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From: tele...@aol.com (Telekidd)
Newsgroups: alt.music.lightfoot
Date: 01 Sep 2000 08:25:38 GMT
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Subject: San Diego--T plus a few hours
Message-ID: <20000901042538.05154.00000036@nso-me.aol.com>
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Greetings all!

Well, I'm pretty tired, so I don't know how coherent this will be...but
goshdarnit, I'll give it my best shot!

It was a beautiful evening for a show--a few clouds, but otherwise a starry,
mild evening.  There was a bit of a breeze which did cause some wind noise from
the mics on occasion, but it didn't distract from what was one of the better
performances I've seen from GL, and the band.  I'm not sure what exactly what
the magic ingredient was, but there was definitely a sense of commitment from
everybody.

During the bit of the soundcheck I heard from my room, I did notice that, for
example, "Ring Necked Loon" was just a tiny bit slower than I remember it,
which made it seem a bit more dramatic.  (I think I mentioned that in an
earlier post, didn't I?  Wow...my mind really IS going!)  

In any event, during the performance itself, I noticed a couple of songs seem
to have been done just a little bit slower.  In the case of "Wreck..." it
definitely gave the song a higher sense of drama.  However, I could be mistaken
in terms of the tempo--it may be that what I was hearing was just an
exceptionally committed performance.

The sound, at least from where I was, was very, very good--an excellent mix. 
Another little item which got the evening off on the right foot was the emcee. 
Usually, I get the impression that the emcees rarely know much about the acts
they're introducing--they seem to be there to just announce upcoming concerts
and urge you to spend oodles of money at the refreshment stand.  The gentleman
tonight, however, obviously was a bit more familiar with GL's music.  He said
something along the lines of first hearing of GL through "a song called 'Spin
Spin'", which is a little off the beaten track for the casual observer.  He
then mentioned having an 8-track of "an album called Sit Down Young Stranger"
and said the lyric of IYCRMM cut off on the 8-track tape while it changed
programs.  Perhaps an insignificant point, but it did seem to get the evening
off on the right foot.

GL came out and was into it, and in great voice, from the get-go.  He came out
in the first set in a blue (I think--hard to tell under the lights)
short-sleeved shirt and jeans.  For those lovers of detail, I am sorry to
report I couldn't see the footwear.  However, I can say he cut quite the
romantic figure of the classic troubador, singing and playing with the breeze
blowing his hair around.

The band was spot-on, and, as I've mentioned, the sound was terrific.  We were
sitting 5th row, to the Mike H side of the stage, directly in front of the
speaker stack (which may have also accounted for the very good sound!).

Following is the annotated set list:

1.  Sea of Tranquility
2.  Don Quixote
3.  I'll Do Anything ("I forget which album this is from!")
4.  In My Fashion ("Let's get the blood boiling!")
5.  Beautiful ("That one has stood the test of time")
6.  The Watchman's Gone ("I've spent all day trying to decide whether to do TWG
or 'Forgive Me Lord.'"  Shouts for TWG followed!  He mentioned that he wrote
that song "before Jimmy Swaggart!")
7.  Sundown
8.  Carefree Highway
9.  Never Too Close
10.  Restless (There was a lovely moment before this one.  MH hit the opening
note, and GL started to play...and then started to tune.  He kept fiddling
around with the A-string...at one point turning it so far down I got the
impression he was starting to play around with us!  I'm sure he wasn't, but
people were getting a kick out of it.  He finally got it to where he wanted it,
strummed the chord...and then waited a long time before finally beginning the
song.)
11.  Ghosts of Cape Horn (This was a treat for me, as I don't think I've heard
this live for a while.  He talked about being in a "seafaring place", with the
boats going by on the bay just to the west side of the venue, being on the
Pacific.  Not too far away from us, he said, was the South Pacific!  And then
he talked about the "south tip of South America," which, of course, led him
into "Ghosts of Cape Horn," saying "let's go back 120 years!" or something
along those lines.  One other amusing note--at the point where sections paused
before going into the next section of the song, he gave that last note a huge
flourish, generating a great response from the audience!)
12.  Baby Step Back
13.  Heaven Don't Deserve Me (this tune was broadcast live to Oklahoma City)
14.  Wreck ( a fabulous performance)

Set 2
GL came out in a black t-shirt with "Gordon Lightfoot" on the sleeve, and black
jeans.  As with the beginning of the show, he repeatedly asked "Are you
READY?!" with various inflections, which was a lot of fun, and then launched
into:
1.  Waiting For You
2.  Fading Away (quite the best performance of this I've ever heard--again, it
may be because I perceived it as being slightly slower; but, whatever the
reason, it was fantastic.  In particular, Mike H and Rick H were having a lot
of fun and really punching the choruses, and Barry K was his usual rock-solid
self.)
3.  Shadows
4.  Minstrel of the Dawn (Terry C played some lovely lines during this one)
5.  IYCRMM
6.  Painter Passing Through (this after someone yelled for "The Pony Man."  GL
said "Well, we'll do this one first," and launched into APPT.  A very strong
crowd reaction for this one.
7.  The Pony Man
8.  Canadian Railroad Trilogy (he talked about playing this "big song," and
then started asking "Are you ready?!" again.  Someone yelled out "Rock 'em,
Gord!")  Continuing a trend, he really dragged out the pause after the "And
many are the dead men..." line.)
9.  Blackberry Wine (he said "This song is about one thing and one thing
only..." at which point someone yelled out "Women!"  GL got a big kick out of
this and was laughing, but did make it clear he was referring to wine!)
10.  Song For a Winter's Night (repeating the thunderstorm story)
11.  Early Morning Rain  (he said how the song had been done by a lot of
people, and that it would be "boastful" of him to mention all the people that
had done it.  Then he looked to the stars and said "But Elvis...if you're
watching--thank you!"  At this point, someone yelled "He's in the audience!")
ENCORE
Band intros and then...
12.  Old Dan's Records

All in all, one of the better shows I've seen, with some great playing by the
guys.  Everyone seemed to be in great spirits, and in great form.  A GL concert
at Humphrey's is well worth putting on your list of vacation plans--it's a
terrific venue, plus you get to enjoy a cool get-together at Doug's!  :)  Not a
bad deal, say I!  :)
Derek