Hi again Simone,
Ref: concert at Purchase, NY
The papers were all song requests, in one form or another. There were a total of four. One was mine, for Heaven Don't Deserve Me. He made a comment about the "wacky" song and seemed to say he would do it, but he didn't. (I don't know if I forgive him!). Two were computer printed photos of my friend's children, a boy 6 (who was sitting with us in the front row), and a girl, 4. Both children are big Lightfoot fans (I failed totally with my son, now 15) and each had written a note, in their own handwriting, with their request on the sheet with the photo. Gord didn't sing their requests either, but they are songs he hasn't been doing in concert recently. Luckily my friend and his family got to meet Gord - and get their autographs - after the show; a true night to remember.
The last request was from someone I don't know (!). I think it asked him for something "from Songbook", because he said something along those lines at the time and then when he introduced Never Too Close a bit later in the set, he said it was one of the songs he brought back because of "the anthology".
In my years of going to his concerts, I have decided that the best way to get your request sung, if it is a song that he has rehearsed and does occasionally, is to ask for it at the start. Most people put up their requests during the intermission, but by the second set he has less flexibility as he has about 10 songs left that are absolute musts. Plus, certain songs (Heaven Don't Deserve Me being one of them) are played on the 12 string he uses during the first set (capoed and tuned differently from the one he uses later for EMR and CRT). He can transpose the chords and play them on the "wrong" 12 string (he actually did that with "Heaven" back last October when he sang it in concert for the first time ever after a shouted request), but I think the odds are far better with an early request if everything else is right (and, of course, if Gord feels like doing it). Gord, on the other hand, occasionally makes fun of those of us who put our requests up at the start, laughingly saying something about "bon fide requests before the fact" ... but over the years, it has worked for me.
Don't apologize for what you remember or don't remember. Believe me, I know how hard it is to sit there and enjoy the music, and let yourself be transported to whereever his music takes you, and also to listen to, understand, and remember everything he says. But, the little "bits" we each remember are much enjoyed when shared.
One thing that I remember from this concert, not a little bit that he said, but something that happens occasionally - like it or not - is that Gord dropped his guitar pick during a song. What is wonderful is how he handled it, such that almost no one noticed. Since I was right in front of him, I saw what he was doing and realized that he had dropped the pick, even though I didn't see it fall. It was during Cherokee Bend ... he dropped the pick, reached into his pocket with his left hand and took out another, transferred it to his right hand, and resumed playing. And all the while, he never missed a beat in the vocals. What a professional! But then, we all know that already.
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Valerie Magee
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