Gordon Lightfoot Forums - View Single Post

seafarer62 · 10-15-2010, 09:57 PM

Hi again everyone:

Sorry I didn't get to this last night. It's been a long week!

Wednesday dawned and I had a much shorter drive from Eau Claire to Wausau. Upon reaching Wausau, I scoped out the Grand Theatre. I had trouble finding the theatre in Eau Claire the night before in the dark. Eau Claire is not a very large town but none of the streets downtown seem to meet in right angles. Fortunately, downtown Wausau was much easier to navigate. Plus, I saw Gord's semi-truck first, so I knew I was in the neighborhood.

The Grand Theatre is a pretty typical restored theatre, far more ornate than Eau Claire's was. It was sold-out (est. 1,200) and a very warm, but polite audience greeted Gord and the guys with a standing ovation. Gord and the band didn't let us down. This may have been the most consistent and strongest show I have seen Gord perform since his return from his 2002 illness. His vocals were very good throughout, he was entertaining and chatty enough, and I thought several of the songs were just nailed. Just once he went back from the mike, leaned sharply down and was obviously clearing his sinuses. When he got back up, he quipped that he was just taking a "deep bow." With his long hair, it looked like a mop shaking.

The songs Shadows and Beautiful were especially strong. Restless was done flawlessly too. He rarely made lyric mistakes- just a couple of minor ones. Amazing for a performer of any age. Well folks-here is the set list with an unexpected song in the 2nd set:

Did She Mention My Name
Carefree Highway
Sea of Tranquility
14 Karat Gold
Never Too Close
A Painter Passing Through
Let It Ride
Rainy Day People
Shadows
Beautiful
The Watchman's Gone
Ribbon of Darkness
Sundown
Wreck of the E.F.

Triangle
Cotton Jenny
Restless
Home from the Forest
Waiting For You
Make Way for the Lady
Couchiching
If You Could Read My Mind
Don Quixote
Baby Step Back
Canadian Railroad Trilogy
Encore: Song for a Winter's Night

Gord did much better on the Trilogy than he had done two nights before. He said he did it by request because someone had called his office in Toronto about five weeks previously!

He introduced Painter by calling it some inversion of the D chord. The explanation went over my head. On Monday night in Manitowac, he went into a fuller explanation of only writing in 5 keys....... he named four of them and said he couldn't remember the 5th !

I'm no musical expert but I can see the non-verbal communication going on between the band members and they obviously continuously adjust.

He introduced the Fitzgerald and explained the hatch cover issue and the new line he wrote for it. He apologized but said he can't change the recording now.

For the third straight night, I had to hear Gord tell the same dumb jokes about the hair on the rabbit and why the moon is pale. Please Gord, call a comedian and get some new jokes. I can't imagine how the band guys are doing with this joke after so long!

I certainly didn't expect to hear "Couchiching" and was my first time to hear that one in concert. Barry has some great percussion work on this one.

I sat next to a young couple who were attending their first concert. He said he was a long-time Gord fan but only had 4 of the albums. (He was quite surprised when I told him there were 20 albums now!) I wrote down this website on a notepad for him and also told him that if he should get one more album, it should be "Shadows." I apologize to his wife (Fay or Faith??) in advance because Tom would probably be absorbing all this new information about Gordon.

The audience appeared pleased as we left. I certainly was. The 965 miles in my 2001 Toyota Corolla were fun. As I listened to Gord at night, I mainly listened to Bob Dylan in the car, reviewing his old albums I had listened to in years. Two legends with few peers.

As I am an accountant, here are the stats: 3 concerts. 79 songs. 38 different songs. I salute Gord for the added variety of the set lists than had been the case in recent years. It does make it more interesting for us loyal fans.

I look forward to hearing concert observations from Aurora, IL, Friday and the western half of the United States in November. Thanks in advance to all those who write.

Gord- please return to Minnesota next April when the weather gets nice! We'd be glad to have you here.

John/Minnesota

10-15-2010, 09:57 PM	#1
seafarer62 Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Forest Lake, MN USA Posts: 286	Wausau, WI: 10/13/10 Hi again everyone: Sorry I didn't get to this last night. It's been a long week! Wednesday dawned and I had a much shorter drive from Eau Claire to Wausau. Upon reaching Wausau, I scoped out the Grand Theatre. I had trouble finding the theatre in Eau Claire the night before in the dark. Eau Claire is not a very large town but none of the streets downtown seem to meet in right angles. Fortunately, downtown Wausau was much easier to navigate. Plus, I saw Gord's semi-truck first, so I knew I was in the neighborhood. The Grand Theatre is a pretty typical restored theatre, far more ornate than Eau Claire's was. It was sold-out (est. 1,200) and a very warm, but polite audience greeted Gord and the guys with a standing ovation. Gord and the band didn't let us down. This may have been the most consistent and strongest show I have seen Gord perform since his return from his 2002 illness. His vocals were very good throughout, he was entertaining and chatty enough, and I thought several of the songs were just nailed. Just once he went back from the mike, leaned sharply down and was obviously clearing his sinuses. When he got back up, he quipped that he was just taking a "deep bow." With his long hair, it looked like a mop shaking. The songs Shadows and Beautiful were especially strong. Restless was done flawlessly too. He rarely made lyric mistakes- just a couple of minor ones. Amazing for a performer of any age. Well folks-here is the set list with an unexpected song in the 2nd set: Did She Mention My Name Carefree Highway Sea of Tranquility 14 Karat Gold Never Too Close A Painter Passing Through Let It Ride Rainy Day People Shadows Beautiful The Watchman's Gone Ribbon of Darkness Sundown Wreck of the E.F. Triangle Cotton Jenny Restless Home from the Forest Waiting For You Make Way for the Lady Couchiching If You Could Read My Mind Don Quixote Baby Step Back Canadian Railroad Trilogy Encore: Song for a Winter's Night Gord did much better on the Trilogy than he had done two nights before. He said he did it by request because someone had called his office in Toronto about five weeks previously! He introduced Painter by calling it some inversion of the D chord. The explanation went over my head. On Monday night in Manitowac, he went into a fuller explanation of only writing in 5 keys....... he named four of them and said he couldn't remember the 5th ! I'm no musical expert but I can see the non-verbal communication going on between the band members and they obviously continuously adjust. He introduced the Fitzgerald and explained the hatch cover issue and the new line he wrote for it. He apologized but said he can't change the recording now. For the third straight night, I had to hear Gord tell the same dumb jokes about the hair on the rabbit and why the moon is pale. Please Gord, call a comedian and get some new jokes. I can't imagine how the band guys are doing with this joke after so long! I certainly didn't expect to hear "Couchiching" and was my first time to hear that one in concert. Barry has some great percussion work on this one. I sat next to a young couple who were attending their first concert. He said he was a long-time Gord fan but only had 4 of the albums. (He was quite surprised when I told him there were 20 albums now!) I wrote down this website on a notepad for him and also told him that if he should get one more album, it should be "Shadows." I apologize to his wife (Fay or Faith??) in advance because Tom would probably be absorbing all this new information about Gordon. The audience appeared pleased as we left. I certainly was. The 965 miles in my 2001 Toyota Corolla were fun. As I listened to Gord at night, I mainly listened to Bob Dylan in the car, reviewing his old albums I had listened to in years. Two legends with few peers. As I am an accountant, here are the stats: 3 concerts. 79 songs. 38 different songs. I salute Gord for the added variety of the set lists than had been the case in recent years. It does make it more interesting for us loyal fans. I look forward to hearing concert observations from Aurora, IL, Friday and the western half of the United States in November. Thanks in advance to all those who write. Gord- please return to Minnesota next April when the weather gets nice! We'd be glad to have you here. John/Minnesota