Gordon Lightfoot Forums - View Single Post - Hartford article-Torrington concert and setlist

charlene · 03-29-2011, 11:15 AM

http://www.courant.com/entertainment...,1238117.story

Gordon Lightfoot is a different singer now than he was in younger days, his once-rich baritone whittled away at age 72 by time and health problems. His show Monday night at the Warner Theatre in Torrington t was nonetheless a fine accounting of the Canadian troubadour's sonic pleasantries in a laid-back environment.

Lightfoot's four piece band brought a light touch to its accompaniments in the opener "Did She Mention My Name?" Lightfoot's acoustic guitar served the mellow "Carefree Highway," while his recently added lead guitarist Carter Lancaster trimmed its edges with mild electric gilding.

Lightfoot's voice is these days thin and reedy, making for delicate handling of most every lyric in his arsenal of romantically rendered folk. His voice was frail he picked his way across "A Painter Passing Through," but the effect was complementary to the lyric. He pushed as firmly as he could at the lines of "Let it Ride," marking it with precise phrasing where he no longer had available his long-ago deep well of natural sonic appeal.

In a set dominated by relaxed meanders, the percolating country of "Ribbon of Darkness" was sprightly by comparison. Old favorites like "Sundown," reminded how much rich vocal shaping has left Lightfoot's toolkit. On some songs, that tonal shift merely made the moment different than the past, but in the roomy "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," his limits diminished the song's broadest dramatic strokes.

Lightfoot's compositions remain enticing, frequently vivid bits of storytelling, sketched with understated elegance in the likes of "Sweet Guinevere." His range served measured material well, including a placid surveying of the sparse "Restless." He nestled into the jazzy flutter of "Make Way for the Lady," and coolly navigated the simple "Fine as Fine can Be."

The 100-minute show sported many songs more than 40 years old, among them the 1970's "If You Could Read my Mind," built around a matter-of-fact plaintive quality that remains Lightfoot's strength. The pulsating "Baby Step Back" was as close as the show ever got to a high gear, content to stick to deliberate material such as 1967's "Canadian Railroad Trilogy," which closed the set with a pleasant piece of restraint. An encore of "Blackberry Wine" forged another springy trip, one with which Lightfoot kept pace by launching a raspy exhale at its buoyant backdrop.

Gordon Lightfoot's Monday set list:
"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,"
"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,"
"Sweet Guinevere,"
"Cotton Jenny,"
"Restless,"
"Home From the Forest,"
"Waiting for You,"
"Make way for the Lady,"
"Fine as Fine can Be,"
"If you Could Read my Mind,"
"Don Quixote,"
"Baby Step Back,"
"Canadian Railroad Trilogy,"
(Encore) "Blackberry Wine."

03-29-2011, 11:15 AM	#1
charlene Moderator Join Date: May 2000 Posts: 16,001	Hartford article-Torrington concert and setlist http://www.courant.com/entertainment...,1238117.story Gordon Lightfoot is a different singer now than he was in younger days, his once-rich baritone whittled away at age 72 by time and health problems. His show Monday night at the Warner Theatre in Torrington t was nonetheless a fine accounting of the Canadian troubadour's sonic pleasantries in a laid-back environment. Lightfoot's four piece band brought a light touch to its accompaniments in the opener "Did She Mention My Name?" Lightfoot's acoustic guitar served the mellow "Carefree Highway," while his recently added lead guitarist Carter Lancaster trimmed its edges with mild electric gilding. Lightfoot's voice is these days thin and reedy, making for delicate handling of most every lyric in his arsenal of romantically rendered folk. His voice was frail he picked his way across "A Painter Passing Through," but the effect was complementary to the lyric. He pushed as firmly as he could at the lines of "Let it Ride," marking it with precise phrasing where he no longer had available his long-ago deep well of natural sonic appeal. In a set dominated by relaxed meanders, the percolating country of "Ribbon of Darkness" was sprightly by comparison. Old favorites like "Sundown," reminded how much rich vocal shaping has left Lightfoot's toolkit. On some songs, that tonal shift merely made the moment different than the past, but in the roomy "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," his limits diminished the song's broadest dramatic strokes. Lightfoot's compositions remain enticing, frequently vivid bits of storytelling, sketched with understated elegance in the likes of "Sweet Guinevere." His range served measured material well, including a placid surveying of the sparse "Restless." He nestled into the jazzy flutter of "Make Way for the Lady," and coolly navigated the simple "Fine as Fine can Be." The 100-minute show sported many songs more than 40 years old, among them the 1970's "If You Could Read my Mind," built around a matter-of-fact plaintive quality that remains Lightfoot's strength. The pulsating "Baby Step Back" was as close as the show ever got to a high gear, content to stick to deliberate material such as 1967's "Canadian Railroad Trilogy," which closed the set with a pleasant piece of restraint. An encore of "Blackberry Wine" forged another springy trip, one with which Lightfoot kept pace by launching a raspy exhale at its buoyant backdrop. Gordon Lightfoot's Monday set list: "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," "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," "Sweet Guinevere," "Cotton Jenny," "Restless," "Home From the Forest," "Waiting for You," "Make way for the Lady," "Fine as Fine can Be," "If you Could Read my Mind," "Don Quixote," "Baby Step Back," "Canadian Railroad Trilogy," (Encore) "Blackberry Wine."