http://www.orilliapacket.com/webapp/...nt%20-%20Local

Lightfoot still has the touch

John Swartz
Local News - Thursday, July 07, 2005 @ 08:00


If there's one thing that's clear from last weekend's Live 8 concert in

Barrie, it's that Canadians of all ages love Gordon Lightfoot - and we're

glad to have him back.


Witness the spontaneous cheering that broke out when Lightfoot got to the

middle of If You Could Read My Mind.


"I thought it was great," Lightfoot said of the experience in Barrie last

Saturday.


Lightfoot wasn't sure at first how to approach the Live 8 event.


He'd been easing back into performing after his long recuperation from a ruptured artery suffered in the fall of 2002, beginning with a surprise appearance at last year's Mariposa Folk Festival.


But performing in front of 35,000 people and a world-wide television audience of millions was a big departure from his usual gigs.


"You know, when they asked me to do it that's the first thing I thought

about," said the 66-year-old musician. "What it would be like in front of an audience that

basically is attuned to rock music - and believe you me there was a lot of

real good rock music in that show; it was an excellent show - and would I be

able to dovetail my way into that? I thought about that very seriously for

about a week or so. I found a method and that was to do it solo."


Like his solo appearance last year at Mariposa, the crowd loved it.
They'll

take Lightfoot anyway he wants to present himself.


"I do things like that from time to time," he said of appearing without his

band. "Sometimes we work also just as a trio. Mostly we work with the five

piece. It depends upon what the function is. The trio is a different sort of

approach."


It's the trio format that Sunday's Mariposa audience will get to hear. He'll

have Terry Clements and Rick Haynes on stage, making for two guitars and

bass for musical accompaniment.


"I'm going to do a couple of tunes off the new album (Harmony) - and do

Couchiching of course. I'll probably do one of the ballads and the rest of

it will be pretty familiar stuff and kind of ethereal stuff that works real

nice with just the trio."


Lightfoot is back to work. His schedule is not as heavy as it used to be.

He'll do ten days to California in August, followed by a few weeks off and

another stint in Boston and New York City in the fall.


"It's all booked up to the end of the year," he said. "We have to maintain,

that goes without saying."


Quite obviously his health has returned sufficiently to allow working again,

but working and being on stage isn't going to be exactly like it used to be.


"As long as everything holds together, I'm fine," he said. "The problem I had

was like a mechanical failure, like a hose in an automobile."


The last comment provoked laughter at both ends of the telephone line, and

some comments about not being able to get the parts at Canadian Tire

anymore. One of the reasons doctors attributed Lightfoot's survival and

ability to recover was that he was in great physical shape. He used to run

several times a week.


"That's the only thing I can't do. I can't run. They had to take muscle

fibre out of both sides of my legs to make an inner girdle and it's affected

my running."


"I work out though. I still have a program and I still adhere to it because

I know that it helps my singing and it helps my stamina. I don't do it on

the road, that's enough of a work out"


He's had to make some adjustments to his singing style, which if Live 8 is

the measure, are not very noticeable.


"Once I'm up there it feels effortless, except for the high notes. I just go

at them right in the same places they were before. If they're not there,

well, the people will get the message. They're very, very forgiving."


"I know which ones I can't do so I leave them alone," he said of the harder

songs to perform. "They're really odd cases. The ones with long phrases,

things like that. Hang Dog Hotel Room is one with really long phrases and we

used to really like to play that, but I can't get in enough air. I'm

learning how to split the phrases up now and that's all coming around."


Mariposa Folk Festival organizers have been surprised by a substantial

increase in ticket sales this year. They attribute Lightfoot's Sunday night

appearance as one of the key reasons sales are up.


"I'm very happy to be a part of that, and believe you me, it will be just as

much a challenge as always to get up there and do a great show. It's a

little tougher to play outdoors."


Some artists say that performing in front of a home town crowd is the

hardest thing they do. Not so for Lightfoot, there are no jitters to deal

with.


"I don't feel that. The getting ready and the preparation and making sure

that the instruments are in absolute tune; that sort of thing is the most

important thing to me, getting ready to do a show."


"We'll be in a trailer somewhere touching up those guitars at the last

minute and I got to bust out of there so I can go and hear Murray McLaughlin

because I love him. I think he's a great performer."


McLaughlin, along with Lynn Miles, Fred Eaglesmith and Harry Manx will

perform ahead of Gordon Lightfoot at Sunday's 6 p.m. concert.

http://www.orilliapacket.com/webapp/...nt%20-%20Local

Lightfoot still has the touch

John Swartz
Local News - Thursday, July 07, 2005 @ 08:00


If there's one thing that's clear from last weekend's Live 8 concert in

Barrie, it's that Canadians of all ages love Gordon Lightfoot - and we're

glad to have him back.


Witness the spontaneous cheering that broke out when Lightfoot got to the

middle of If You Could Read My Mind.


"I thought it was great," Lightfoot said of the experience in Barrie last

Saturday.


Lightfoot wasn't sure at first how to approach the Live 8 event.


He'd been easing back into performing after his long recuperation from a ruptured artery suffered in the fall of 2002, beginning with a surprise appearance at last year's Mariposa Folk Festival.


But performing in front of 35,000 people and a world-wide television audience of millions was a big departure from his usual gigs.


"You know, when they asked me to do it that's the first thing I thought

about," said the 66-year-old musician. "What it would be like in front of an audience that

basically is attuned to rock music - and believe you me there was a lot of

real good rock music in that show; it was an excellent show - and would I be

able to dovetail my way into that? I thought about that very seriously for

about a week or so. I found a method and that was to do it solo."


Like his solo appearance last year at Mariposa, the crowd loved it.
They'll

take Lightfoot anyway he wants to present himself.


"I do things like that from time to time," he said of appearing without his

band. "Sometimes we work also just as a trio. Mostly we work with the five

piece. It depends upon what the function is. The trio is a different sort of

approach."


It's the trio format that Sunday's Mariposa audience will get to hear. He'll

have Terry Clements and Rick Haynes on stage, making for two guitars and

bass for musical accompaniment.


"I'm going to do a couple of tunes off the new album (Harmony) - and do

Couchiching of course. I'll probably do one of the ballads and the rest of

it will be pretty familiar stuff and kind of ethereal stuff that works real

nice with just the trio."


Lightfoot is back to work. His schedule is not as heavy as it used to be.

He'll do ten days to California in August, followed by a few weeks off and

another stint in Boston and New York City in the fall.


"It's all booked up to the end of the year," he said. "We have to maintain,

that goes without saying."


Quite obviously his health has returned sufficiently to allow working again,

but working and being on stage isn't going to be exactly like it used to be.


"As long as everything holds together, I'm fine," he said. "The problem I had

was like a mechanical failure, like a hose in an automobile."


The last comment provoked laughter at both ends of the telephone line, and

some comments about not being able to get the parts at Canadian Tire

anymore. One of the reasons doctors attributed Lightfoot's survival and

ability to recover was that he was in great physical shape. He used to run

several times a week.


"That's the only thing I can't do. I can't run. They had to take muscle

fibre out of both sides of my legs to make an inner girdle and it's affected

my running."


"I work out though. I still have a program and I still adhere to it because

I know that it helps my singing and it helps my stamina. I don't do it on

the road, that's enough of a work out"


He's had to make some adjustments to his singing style, which if Live 8 is

the measure, are not very noticeable.


"Once I'm up there it feels effortless, except for the high notes. I just go

at them right in the same places they were before. If they're not there,

well, the people will get the message. They're very, very forgiving."


"I know which ones I can't do so I leave them alone," he said of the harder

songs to perform. "They're really odd cases. The ones with long phrases,

things like that. Hang Dog Hotel Room is one with really long phrases and we

used to really like to play that, but I can't get in enough air. I'm

learning how to split the phrases up now and that's all coming around."


Mariposa Folk Festival organizers have been surprised by a substantial

increase in ticket sales this year. They attribute Lightfoot's Sunday night

appearance as one of the key reasons sales are up.


"I'm very happy to be a part of that, and believe you me, it will be just as

much a challenge as always to get up there and do a great show. It's a

little tougher to play outdoors."


Some artists say that performing in front of a home town crowd is the

hardest thing they do. Not so for Lightfoot, there are no jitters to deal

with.


"I don't feel that. The getting ready and the preparation and making sure

that the instruments are in absolute tune; that sort of thing is the most

important thing to me, getting ready to do a show."


"We'll be in a trailer somewhere touching up those guitars at the last

minute and I got to bust out of there so I can go and hear Murray McLaughlin

because I love him. I think he's a great performer."


McLaughlin, along with Lynn Miles, Fred Eaglesmith and Harry Manx will

perform ahead of Gordon Lightfoot at Sunday's 6 p.m. concert.

Terrific piece - thanks, Char. Canadian Tire indeed, LOL.

Terrific piece - thanks, Char. Canadian Tire indeed, LOL.

Thanks Charzo, great article~!
Billl

Thanks, Char! What a great article -- Gord "sounds" great and happy. So, I am, too!

Yes, thanks so much. What a great guy!

Yes, thanks so much. What a great guy!

I'd be thrilled to see Gord and Rick and Terry perform in trio format. What a great, lighter sound it would be! (Although truth be told, I do get a kick out of watching all five of the guys click together onstage!) I can just imagine the wonderful music floating out of Orillia this evening!

I'm looking forward to reading the reports from our fearless correspondent birthday girl!

I'd be thrilled to see Gord and Rick and Terry perform in trio format. What a great, lighter sound it would be! (Although truth be told, I do get a kick out of watching all five of the guys click together onstage!) I can just imagine the wonderful music floating out of Orillia this evening!

I'm looking forward to reading the reports from our fearless correspondent birthday girl!