[Mt. Horeb Cub Fan]

Like Finesse, I am new to this group, and stumbled upon it when searching for news on Gordon’s mini-stroke. I am still surprised that there was no mention of it anywhere in the mainstream press, or even the trade papers (i.e., Rolling Stone, Billboard, etc.)

My wife and I attended the concert last night (9/20) in Whitewater, Wisc., and were stunned, like almost everyone else in the theater, to hear Gordo relate the news to us right after his opening song (Cotton Jenny). We were totally ignorant of the incident, as was the vast majority of the audience, and there was a loud groan, followed by hushed silence. As I looked around, after a few songs, more than a few people were crying.

Most of the things that occurred (Gordon’s statements, physical movements, etc.), have already been related by others who attended the shows in Harris, Minneapolis, and Wausau, so I won’t repeat them--they're practically identical to what we saw last night. But, I will add a few personal observations. . .

This is the first time I have ever seen him in concert, (I had bought tickets, way back in 1983, to a concert in Madison that was cancelled at the last minute.) So, I was just struck at how professional he was on stage—in the sense that he made it painfully clear that he cared very much whether we were pleased by his performance. After his encore (only one—by his choice, I think,) he came back out, alone, for one last bow. The whole theater was standing, of course, and he looked at us and shrugged his shoulders a bit, as if to say, “How was I?” When we roared our approval, he gave us a quick nod, showed a double-thumbs up, and nodded, as is to say, “Great!”, and he made his exit.

He had a momentary lapse of memory during “Don Quixote”, and began repeating verse one, rather than starting verse three, and he suddenly stopped and quietly apologized to us, before resuming the verse. My wife and I both were both struck by the self-deprecation, and thought, “That wasn’t necessary.” It was a quiet, little, revealing moment about his performance ethic, I think.

He apologized, at another point, saying, “I wish I could play the more ethereal pieces for you. . . but this thing,” [holding up his right hand] “looks like it’s going to take a while.”

The clear highlight for everyone, I am confident in saying, was "Wreck"--he gave a lengthy intro, and seemed to give it extra gusto and feeling.

I know I'm a novice (some might even say lurker,) but I just have to say that it was a pretty emotional night for my wife and me: the lack of any public word about his travails, prior to the concert, seeming very incongruent to his legendary status (at least, in our hearts and minds); his obvious courage in pressing on with the tour; his clear concern that we wouldn't be "disappointed" with his performance; his uncertain future; and, of course, the memories, stretching all the way back to childhood. It was long ride home after the concert. . .