Gordon Lightfoot Forums - View Single Post - Duluth- Sept. 23: Set List

seafarer62 · 09-24-2007, 10:12 AM

Hello group- wonderful evening in Duluth on a beautiful evening.

Debbie and I arrived early and decided to walk through the breathtaking Rose Garden in Leif Ericson Park. The park overlooks Gitche Gumme and two large freighters were anchored in the harbor outside of Canal Park. A wedding was underway in the gazebo. The smell of the roses was intoxicating. Started thinking of all the GL songs with roses: Your Love's Return, Tattoo, Watchman's Gone, 16 Miles to 7 Lakes. If you ever get to Duluth in the summer, by all means you have to go.

We then drove to Canal Park and found Claudia at Grandma's (bar and grill). We had a light meal and talked all things Gord. Claudia is a relatively new fan and her exuberance is as infectious as her German accent. For an old salt like me with 35 concerts over about 30 years, I felt her excitement about the concert. As she related in her post yesterday, she was able to get backstage after the Minneapolis concert. Another local couple from Duluth joined us as they had read our open invitation. Unfortunately, we were soon booted out as Grandma's was closing to host a wedding reception. (Maybe the same couple from the Rose Garden?)

We walked over to the DECC with a moderate breeze blowing off the lake. Many fishing boats and sailboats were taking advantage of the balmy late summer day. The lobby of the DECC was full but we were able to run into Darin Hogan. Darin was one of the "founders " of the Lightfoot newsgroup when it was on America On Line back in the dial up, busy signal days of circa 1995 era. Some of you may remember him as "Dareott" better. Darin is doing great these days just getting a major promotion to manager at a store in the major supermarket chain (Cub) in the Twin Cities. Darin is busy with a new job, new house, wife and 3-year old son so he doesn't get online as nearly as much as he once did. He said to send his greetings and all Corfidians owe a debt to Darin for what he did in those early days to get this community going.

Our seats were fantastic - first row, front and center behind the orchestra pit. Comfortable seats, extra leg room, yes, life is good. Claudia was nearby in the orchestra pit. There had to be 2000+ people in there but there were some open seats in the back of the balcony.

The lights dim. Here is the set list:

1) Cotton Jenny
2) Carefree Highway
3) Sea of Tranquility
4) 14 Karat Gold
5) Never Too Close
6) A Painter Passing Through
7) In My Fashion
8) Rainy Day People
9) Shadows
10) Beautiful
11) The Watchman's Gone
12) Ribbon of Darkness
13) Sundown
14) Wreck of the E.F.
Intermission
15) Triangle
16) Hangdog Hotel Room
17) Restless
18) Clouds of Loneliness
19) Waiting For You
20) Make Way for the Lady
21) If You Could Read My Mind
22) Baby Step Back
23) Sit Down Young Stranger (For Claudia)
24) Early Morning Rain
Encores:
25) Blackberry Wine
26) Old Dan's Records

Some observations:

Gord was more hoarse than he had been in Rochester and Minneapolis. Five nights in a row is a lot to ask. As the newspaper review indicated, he did improve as the show went on. Most of the first set was punctuated by a remark by an obnoxious woman about six rows behind me. Before "Painter" he started chit-chatting and this woman yells out, "Just do the songs." Gord shrugged and started what was perhaps the most forgettable version of Painter that I can remember. About 45 seconds into the song, I wonder if Gord thought that he should have had swig of water before starting. I don't know if the woman's comment affected him that much but he didn't say much the rest of the first set. The Fitzgerald was done pretty well with some of the phrasings slightly different than I have heard before. The first set was identical to the first set of Rochester.

During intermission, we finally found RJ (Bob) and Tracy. They weren't sitting that far away. Claudia, RJ and I shared our observations and travels - there is an immediate kindred spirit which Corfidians meet. Too soon, the house lights dimmed and the 2nd set started.

The second set and vocals were stronger and he was more talkative. He absolutely nailed Restless. He dedicated "Clouds" to his "second ex-wife" as he done in Rochester. On Friday night, he also added that he wrote it in 2000 as he could see it (break-up) coming. I immediately thought that it made perfect sense of where most of the down side of the Harmony album was inspired.

Before he started "Make Way", I thought he might do Ring Them Bells as Duluth is Bob Dylan's hometown but he made no reference to Bob.

Then the surprise of the evening: Claudia over dinner had told us that she had personally asked Gord for Sit Down Young Stranger on Saturday night. Well, he did it and did it exceptionally. As he was singing it I thought of the Iraq war, the song is a classic because the message is timeless. Claudia stood up in the orchestra pit afterwards clapping her heart out.

He told the Elvis backstage in Buffalo story prior to Early Morning Rain. Great performance and the guys left the stage. They returned for a two-song set of toe tappers. Great crowd response... Gord came back for a final bow and the house lights came on.

RJ, Claudia, Debbie and I shared final greetings and goodbyes. Claudia was going to stay to get backstage to greet Gord again. So maybe she will have more news when she gets back.

The long Minnesota Gord weekend is over. I'm glad I took the day off of work. I am pooped. Can't imagine how Gord feels at 68? It was fun and the weekend was a great Gord memory. These were concerts # 33-34-35 for me, but I never get tired of them. In one sense, I am disappointed in the "scriptedness" of the set lists but on the upside, there were only minor vocal flubs the entire weekend, few bad chords. This band is rehearsed and they can just look at each other and communicate clearly.

I hope the rest of Corfid enjoyed my rambling postings and that I painted a picture so you felt like you were here.

The other great part of the weekend was meeting the other Corfidians:

Dakota Rose (Nancy)
LouiseMNMpls (Louise)
GitcheGummee (Ruth)
MnMouse (Sharron)
Claudia (Claudia)
RJ (Bob)
and Darin Hogan (encouraged to hook up on Corfid again)

They are just ordinary people like me who just enjoy the music of Gordon Lightfoot.

Seafarer62 (John)

09-24-2007, 10:12 AM	#1
seafarer62 Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Forest Lake, MN USA Posts: 286	Duluth- Sept. 23: Set List Hello group- wonderful evening in Duluth on a beautiful evening. Debbie and I arrived early and decided to walk through the breathtaking Rose Garden in Leif Ericson Park. The park overlooks Gitche Gumme and two large freighters were anchored in the harbor outside of Canal Park. A wedding was underway in the gazebo. The smell of the roses was intoxicating. Started thinking of all the GL songs with roses: Your Love's Return, Tattoo, Watchman's Gone, 16 Miles to 7 Lakes. If you ever get to Duluth in the summer, by all means you have to go. We then drove to Canal Park and found Claudia at Grandma's (bar and grill). We had a light meal and talked all things Gord. Claudia is a relatively new fan and her exuberance is as infectious as her German accent. For an old salt like me with 35 concerts over about 30 years, I felt her excitement about the concert. As she related in her post yesterday, she was able to get backstage after the Minneapolis concert. Another local couple from Duluth joined us as they had read our open invitation. Unfortunately, we were soon booted out as Grandma's was closing to host a wedding reception. (Maybe the same couple from the Rose Garden?) We walked over to the DECC with a moderate breeze blowing off the lake. Many fishing boats and sailboats were taking advantage of the balmy late summer day. The lobby of the DECC was full but we were able to run into Darin Hogan. Darin was one of the "founders " of the Lightfoot newsgroup when it was on America On Line back in the dial up, busy signal days of circa 1995 era. Some of you may remember him as "Dareott" better. Darin is doing great these days just getting a major promotion to manager at a store in the major supermarket chain (Cub) in the Twin Cities. Darin is busy with a new job, new house, wife and 3-year old son so he doesn't get online as nearly as much as he once did. He said to send his greetings and all Corfidians owe a debt to Darin for what he did in those early days to get this community going. Our seats were fantastic - first row, front and center behind the orchestra pit. Comfortable seats, extra leg room, yes, life is good. Claudia was nearby in the orchestra pit. There had to be 2000+ people in there but there were some open seats in the back of the balcony. The lights dim. Here is the set list: 1) Cotton Jenny 2) Carefree Highway 3) Sea of Tranquility 4) 14 Karat Gold 5) Never Too Close 6) A Painter Passing Through 7) In My Fashion 8) Rainy Day People 9) Shadows 10) Beautiful 11) The Watchman's Gone 12) Ribbon of Darkness 13) Sundown 14) Wreck of the E.F. Intermission 15) Triangle 16) Hangdog Hotel Room 17) Restless 18) Clouds of Loneliness 19) Waiting For You 20) Make Way for the Lady 21) If You Could Read My Mind 22) Baby Step Back 23) Sit Down Young Stranger (For Claudia) 24) Early Morning Rain Encores: 25) Blackberry Wine 26) Old Dan's Records Some observations: Gord was more hoarse than he had been in Rochester and Minneapolis. Five nights in a row is a lot to ask. As the newspaper review indicated, he did improve as the show went on. Most of the first set was punctuated by a remark by an obnoxious woman about six rows behind me. Before "Painter" he started chit-chatting and this woman yells out, "Just do the songs." Gord shrugged and started what was perhaps the most forgettable version of Painter that I can remember. About 45 seconds into the song, I wonder if Gord thought that he should have had swig of water before starting. I don't know if the woman's comment affected him that much but he didn't say much the rest of the first set. The Fitzgerald was done pretty well with some of the phrasings slightly different than I have heard before. The first set was identical to the first set of Rochester. During intermission, we finally found RJ (Bob) and Tracy. They weren't sitting that far away. Claudia, RJ and I shared our observations and travels - there is an immediate kindred spirit which Corfidians meet. Too soon, the house lights dimmed and the 2nd set started. The second set and vocals were stronger and he was more talkative. He absolutely nailed Restless. He dedicated "Clouds" to his "second ex-wife" as he done in Rochester. On Friday night, he also added that he wrote it in 2000 as he could see it (break-up) coming. I immediately thought that it made perfect sense of where most of the down side of the Harmony album was inspired. Before he started "Make Way", I thought he might do Ring Them Bells as Duluth is Bob Dylan's hometown but he made no reference to Bob. Then the surprise of the evening: Claudia over dinner had told us that she had personally asked Gord for Sit Down Young Stranger on Saturday night. Well, he did it and did it exceptionally. As he was singing it I thought of the Iraq war, the song is a classic because the message is timeless. Claudia stood up in the orchestra pit afterwards clapping her heart out. He told the Elvis backstage in Buffalo story prior to Early Morning Rain. Great performance and the guys left the stage. They returned for a two-song set of toe tappers. Great crowd response... Gord came back for a final bow and the house lights came on. RJ, Claudia, Debbie and I shared final greetings and goodbyes. Claudia was going to stay to get backstage to greet Gord again. So maybe she will have more news when she gets back. The long Minnesota Gord weekend is over. I'm glad I took the day off of work. I am pooped. Can't imagine how Gord feels at 68? It was fun and the weekend was a great Gord memory. These were concerts # 33-34-35 for me, but I never get tired of them. In one sense, I am disappointed in the "scriptedness" of the set lists but on the upside, there were only minor vocal flubs the entire weekend, few bad chords. This band is rehearsed and they can just look at each other and communicate clearly. I hope the rest of Corfid enjoyed my rambling postings and that I painted a picture so you felt like you were here. The other great part of the weekend was meeting the other Corfidians: Dakota Rose (Nancy) LouiseMNMpls (Louise) GitcheGummee (Ruth) MnMouse (Sharron) Claudia (Claudia) RJ (Bob) and Darin Hogan (encouraged to hook up on Corfid again) They are just ordinary people like me who just enjoy the music of Gordon Lightfoot. Seafarer62 (John)