From the London Free Press:
http://www.lfpress.com/entertainment.../13606121.html
When a national treasure whispers, you have to listen a little harder.
Gordon Lightfoot was definitely singing above a whisper most of the time at the RBC Theatre at the John Labatt Centre on Thursday night.
About 4,000 fans were ready to accept that, standing up twice to salute Lightfoot's first London concert in decades. cheering such classics as
Beautiful, Carefree Highway, Sundown, Ribbon of Darkness, Early Morning Rain and the encore of
Blackberry Wine.
"It's been 20 years since we played London," the Canadian folk icon said early in the show. He jokingly blamed that on being "shanghaied to Kitchener" in the last two decades.
As expected, Lightfoot made light of the media hoax that had him dead about two months ago. He delivered the punchline about Mark Twain's death, like his, being "greatly exaggerated" twice -- with a clenched fist for comic effect the first time.
"You're a national treasure," a fan boomed out in the first half. Lightfoot took the compliment in stride, saying they were doing the best they could and would "face the real music" when they got home.
Lightfoot's glory days in the 1960s and 1970s had him in London several times. He recalled playing UWO's Alumni Hall on two or three occasions.
By stellar coincidence, the downtown London arena is set to announce the arrival of
Star Wars in Concert, a music, lights and action spectacle that brings the Lucasfilm movie epic to a new dimension. It's to play the arena on July 25. More details are expected Friday.
The
Star Wars in Concert show will have all the spectacular trappings that were not in evidence on Thursday. Lightfoot relied on his songs, his fine band and simple lighting and backdrop.
The critics who have been saying that Lightfoot's voice, once so rich and strong, is little more than a whisper at times are right. There were moments during the 90-plus minutes of music, as on
Ribbon of Darkness, when it was less than that. In that fine song, words and melody were getting swallowed.
At other times, the Lightfoot whisper-plus approach was subtle and powerful. When he sang the line in
If You Could Read My Mind about "the feeling's gone" and not being able to get it back, it worked on so many levels.
Then there was the moment when Lightfoot introduced a song of his that "was recorded by Elvis -- "well-recorded by Elvis" -- and it turned out to be
Early Morning Rain.
"You do it better," shouted a fan.
On this Thursday night in 2010, that Lightfoot classic sounded like a classic.
With Lightfoot was his band of more than 20 years -- guitarist Terry Clements, bassist Rick Haynes, drummer Barry Keane and keyboard player Mike Heffernan. Haynes joined in 1969, Clements a year later and that lineup has toured with Lightfoot since 1987.
Clements was magical all night, filling in around Lightfoot with terrific melodies and runs. The band was poised and unruffled without ever sounding complacent.
Plus a comment from the same site:
Like Bob Dylan's before him, Gordon Lightfoot is showing his age - and that's fine. Both iconic singers need to now carefully choose their material, shifting through to find the songs still within their range. Lightfoot should take a page from the Leonard Cohen playbook and add supporting singers to his act. That would give it more power. Still, I am so glad he continues to tour and hope I have the chance to hear him live again
London concert review
