Gordon Lightfoot Forums - View Single Post

charlene · 10-10-2006, 05:04 PM

the reviewer sent me the e-mail version and I rec'd hard copy pics from my cousin who lives in Prince George BC.

Prince George Citizen
Oct. 03, 2006
By Frank PEEBLES
Hearing songs from the source is always a deeper experience than radio or CD. When the source is Gordon Lightfoot, there is some kind of mystique attached as well. There he was, Sunday night, performing in Prince George for the first time in his 40-year career. Greatness has an ambiance, and it walked in white leather boots that night. It walked proudly. Lightfoot cannot and does not try to hide his 68 years. His voice trembles, his guitar fingers are a little stiff.

Yet he is no Bob Dylan, who is barely audible in concert these days, or John Lee Hooker who had to make monotone his trademark. Lightfoot still enunciates the words beautifully and hits all the reasonable notes. His voice still has waves of musicality, and a charisma not present on recordings paints the experience with a colour only those who attended have ever seen. His hawkish glare with a mischievous sneer comes across as an old sailor letting you know he still knows how to harness the wind, and it is still a lot of fun. He is unafraid to literally look his audience in the eye, with hawkish mischievousness. It can be said that the experience is better now than it was 30 years ago when he was in his musical prime but also at his self destructive peak. One local fan said he saw Lightfoot at the Orpheum in Vancouver in about 1974 "and he fell off his stool he was so drunk." That's all gone now. Lightfoot's body might be fragile, but his eyes are clear, his mind is open, and he is in control of the tool that is himself. In a way, seeing him Sunday at CN Centre was a privilege beyond mere songs.

He has endured near death experiences in the last few years that nearly took him from us. We have to appreciate that Lightfoot certainly doesn't need the money, he certainly has earned a life of leisure, he sucks up a fair amount of pain just to be there, he could pick and chose the plum personal appearances, yet he feels the urge and conviction to do a national tour when a lot of people his junior couldn't be bothered to abandon the couch for much more than a fresh bag of chips. Greatness has an ambiance. Seeing him in the flesh, there is no way to deny the strings he can pull to gather perfect storyteller's tension in so many of his songs.

Audiences ride the arch of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald no matter how many times they have heard it before. Johnny Cash felt the same sadness, pleasure and angst we all felt Sunday night contained in "If you could read my mind, love, what a tale my thoughts could tell ... I don't know where we went wrong but the feeling's gone and I just can't get it back." Elvis and Dylan both sang along to Early Morning Rain the way audience members did so softly all around the room. In that way, Lightfoot is the great Canadian equalizer. He is the common man who moved uncommon people and us, too. On Sunday night he did it again, in person.

There is no way for Lightfoot to play all the songs that we know and love. He had to leave some behind, but he still gave a show two hours long with no opening act. And he did it with a smooth energy that dodged past his elder realities. From a technical standpoint, the sound mix was so precise (his managers raved about the quality of CN Centre for producing a concert) you could differentiate two separate guitar strings being plucked at the same time, every tap of a block or cling of a triangle. His band was as close to perfect as any group can get with each other. Also, my wife raved, it was the first concert she could remember leaving without a ringing in her ears. Instead, we all left with a ringing in our hearts for a man we might never see again but whom we all know even if we have never formally met him. We know him in the bones of our culture, and the involuntary muscles of our musical memories.

Now we can say we know him personally because he finally came to us in our town.

photos by David Mah for the Prince George Citizen:

10-10-2006, 05:04 PM	#1
charlene Moderator Join Date: May 2000 Posts: 16,004	the reviewer sent me the e-mail version and I rec'd hard copy pics from my cousin who lives in Prince George BC. Prince George Citizen Oct. 03, 2006 By Frank PEEBLES Hearing songs from the source is always a deeper experience than radio or CD. When the source is Gordon Lightfoot, there is some kind of mystique attached as well. There he was, Sunday night, performing in Prince George for the first time in his 40-year career. Greatness has an ambiance, and it walked in white leather boots that night. It walked proudly. Lightfoot cannot and does not try to hide his 68 years. His voice trembles, his guitar fingers are a little stiff. Yet he is no Bob Dylan, who is barely audible in concert these days, or John Lee Hooker who had to make monotone his trademark. Lightfoot still enunciates the words beautifully and hits all the reasonable notes. His voice still has waves of musicality, and a charisma not present on recordings paints the experience with a colour only those who attended have ever seen. His hawkish glare with a mischievous sneer comes across as an old sailor letting you know he still knows how to harness the wind, and it is still a lot of fun. He is unafraid to literally look his audience in the eye, with hawkish mischievousness. It can be said that the experience is better now than it was 30 years ago when he was in his musical prime but also at his self destructive peak. One local fan said he saw Lightfoot at the Orpheum in Vancouver in about 1974 "and he fell off his stool he was so drunk." That's all gone now. Lightfoot's body might be fragile, but his eyes are clear, his mind is open, and he is in control of the tool that is himself. In a way, seeing him Sunday at CN Centre was a privilege beyond mere songs. He has endured near death experiences in the last few years that nearly took him from us. We have to appreciate that Lightfoot certainly doesn't need the money, he certainly has earned a life of leisure, he sucks up a fair amount of pain just to be there, he could pick and chose the plum personal appearances, yet he feels the urge and conviction to do a national tour when a lot of people his junior couldn't be bothered to abandon the couch for much more than a fresh bag of chips. Greatness has an ambiance. Seeing him in the flesh, there is no way to deny the strings he can pull to gather perfect storyteller's tension in so many of his songs. Audiences ride the arch of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald no matter how many times they have heard it before. Johnny Cash felt the same sadness, pleasure and angst we all felt Sunday night contained in "If you could read my mind, love, what a tale my thoughts could tell ... I don't know where we went wrong but the feeling's gone and I just can't get it back." Elvis and Dylan both sang along to Early Morning Rain the way audience members did so softly all around the room. In that way, Lightfoot is the great Canadian equalizer. He is the common man who moved uncommon people and us, too. On Sunday night he did it again, in person. There is no way for Lightfoot to play all the songs that we know and love. He had to leave some behind, but he still gave a show two hours long with no opening act. And he did it with a smooth energy that dodged past his elder realities. From a technical standpoint, the sound mix was so precise (his managers raved about the quality of CN Centre for producing a concert) you could differentiate two separate guitar strings being plucked at the same time, every tap of a block or cling of a triangle. His band was as close to perfect as any group can get with each other. Also, my wife raved, it was the first concert she could remember leaving without a ringing in her ears. Instead, we all left with a ringing in our hearts for a man we might never see again but whom we all know even if we have never formally met him. We know him in the bones of our culture, and the involuntary muscles of our musical memories. Now we can say we know him personally because he finally came to us in our town. photos by David Mah for the Prince George Citizen: