I saw Gordon Lightfoot for the first time last night in Austin. It was a pretty amazing night on many counts. First, it was at an outdoor venue and the forecast was thundershowers all through the day and night. Also, it was a "rain or shine" concert. We resigned ourselves to get soaked, and brought our raincoats, tarps, wellies, etc. (no umbrellas allowed in this lawn-seating venue). We follwed the directions on the website for the venue and got lost. We arrived EXACTLY as he started playing! The weather was perfect...I mean perfect all evening. Gordon played pretty much non-stop (he doesn't do a lot of between-song talking does he?) except for his intermission break and 2 encores. There were probably about 500 people there, and he got several standing ovations (after WOTEF and IYCRMM), and of course, at the end. I had a great time, and am so glad I got to see him. I will always be disappointed I never got to see Stan Rogers before he died.
Perhaps the most inspiring thing about GL's performance is that he is working so incredibly hard to make sure he hits the notes. I'm a singer, and I respect anyone who has enough respect for the music to fight for the pitch. His has always been such an amazing vocal talent. A lesser man would not have been able to bring it like he did. It is a testament to how unusually talented he is. For whatever reason (cigarettes and hard-livin' most likely), his voice is very hollowed out...very thin. And in some ways it was kind of sad to hear certain songs when you're used to the young GL. But the crowd didn't seem to care, and I really didn't care all that much either. I knew about his voice going in, and I really just wanted to be in the man's presence. That I finally got to do under an absolutely gorgeous Austin sky.
Ken
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