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Lightfoot makes strong return

Lightfoot makes strong return
Posted By JOHN SWARTZ, SPECIAL TO THE PACKET AND TIMES
Posted 2 hours ago
http://www.orilliapacket.com/Article...aspx?e=2178893

Gordon Lightfoot's workout regimen is working. His performance Sunday night was the strongest I've heard from him in years, well, since 2002.

He walked onto the stage to applause and started right in.

The stage looked fantastic. Eight triangular pieces of cloth were suspended vertically with wide ends alternating. They were pleated so the lighting could play of them creating some great effects.

In the second half, the colour scheme of the lighting changed, as did Lightfoot's attire.

In the first half, he wore a red jacket that, from the back row, looked like a waistcoat with sleeves. He looked like he was about to sit down for Masterpiece Theatre and introduce a movie. In part two he just wore a burgundy vest against his black shirt that stated to me -- I came to play.

The soundscape was understated, as is usual for a Lightfoot concert. I don't know anyone ever went to see him perform, expecting to get their ears pinned back. That did mean the band had to really play lightly, except on the rockier tunes.

Lightfoot seemed to be full of energy. He is not known to be verbose on stage, keeping the banter to the necessary to introduce some of the tunes.

He did, however, thank the audience for coming to the Opera House on a Sunday night for the second of two concerts.

"I won't play on Friday the 13th," he said.

He mixed in the radio hits with some of the less well-known tunes. The latter is relative, the sold out audience knew all of them.

He closed out set one with a string of hits, Beautiful, Cotton Jenny, and Alberta Bound.

In the second set he seemed to be even more energized and in good humour, even telling a few jokes, good ones too.

He started with a big one, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. He followed up with a story about meeting Bruce Springsteen at Massey Hall following a concert, saying Springsteen really performs a lot of very slow tunes, so Lightfoot felt it was OK to do a few. He then did Ringneck Loon, which is slow, but the words put you firmly in the Muskokas.

In retrospect, that is what makes seeing Lightfoot in concert special. As in Painter Passing Through (from the first set) a term he uses to describe himself on the journey of life, he uses words so effectively you can put yourself in the places he sings about, in the moods he's emoting.

That is nowhere more evident than in Canadian Railroad Trilogy. Each time I hear Lightfoot sing this song, the pictures become stronger. It's speaks about Canada more than any other song. It could be Canada's other National Anthem.

Coming at the end of the second set, it leaves one drained and satisfied. It is a fitting ending.

Just before starting an encore, someone yelled out happy Birthday, and the audience broke into the song, which left Lightfoot a little speechless, preferring to have his band stand up and take a bow, rather than himself.

If Lightfoot's health remains, it's a good bet we'll be seeing him again on stage at the Opera House.
Article ID# 2178893