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“Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated,” Gordon Lightfoot joked from the stage of the National Arts Centre’s Southam Hall last night, quoting a line that Mark Twain used when news of the author’s death went out on the telegraph more than a century ago.
In the case of Lightfoot’s supposed demise, the news went out on Twitter a few weeks back.
In the space of about an hour, fans of Canada’s folk-music legend went through a rollercoaster of emotions, from shock to grief to elation when it became apparent that it was all a big, erroneously reported mistake.
Still, there’s nothing like a death scare to revitalize a veteran artist’s career. The notion that a national treasure such as Lightfoot might not be around forever seems to have renewed interest in the man and his music.
Radio stations are playing his songs again and fans are showing their love by buying concert tickets.
During the first of two nights at the National Arts Centre, Lightfoot admitted with a grin that he was getting a lot of mileage out of the hoax.
He was good-natured about it, though, and didn’t let it distract him from his mission to share as many of his songs as humanly possible.
In dark jeans, dressy boots and a blue shirt, his hair still fairly long, Lightfoot was not overdressed for the occasion. He began promptly, nipping through Did She Mention My Name, Carefree Highway and Sea of Tranquility before pausing to greet the audience in rudimentary French. “Comment allez-vous?” he said, adding “you are wonderful” to express his appreciation.
On acoustic guitar, Lightfoot performed with his longtime bandmates, including Terry Clements on electric guitar, Rick Haynes on bass, Barry Keane on drums and Mike Hefferman on keyboards.
Their ensemble playing was restrained, but impeccable, a perfect vehicle to keep the songs moving along.
Unfortunately, the 71-year-old singer-songwriter was not in peak form vocally, at least not during the first half of the concert.
His distinctive voice seemed thin and wavered at the top end, a weakness that was particularly evident in A Painter Passing Through. Coupled with a tendency to mumble some of the lyrics, the going was a bit rough at times.
Even strong, familiar songs like Rainy Day People and Sundown seemed undersung, with Lightfoot barely making himself heard over the band, despite their subtle touch.
However, there were a couple of highlights in the first set, including a lovely treatment of Beautiful and the newly rejigged version of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Lightfoot changed a line in the anthemic song in light of new evidence that’s been discovered about the Lake Superior shipwreck.
“I’m happy that National Geographic did this documentary that proves the Edmund Fitzgerald broke in half. So that means I had to change a line,” Lightfoot said.