Just got in from the show ... pretty amazing stuff. I was sitting right in front of Gordon; fortunately, he was positioned right at the lip of the stage so I could almost reach out and shake his hand from my seat. He played and sang with a lot of passion tonight, although his chording hand did look a bit weak. But the setlist was very strong, including some challenging tunes like the Railroad Trilogy, which drew a big ovation.
There was a good scattering of all the classics, coupled with a few from the Harmony album. I didn't write down the entire setlist, but there were for me some pleasant suprises, including Hangdog Hotel Room, All the Lovely Ladies, Alberta Bound, Baby Step Back, Beautiful, Carefree Highway, Cotton Jenny, Old Dan's Records, Early Morning Rain (the encore), 14-Karat Gold, If You Could Read My Mind, Ribbon of Darkness, A Painter Passing Through, Rainy Day People, Shadows, Sundown, Triangle and of course, the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Even though the big day is Friday, the crowd at one point broke into a spontaneous rendition of Happy Birthday. The show was two 45-minute sets with an intermission.
Afterwards, I camped out at the stage door and after about an hour and 15 minutes - there apparently was an official meet and greet going on for the chosen few - Gordon emerged, preceded by his manager who loudly intoned that he would be signing NO autographs on account of the weak hand condition. He did pose for a photograph with some Canadian navy personnel who made a long trip from out east just to see him. He then said he had to go to sleep before hopping into his Monte Carlo and speeding off into the night.
Terry Clements then emerged and had a few words with the few of us who were still left (fortunately, the rain that had been pouring down all day had abated and the temperature was mild, making it possible for us to stay outdoors so long). I asked Terry whether there might be a new album forthcoming at some point and he indicated that Gordon had a stack of songs - he called them "maybes" - in progress that may become grist for a new album. He was very friendly and gracious in posing for several requests for photographs.
Unfortunately, because of the last-minute nature of my attendance at the show, I don't have any pics to post, but hope this account gives some flavor of what went on tonight. It was personally a magical evening, being so close to this legend as he performed. In the past, I haven't been closer than about the 15th row for one of his concerts.
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