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REVIEW: Lightfoot still has fire in his bellyBy: Morley Walker
16/04/2009 11:03 PM | Comments (2)
Canadian folk legends go, Gordon Lightfoot keeps on going. He’s not as strong as he used to be, but he’s still standing.
The 70-year-old star proved he still has some fire in his belly, though not as much honey in his throat, as he worked his way through a two-hour-plus concert dotted with several of his greatest hits Thursday night in the MTS Centre’s surprisingly intimate RBC Theatre.
In his first visit to Winnipeg since October 2006, when he played two sold-out shows at the Pantages Playhouse, Lightfoot gave the crowd of 3,000 pretty much what they came to hear.
In truth, however, to borrow a metaphor from that devotee of Canadian culture Billy Bob Thornton, Gord’s mashed potatoes were a little watery.
As for his ever-so-polite boomer-aged fans, they must have left their gravy at home. They had to watch their cholesterol levels, no doubt.
Still, they cheered the introductory chords to many of his tunes and clapped to the beat of a few others. Every once in a while a wild whoop could be heard from the back of the room.
Everyone seemed to forgive Lightfoot’s thin vocalizing, his once-regal baritone a shadow of its former self, apparently hampered Thursday night by a head cold.
Lightfoot, of course, is not the only veteran balladeer to lose a few octaves of range over the decades. And, to be fair, his singing gained strength as the show progressed.
It will be interesting to see how his concert compares to the forthcoming gig by that other aging energizer bunny of Canadian folk, Leonard Cohen.
Certainly both men have songbooks that defy most people’s creative imagination.
Of the nearly 30 tunes that Lightfoot offered up, there were numerous classics: Ribbon of Darkness, Sundown, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, If You Could Read My Mind and Early Morning Rain.
However, there were many more he did not do, and one wonders if he opted to avoid because he just can’t reach the notes anymore. Or maybe it was that blasted cold.
Wearing a blue crushed-velvet jacket over a white dress shirt, his long grey hair swept back over his collar, Lightfoot looked like a tubercular duke, gaunt but proud.
He seemed comfortable onstage, saying little between songs in the first set but getting almost chatty during the second.
He rushed through the opening set, doing 15 songs, shortening many, in a quick 50 minutes.
He promised to loosen up in the second set and, in fact, he did. It was by far the stronger half, and of course the crowd brought him back for an encore.
His four-piece band, the model of quiet dignity, included two of his longtime cohorts, bassist Rick Haynes and lead guitarist Terry Clements, and they played with understated grace. Organist Mike Heffernan was often called upon to give the songs a little heft.
Lightfoot himself played mostly six-string guitar but also picked up his 12-string. He remained on his feet the entire show, never once resorting to a stool, as he has on past tours.
It must have been a sign of defiance. Water down your own mashed potatoes, Billy Bob.
morley.walker@freepress.mb.ca
Winnipeg review #2
