Re: Gord on piano live - Fine as Fine Can Be
 

First off: This is a great thread about a great concert/recording.... Not the best, but certainly a very, very good one!

That having been said, I'm after the cleanest, purest, most-closely original file available. Then I "clean things up" with Audicity. A marvelous software that is not all too difficult to figure out.

I much appreciate jj posting this, but I'm wondering how close to the orginal tape this is?

I worked with the SugarMegs file, used Audacity to record the streaming audio, but i now suspect that that may not be the best route, and I may try working with this WMA file instead... Many thanks Sir John, for your efforts... even if I absorb only half of your info, I'm much further along toward my objective, which is of course the "listening pleasure" we all seek.
I spent a good deal of time yesterday re-editing the SugarMegs offering, and now I'm contemplating re-working it all over again! Dang, going to have to give this some thought!

Side note to the editing issue, trim off the final minute of ongoing applause at the end of CRT and you got it... under 80 minutes.

But I must say, that this is precisely the beauty of this forum, and it has broadened my "Lightfoot Experience" beyond measure!!! To all those who contribute, my heart felt thanks!

Re: Gord on piano live - Fine as Fine Can Be
 

Wow, jj; this is great. :biggrin: Thanks for posting!:clap:

Re: Gord on piano live - Fine as Fine Can Be
 

wish i could help with the clean up, peter...i would love to hear a clean version

ah, i think i missed meeting you last month in toronto, mandoann...my loss

Re: Gord on piano live - Fine as Fine Can Be
 

Thanks for finding this performance. The first time I saw G.L. was about two months earlier than this performance at the Syria Mosque in Pittsburgh, PA. This concert takes me back to that night when I was 19 and Gordon was 37.

I just spent the last hour playing lead guitar along with the recording using my Martin OM-35.

Re: Gord on piano live - Fine as Fine Can Be
 

Nice to see this thread come up and I enjoyed listening to the concert again :)

Re: Gord on piano live - Fine as Fine Can Be
 

jj, your post inspired me to download COTS to my iPod, am so much enjoying hearing FAFCB (and Now & Then, another "new" favourite!) It was one of the songs I played on the keyboard for my friends last Saturday; it's exciting to have non-Lightheads say "what's that", "he wrote that?" when they've really enjoyed the song.

it was MY loss not to have met you on Toronto! :( Maybe in 2010 - are you planning on attending any of the shows in April in Ottawa and/or Quebec?

Re: Gord on piano live - Fine as Fine Can Be
 

is this just audio? is there video to it?

Re: Gord on piano live - Fine as Fine Can Be
 

neat, are those also the chords? lol

the jam with friends sounds fun...oh, April's a busy month, but am trying for next month's GL mini gig

Re: Gord on piano live - Fine as Fine Can Be
 

will i see you there JJ???

Re: Gord on piano live - Fine as Fine Can Be
 

Just listened. Thanks so much for posting. I loved to hear him playing the piano. What a treat.

Re: Gord on piano live - Fine as Fine Can Be
 

"Are those the chords" - that's a good one, jj!

Sorry about April; the "mini gig" sounds like fun, hope you get to go!

Re: Gord on piano live - Fine as Fine Can Be
 

Finally took the time to listen. This is absolutely fabulous. My regret was always that I never was able to see Gord play the piano on stage - this sure is a good second. Now and Then and The Last Time I Saw Her were the highlights for me as well as Stone Cold Sober...and so many others! Even though we listen to the old music frequently, this concert with his old voice and the banter just takes you right back. Thanks so much for posting - it made my day!

CM

Re: Gord on piano live - Fine as Fine Can Be
 

I’m a newbie here, and I was thrilled to be directed to this thread. Thanks you RM! This was my first Gordon Lightfoot show, and my first concert in Red Rocks. I read all the comments, downloaded the show, and took my time finding the right time to listen to it from start to finish. With my ipod and headphones, I lay in bed and could almost see, smell, and feel like I was transported back in time. For GL, this was half a lifetime ago and 2/3 of my lifetime ago. Sorry if this post runs on, but I have a few very random memories-comments-observations.

-It was a fine July and a beautiful night. I know there are a lot of wonderful concert venues in the world but I can’t imagine too many better than Red Rocks. The huge red sandstone surrounding the natural amphitheater, the lights of Denver behind the stage after sundown (though it may have been cloudy that night), the perfect acoustics, even the walk from the parking lot is spectacular. Though I have not seen GL near enough over the years, I have returned to Red Rocks many times and have enjoyed every show.

-My wife and I attended this concert. However I didn’t meet her until five years later. When we met, we were talking about music we liked and figured out we probably sat pretty close to each other.

-The girl I did go to the concert with used to sing what to this day is one of the best covers of Beautiful I’ve ever heard. She owned a Gibson Hummingbird, which is one of the most beautiful guitars I’ve ever seen or heard. She never did let me touch it (or her).

-It was not me who Gordon said had the biggest joint he’d ever seen;) . This was between my freshman and sophomore year of college and I was a partier, but I did not even drink one beer before or during this show. My love for the man’s music had me wanting to be of a totally clear mind (Stone Cold Sober) when I heard him live the first time.

-Even after 35 years I remembered most of the songs and much of his banter that night. “This song reminds me of the Great Lakes because it’s really erie!” I remembered him talking that night about the songs being in the wrong order on Cold on the Shoulder, which he also said during an interview in Rolling Stone that year. I’ve always liked that album. I did not remember him playing Now and Then, and it was kind of surprising to me that he played it. I love the song but it doesn't stand out as one to me that would be in the rotation. Has he played that live much over the years?

-Pretty good quality for an audience tape. Are there other shows in circulation? I have browsed archive.org and have seen nothing so I was kind of surprised to hear about this one.

-I couldn't help but feeling a bit of a sense of loss. Don’t get me wrong; I loved seeing GL last week in Denver as he still brings sincerity and authenticity to his performance. However, we will never hear that voice and feel that energy on a stage again.

-"Leave the driving to us." The fall before this concert, I had seen John Denver perform in Fort Collins. He asked people to not sing along as the crowd was there to hear him, and not their neighbors. True enough, and when Gordon asked us not to clap, I didn't clap. To this day, I resist the urge to sing along at a concert though sometimes I remember the lyrics better than the performer.

-The songs are timeless. So are the instrumental arrangements.

- His performance that night of The Last Time I Saw Her has been one of my fondest memories of all the concerts I’ve ever attended. Hearing it again only confirmed that though the audience voices were distracting.

-I also remembered that something got thrown on the stage near or at the end of the show. From where I sat, we thought it was beer can and my brother sitting much lower thought it was an orange. Between that, and maybe GL’s frustration with audience noise during the songs, he left after CRT abruptly with no encore. I think I even read in the Denver Post afterwards some comments from him that he would never play Red Rocks again, though I think he played the next summer. My memories may be clouded, was anybody else there that remembered any of this?

Like I said, it was quite an experience to re-live this event and it makes me appreciate and love his music even more. He was at his peak both creatively and vocally during this time, and I’m glad I got to hear him then as I hope to see him again soon.

Mark

Re: Gord on piano live - Fine as Fine Can Be
 

I've never been to Red Rocks but have seen pictures online and it is truly one of the most beautiful places to hold a concert I can think of...to see and hear Lightfoot at that time in his career in that venue was magical it seems. That voice, those songs, that natural beauty all around. wow. No wonder it has stayed with you.
thanks for the memories!

Re: Gord on piano live - Fine as Fine Can Be
 

Thanks, 2silent2breal, for posting your memories for all of us to share! I enjoyed reading all the little details that only someone who attended could experience. This concert is one of my favorites because of Now and Then. I love that song, and it's the only live version I've ever heard.