. If there had been an internet then, I'm sure I would have seen more!

My top picks for concerts are:
3. New London CT 1998. My first time in the front row! GL sounded great, the whole thing was wonderful!
2. Massey Hall 1998. My first time at Massey Hall, something I had always wanted to do. I sat in the front row with other "Lightheads" I had met on the internet. It really was a magical time.

And the #1 concert?

Reno, April 2000. The excitement of being there was like no other. Just wait till you see it folks! It will be worth the wait!

Jenney

[Wingdrops]

Sure Frank, feel free to write anytime.

It seemed that you were looking for that sort of information/anecdotal experiences.

I had never been to Town Hall before (or the John Harms Center, for that matter). Gord mentioned that it had been about 35 years since he had played Town Hall (and someone from the audience, who must have been there the last time, shouted out "32!"). It was a nice auditorium, but several folks in the balcony complained that the sound up there was horrible. I was in the back row until intermission, after which I moved up to a grouping of vacant seats in the eighth row.

Town Hall is located on the north side of 43rd Street just a few doorways west of 6th Avenue (which is called Avenue of the Americas by the non-locals). It is not a particularly famous locale, certainly not in the league of Madison Square Garden, Carnegie Hall or Lincoln Center. Sort of "artsy." It has fewer holes than the Albert Hall (LOL). Much smaller.




------------------
"And the laughter came too easy for life to pass me by." - SDYS