Char thank you for writing these reports so eloquently. You do a far better job of it than I ever could. I know you took many notes this year, but even with those, your memory and writing ability far exceed mine!
A couple of comments I'll throw in here, not in any particular order. The last night Dan Kershaw could not be there, so David filled a bit by singing a song he sang last year, Leaves of Grass. I have to say I considered the lyrics far more this time than any time I"ve ever heard it before. I don't know if it was due to the absence of musical accompanying it, but I found it extremely moving. I got a bit misty ( a hard thing to accomplish with me and music!) at the verse, "and the brave keep falling to honor the names, of the ones that have gone before". What a wonderful line.
Char only cried once during the shows that I can remember. It was the last night, and I don't recall if it was Jory or Aengus singing, but it got her!
Aengus's take on DSMMN really was thought provoking. I'd never paid that much attention to the line "and when the morning came And when the morning came
Do you remember if she dropped a name or two?" It says a lot when a performer makes you reconsider a song you've known for 30 years like that.
Last year I became a big fan of Madviolet and Rick Fines after hearing them at Hugh's Room. I bought their cds, and was thrilled to see them both in the tribute shows again. They didn't dissappoint, and were even better than I remembered them as being. I especially enjoyed Rick's spin on I'm Not Sayin'. I wish he would record it, and I wish Madviolet would recorde Poor Little Allison.
I also really enjoyed Dave Matheson and Mike Ford's redition of Summer Side of Life. Their harmonies and enthusiasm made it a great performance. I sing it the exact same way in the car, but don't get nearly as good a response from passersby.
This years knockout performance for me was Suzy Vinnick. She did a good job with IYCRMM, but what she did with I'd Do It Again was spectacular! I got a kick out of watching Kenyon during that, and the last night watching the audiences reaction to it. I would go see her again in a heartbeat, and bought her cd. I sat up and "heard" that song like it was the first time. She put a robust bluesy sound to it, that shook the rafters. I hope Gord appreciated it as much as the rest of us did.
It was great seeing Dan, Nanci, Jimmy and Patti, wonderful to meet Ron Jones, and terrific to see Kenyon again. I still want to take him home as a present for my daughter, but he still won't come! One thing that surprised us was how few known Lightheads there were in the audience. I would have expected to see more people from the newsgroups there, but would be hard pressed to figure out who as there doesn't seem to be that many Lightheads that live near Toronto.
Hey Char, let's do it again next year!!
jenney
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