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REVIEW: Lightfoot rolls through hits to delight of audience
SIOUX CITY | It’s a good thing Gordon Lightfoot has more hits than most contemporary artists could ever hope to have.
At Monday’s concert at the Orpheum Theatre, many of his lesser-known songs were lost -- perhaps to a weak sound system, perhaps to Lightfoot’s Dylan-esque way of phrasing a story song.
But on the hits it wasn’t necessary to know the words. They were embedded in the minds of those who remember when they first heard them.
Songs like “Sundown” were greeted with applause and even though the oh-so-thin Lightfoot couldn’t always reach the highest notes, the audience could, enjoying every minor chord they embraced.
Wearing dark pants, a blue velvet jacket and white shoes, the 74-year-old Canadian legend kept the first act banter to a minimum (although he did tell a few quick jokes and shared a bit of Lewis and Clark lore) and the songs to a maximum, spread over two hours of performance.
While three of his four back-up men have logged just as much Lightfoot time as he, guitarist Carter Lancaster was a newbie, able to complement the master nicely, sounding like a mandolin at one point, providing teasers at another. All excellent musicians, the four ably handled the hit list, refusing to overwhelm the boss at any point.
That sound system, though, could have been turned up (or Lightfoot could have played the microphone a bit more), giving fans a bit more of the cuts they never heard.
Because Lightfoot didn’t introduce his songs, they were largely lost to the ether.
But “Carefree Highway,” “Did She Mention My Name?” and “Beautiful” conjured plenty of memories.
In the second act, sound corrections were noticeable.
By the time he got to “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” it was possible to understand everything. The music’s native beats shone through and Lightfoot was in his wheelhouse.
Donning a burgundy jacket for the second half, he roared through the hits -- “Never Too Close,” “Don Quixote” and “another little gem,” “Wild Strawberries.”
While conducting his march, audience members shouted out favorites and, quickly, Lightfoot assured them, “we’ll get to them.”
Sure, enough, he followed through and offered up the soundtrack of an era. “If You Could Read My Mind,” a classic by anyone’s standards, got the proper attention and proved, under the right conditions, Gordon Lightfoot is just as vital today as he was 40 years ago.
Sioux City,Iowa-Orpheum Theatre-Sept.16-2013 pic
