Milwaukee, WI Set List 6-9-2019
 

I drove up to Milwaukee yesterday to attend Gordon Lightfoot’s “80 Years Strong” concert at the historic Pabst Theater in the downtown Riverwalk area.

Gordon and the band took the stage promptly at 8pm opening with Now and Then. Gone was the first song raspiness in Gord’s voice, as we have come to expect. Instead, a robust clarity I haven’t heard at concerts of recent years. Perhaps the result of his quitting smoking back in October 2018, according to the CTV interview he did last month. His voice seemed clear for most of this concert, although it became a little raspy during the lengthy “Wreck”. He kept hydrating and drinking some mysterious liquid from a white bottle after almost every song, but put on a very decent-sounding show overall. When asked by an audience member, what was in the white bottle, he replied, “Just taking care of business.”

He didn’t wear the customary red and blue velvet waistcoats at this show, opting for dark long sleeved shirts and vests, instead. Perhaps his warmer weather look.

At intermission I perused the merchandise table taking note of the new commemorative black tour t-shirt with the word Lightfoot in stylized lettering reminiscent of his 1968 album cover Did She Mention My Name? A bit pricey at $30, though.

Some new stage lighting touches, including a fog machine, helped enhance the backdrops, since I last saw him in concert.

He told the joke about not drinking anything stronger than “pop”, however, his “pop” would drink anything! And then, we heard, “meet me down by the rock pile baby and I’ll try to get a little bolder”.

When he brought up the St. Louis Cardinals (in Brewers country?) he was met with resounding boos and laughter. He embellished the story, though, by relating that his uncle up in Orillia was a life-long Cardinals fan and lived long enough to see them win the World Series again shortly before his death in 2011, which kind of tempered the crowd a little. I’m sure he’ll get a more positive reaction when he tells that story at his upcoming St. Louis concert on June 11.

He told his “Elvis has left the building” story and credited the “many other people” who had recorded Early Morning Rain, including Harry Belafonte, an early fan of his music. He mentioned his New York management had done all the paperwork in getting him work permits in the U.S. when he was first starting out.

Towards the end of the show Gordon announced they would do one more song and just one encore, unlike Las Vegas where they do a short show and 5 encores, he joked.

Set List - Milwaukee, WI 6-9-2019

Now and Then
Waiting for You
The Watchman’s Gone
14 Karat Gold
Minstrel of the Dawn
Christian Island
Make Way for the Lady
I’d Rather Press On
Beautiful
Let It Ride
Carefree Highway
Cotton Jenny
Ribbon of Darkness
Sundown

Sweet Guinevere
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Never Too Close
Don Quixote
Shadows
Rainy Day People
A Painter Passing Through
If You Could Read My Mind
Restless
Baby Step Back
Early Morning Rain

(Encore)
Cold on the Shoulder

Re: Milwaukee, WI Set List 6-9-2019
 

Weird that he told the Cardinals story in Milwaukee. Wonder if he forgot where he was? I'll be listening for it tonight in St. Louis although I've been wondering if he'll mention the Blues run for the Cup. We've NEVER won one in 51 seasons and I believe the Maple Leafs haven't won in 52, although of course they have 13 to their credit.