No sign of Gord but terrific performers
 

Seeger sing-along a fan pleaser
BRAD WHEELER

Globe and Mail Update

July 7, 2008 at 10:41 AM EDT

Pete Seeger

At Hugh's Room in Toronto on Sunday

A rumoured appearance of Gordon Lightfoot failed to materialize, but folk music fans at a Toronto dinner club were hardly disappointed. A concert, one of two at Hugh's Room that sold out within days of their announcement, featured the scheduled show of Pete Seeger, the 89-year-old banjo-toting troubadour who performed as part of a trio that included acoustic blues artist Guy Davis and Seeger's grandson, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger.

Although the three alternated lead vocals and presented two sets of acoustic blues, folk and gospel as a trio, the reverential audience's attention was clearly drawn to the still-spry balladeer, who earned a standing ovation before he'd even sung a note. Dressed as a contemporary of Woody Guthrie and protest-music pioneer would be – plaid shirt and blue jeans, with a red hankie poking out from a back pocket – Seeger took the second verse of the opening Midnight Special, an amiable ditty sung from the point of view of the imprisoned. Davis updated a lyric to mention Guantanamo Bay.

Seeger played his banjo but seemed more comfortable in the roll of a sing-along leader. “This is an old song, and I'm going to sing it slower than you've ever heard it,” he said, introducing a lung-stretching version of Amazing Grace. “The advantage of going slow is that if you hit the wrong note, you have time to slide over.”

The first set ended with the appearance of Canadian folk legend Sylvia Tyson, who added her voice to If I Had a Hammer, controversial in 1949, but now pleasantly communal.

A second set was highlighted by Seeger's Turn! Turn! Turn!, an enduring plea for world peace that was a hit for the Bryds in 1965.

The concert was one of five in benefit of the Unitarian Service Committee of Canada's Seeds of Survival program, dedicated to marginal farming communities in developing nations. After a second show Monday night in Toronto, Seeger moves to the Grand Theatre in Kingston Tuesday before heading to Ottawa's National Library Theatre on Wednesday.

Re: No sign of Gord but terrific performers
 

At 89 years of age & still performing... He did write some good songs in his days. Thanks for posting this Annie. :)

Re: No sign of Gord but terrific performers
 

Yeah, I understand he does very few concerts/performances at this point but will come out for a cause he believes in if he's up to it.

Re: No sign of Gord but terrific performers
 

A reliable source told me that Lightfoot was there..

Re: No sign of Gord but terrific performers
 

pics:

Re: No sign of Gord but terrific performers
 

April 16, 2014 "FOR THE LOVE OF PETE" - Pete Seeger TRIBUTE show at HUGH'S in TO - audio of concert : http://www.rootsmusic.ca/roots-music...blog-april-18/

listen: http://mix881.com/go/listen-live/

For The Love of Pete!
This week, we present a special broadcast: some of Canada’s greatest folk musicians pay tribute to the late Pete Seeger, recorded live from the nation’s leading folk venue, Hugh’s Room in Toronto, on Wednesday, April 16, 2014. Most of the musicians performing had a personal connection to Pete.

Curated and hosted by David Newland (co-founder of Roots Music Canada), the concert features Jory Nash, Rosalyn Dennett, Grit Laskin, Quique Escamilla, David Celia, Mike Ford, Ken Whiteley, James Gordon, Crabtree & Mills, Mike Daley and Jerry Gray of The Travellers (OMG wait till you hear that!). The stories are as great as the music. You’ll also hear from Roy Volpe of Pete’s beloved Clearwater Festival, who came up from NYC to join in the celebration.

Our special intermission feature includes an in-studio visit by Gathering Sparks, who also performed at the Seeger concert. We’ll hear what they played on Wednesday night, spin a song of their new EP, and get a live-to-air performance, bluegrass-style.

Thanks go to all of the performers, Hugh’s Room, sound man Colin Puffer, and Paul Mills, who recorded the event. The event runs again Saturday, April 19, 2014, but is Standing Room Only at this moment.

The show is broadcast live at 8:00 PM ET on April 18 on Mix881 (FM – Erin, ON) and online at Mix881.com.