Oct.3-Vancouver concert review
lightf...@rogers.com
Glimpses of frailty add charm to Lightfoot performance
Canadian icon back in Vancouver for the first time in seven years
John MacKie, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, October 04, 2006
It was a good day for Canadian nationalists Tuesday. The historic Banff
Springs Hotel and the Chateau Lake Louise are back in Canadian
ownership, and Gordon Lightfoot was back onstage in Vancouver for the
first time in seven years.
A lot has happened in that time. Lightfoot almost died in 2002 from an
abdominal hemorrhage that left him in a coma for nearly two months. It
took him awhile to get back to performing, but now, just shy of his
68th birthday, he's embarked on a 17-date national tour.
Lightfoot walked onstage at the Centre for the Performing Arts in a red
and black shirt, black suspenders and black pants, looking trim and fit
and kind of regal, with his big shock of hair and big moustache. His
features are so finely chiseled and so engrained in the national
consciousness, it's like his face has sprung off a coin.
He got straight to business with Cotton Jenny, followed by Carefree
Highway. Then he set the tone for the night by hauling out lesser-known
songs such as 14 Karat Gold and In My Fashion before coming back to
familiar territory with Rainy Day People. It wasn't just a recital of
the hits; it was a show that reached deep into the old saddlebag of
songs, unearthing some gems that people might have missed over his
40-year career.
His voice isn't as deep and rich as it once was, but the audience knows
the songs so well, they fill in the notes he can no longer hit in their
mind. The frailty he displays on occasion has its charm, as well,
adding a different emotional touch to the songs.
He was in quite a good mood, recalling how he came to Vancouver to
chill after his first marriage broke up, and expressing surprise at how
many new buildings there are downtown. He acknowledged Elvis Presley's
contribution to Early Morning Rain, where the King made the key lyrical
change of "cold and drunk as I can be" to "cold and drunk as I may be,"
which Lightfoot thinks is much better.
Highlights? A Painter Passing Through History was incredibly poignant,
with its story of an old painter discussing his life. The Wreck of The
Edmund Fitzgerald, Don Quixote and Beautiful were elegantly rendered,
but the best song was If You Could Read My Mind. You could hear almost
all the 1,800 people in the theatre softly singing along; it was just
about perfect, a true Canadian moment.
Derek
atmosphere very, very well!
Derek
"Only dead fish swim with the stream."
--unknown
The Pony Man
So I'll simply say Thanks!!! appreciate the link, too.
Pete
Ed Mullen
> http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/voices/story.html?id=2e8e6fa3-3473-4d0f-b13c-680888cdf980
>
> Glimpses of frailty add charm to Lightfoot performance
> Canadian icon back in Vancouver for the first time in seven years
>
Very nice to read, Char. Thank you. It's good to hear that Gord is
doing well leading up to the Massey gigs.
Oh, and by the way, I just got back into Toronto this afternoon. What
the hell happened to summer?!!! <g> Sheesh!
--
Ed Mullen
http://edmullen.net
http://mozilla.edmullen.net
http://abington.edmullen.net
The gene pool sure could use a little chlorine.
lightf...@rogers.com
lol
honest!!!
It's been a fab few weeks in Toronto...
;)
ran...@telus.net
just at the right time. Here we are, Marian and I together with excited
friend Jeanne who never had been to a Lightfoot concert before. We
cross the threshold of "THE CENTRE" in downtown Vancouver at about 7:45
PM, Tuesday, Oct. 3rd, connected with David Wallace, brother of
talented Lighthead and friend, Kenyon Wallace, had a chat and from
there took our respective seats. "THE CENTRE" was the former "Ford
Centre" and has been upgraded resulting in an impressive stage view
with great sound and the lighting very impressive. Keeping in line with
his punctual precision, Gordon Lightfoot graced centre stage when the
exact hour of 8PM arrived. The powerful presence of this statuesque
figure of a man lit up the hall with the resulting effect of the
complete sold out audience rising to their feet in a hand clapping
frenzy compounded with howels of adulation. Tears welled in my eyes and
goosebumps practically leaped off my skin. The applause was not
stopping so the intro to "Cotton Jenny" was just the necessary medium
to sweetly and humbly release the cork from the wine bottle and from
there the mellowing out effect simply ran it's course. Dont forget
friends; we're in the company of a seasoned professional genius of a
man who's in control of his game. This man has paid his dues; lived his
life and nearly died for it as well. He didn't come here to Vancouver
to deny any member of his audience their money's worth and he would
never deny that same privilege to any other audience member anywhere
either. He does it "In His Fashion." The next song is "Carefree
Highway." The 67 year old pipes are opening up so now we're moving
over to the six string guitar and onto "14 Karat Gold." Next came
"Never Too Close" and then, my favourite Gordon Lightfoot classic" "In
My Fashion." That song registers with me like no other and when I watch
him doing it live on stage I just want to live my life out there:
right in the middle of that song. Next came a nice classic follow up:
"A Painter Passing Through," then "Rainy Day People" and "Beautiful."
All powerful tunes where one can relate to an experience at sometime
during their lives. He paused several times between tunes and made
references to the numerous tall buildings that are now here in
Vancouver and that it's been seven years since he's been here. He
talked about the "C" chord and how he's found a way to overcome the
difficulty he's been having trying to make it work. He's now moving to
the 12 string and it's "The Watchman's Gone." Now there's a tune with
powerful entry that can raise a hair or two. Then "Ribbon Of Darkness,"
"Sundown" "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald" and "Alberta Bound" to
finish the set. So now it's a trip to the "MEN'S" and there's an
unusual line up which indicates to me that I'm not the only one who
has prostate problems. It used to be the line up was always at the
"LADIES." Times sure have changed. Now we connect again with David,
beverages in hand and the atmosphere is bouyant. No time to finish the
conversation as the bell is ringing and the doors will close if we
don't get back to our seats. Out comes Mr Cool in a white dress shirt,
vest and white footwear as opposed to the darker shirt with red designs
in the first set and the opening song is a selective choice"
"Triangle." He opens up a little more with his speaking voice and talks
about the Tysons and how they helped him along with his career in the
early years. So we're onto "Hangdog Hotel Room, "All The Lovely
Ladies," "Waiting For You" "Clouds Of Lonliness" and then onto his
BIGGIE" "If You Could Read My Mind." He talked about Kaylan Porter, the
Canadian Idol singer who performed that song and Gord also went to one
of his concerts. Then it's the all inclusive song in just about every
Lightfoot concert and also an all time fav of most Lightfoot fans:" Don
Quixote." Now he picks up the 12 string and we're deep into the "drop
D" tuning so the "Early Morning Rain" starts it's fall. It registers
with the audience big time and he tells us about the "Elvis Presley"
recording and how the lyric pertaining to the "Cold And Drunk As I Can
Be" line became "Cold And Drunk As I May Be." He was very humble in the
way he said how much he likes the Elvis line better. Next tune was
"Baby Step Back" and then "Restless." He spoke about his connection
with /David Suzuki and his Amazon plight. The Band is introduced and
now it's winding down time and he takes it out with "Old Dan's
Records." This is not enough though for the highly charged sold out
house here so a crescendo of whistles and applause brought out the crew
for a grand finally which yielded a powerful rendition of "The Canadian
Railroad Trilogy" complete with full intro and the place went wild. We
knew he'd done his job and done it extremely well so there would be no
more tunes but a final bow to a most appreciative audience from a
living legend" GORDON LIGHTFOOT." Thanks Gord. Ron J.
Sheryl
Ron that was WONDERFUL, THANKS!!!! Again, feel just like I was there!!
(loved that "Mr. Cool" bit!!!)
Sheryl
Bru
> living legend" GORDON LIGHTFOOT." Thanks Gord. Ron J.
> RJ!
that was a great report. I was right there beside you. I was the one
jumping up and down, yelling for 'CI'. Guess he didnt hear me. ;)
Thank you, thank you!
Bru
Jesse-Joe
As great a coverage of a Lightfoot concert, as I ever read. Well done
Ron, and happy to see you had such a wonderful time. Especially enjoyed
your Drop" D" for Early Morning Rain, telling. From one Guitar buff to
another. Thanks for sharing. Gordon Lightfoot the Legend continues to
amazes us all. Jesse.
Derek
newspaper! :) Thanks!
Derek
"Progress might have been all right once but it has gone on too long."
--Ogden Nash
drb...@sbcglobal.net
Room"! Two of my favorites.
donnie
in article 1160110834.4...@c28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com,
ran...@telus.net at ran...@telus.net wrote on 10/6/06 12:00 AM:
ran...@telus.net
could have been there together to share the experience. As things go at
the moment with Gord looking the way he is, that wish should come to
fruition next month in Toronto. Cheers, Ron J.dr...@sbcglobal.net
wrote:
drb...@sbcglobal.net
ran...@telus.net at ran...@telus.net wrote on 10/6/06 3:35 PM:
> Many thanks friends for your kind remarks. My wish would be that we all
> could have been there together to share the experience. As things go at
> the moment with Gord looking the way he is, that wish should come to
> fruition next month in Toronto. Cheers, Ron
See ya there!
donnie