Annie - no kidding - this is elegiac epitaph she has written for her old downtown Stockton, is a less than enthusiastic statement. And an unfair estimation of the draw of our near and dear (cringe) Gordon who?
She clearly is disenchanted, sadly, and short-sheeted the event of a Lightfoot concert. Granted, those who are not fans most of us are accustomed to hearing the common " Gordon who ? - oh...that song in the- what was it 70's or 80's - "Sundown , you better da da da", and that ShipWreck song that out of nowhere was like #1 or #2 for like 6 months, so sad...., ah yes that guy" bit from friends or collegues who do not know or appreciate Lightfoot's work.
But Ms. Dooley is doing her hometown no favours, nor fans of Gord, nor Gord, nor the city fathers' attempt to bring a class act to the renevated downtown defribillation - we've all seen it in our urban areas' LoDo's, or whatever the enclaves are called in your old downtown neck of the woods, where the renovation usually seems to call for a capped-off former thoroughfare converted to a walking street mall, pseudo gaslights and park benches, kiosks with over-priced snacks and coffee et al, and infusion of incentives to small businesses ( or large) setting up camp in a welcoming financial environment, often thanks to incentives from city planning/zoning in the form of several reduced costs of start-up nudged hopefully and benevolently within the pervue of the agency to control...
Downtown Denver has its relatively successful enclaves of this renevated sort - LoDo, its nightlife, and its high-priced now-trendy "loft" giant studios-cum-fresh interior design pallette for the city cognescenti and DINK couples of all sorts with LOTS of money and a desire for proximity to work, and a trendy former wherehouse flat... and Tabor Center, 16th- street mall (capped off former thoroughfare) and the rather SUCCESSFUL performing arts center that has VERY successfully (standing room only and cocktails at $7/pop)hosted Gordon on a few occsassions (granted in the ninety's)where he did not chose the more historic and renovated site of the Paramount theatre downtown....which he did later... that designated landmark, a bit smaller, more intimate, atmospheric, the kind of place Gord seems fond of - medium-size venues tending toward somewhat smaller ( that is to say compared to his near-stadium -filling mid 70's events I've been to in Colorado ).
My experience to share with ms. Dooley regarding "who is going to go downtown to see Gordon who ? without dinner at ...." [roughly] is that Lightfoot fans seek him out... and I see little time wasted on trying to advertise the event into capturing new fans in that fashion - the new fans seem to come on board with a young but intelligent quest for discovering what now is approaching vintage 60's and 70's era quitessential folk infused with formal music education's benefits , rooted in essential talent to begin with, and find their way to Gordon, listen, are hooked for life, and as one corfidite said well "and then make their pilgrimage to corfid" - so true.
Well, all us 40 -50-60-70-somthing's who grew up with Gord and are lifetime fans, coupled with the new younger independant-thinkers crowd who have come to appreciate and follow the Gordon trail of excellence in music - we ll find our way to a concert, wherever it is in town, and would, as Auburn Annie said "walk dark streets to see/hear Lightfoot" as would and have we all...
The advertisments of the concert are important to the extent of especially for the non corfidites being aware of the concert, but I think do little to in and of themselves attract a quantity of new fans. We know who we are and what we like and we find the Man and his music, and
downtown, and -egaads- no dinner at the four-seasons beforehand - now this IS hardship LOL. Annie you are very right in your apraisal of the less than insightful Ms. Dooley.
Thanks for this posting of the article Annie, and perhaps Carol Dooley will be...surprised
- geo steve
Stockton letter to editor
