Gordon Lightfoot Forums - View Single Post - THE WAY WE FEEL-Tribute shows-2nd year-Jan.2004-Hugh's Room

Char1 · 01-14-2004, 02:15 PM

Well, I'm back home in Whitby, Jenney is heading down the Carefree
Highway to Connecticut with a working window wiper spritzer and probably
like me, trying to recall every single moment of all three nights at Hugh's
Room. For me they come back in little bursts - as if it was so long ago that
I'm surprised I recalled it at all. It was, to say the least an "emotional
overload" weekend. For those who know me you know what that means for
me....yes there were tears...!

Friday January 9, 2004 - Night One at Hugh's Room.

I was already at the Delta for an hour or so before Jenney arrived. I
was snuggled up in the blankets of my bed when she arrived. She had the
drive from hell that took about 3 hours longer than scheduled. A snowstorm
near Hamilton, a frozen water spritzer for the window wipers and many trips
to the side of the road to wash the windows by hand left her more than
slightly frazzled. Big hugs and instant conversation helped calm her
somewhat enough to quickly get ready for our first of three jaunts to the
Lightfoot tribute shows "The Way We Feel" at Hugh's Room.

Arriving at Hugh's and finding our table was on the lower level, 10
feet from centre stage was very cool. There are two levels at this venue and
a few are right down near the stage. Some sound checks were going on and we
settled down to order dinner. I did introduce myself to the darling young
man named Jory Nash. We have e-mailed, (along with Aengus Finnan) several
times since the 2003 Tribute shows and I told him I'd be there. They are the
two lads responsible for the Tribute Shows happening at all. They were in
the planning stage prior to Lightfoot falling ill. These young men cannot be
gushed over enough - their singing and songwriting stands on it's own but
coupled with their love of Lightfoot and this whole project makes them
nominees for The Order of Canada in my book. And they are every bit as nice
as they are talented and good looking! I dearly wish I was younger or my
Lisa was older!! Jenney wanted to bring one or both of them home as presents
for her daughters, but was running out of room in the Rav.....

Jenney and I (along with many other people) told them how proud they
should feel and being like The Man himself they were humbled and thankful.

The show started later than planned but that gave Jenney and me more
time to talk and drink! THAT'S a GOOD thing!
lol
We scoped the room but didn't see anyone we knew. I was looking for
Jimmy Jones who surprised me last year by showing up. No Jimmy tonight....

The lights dimmed around 9:15 and Jory and Aengus introduced
themselves and spoke of what we were about to see and hear. The same young
man, David Newland, was to be the emcee as last year. His way with the
spoken word was wonderful. He is also a talented singer/songwriter/performer
and knows many of the performers.

The first performer was Tim Harrison http://www.timharrison.ca/discography.html who has had albums produced by
Stan Rogers and Daniel Lanois. His first song was "Did She Mention My Name?"
I really enjoyed his voice and it was a wonderful start to the evening. He
was accompanied by the "house band" of Anne Lindsay http://www.anne-lindsay.com/ on fiddle/mandolin, Jason Fowler http://www.jasonfowler.ca/ on some of the most beautiful guitars I have ever
seen. He's an amazing player. He also sang back up and was quite easy on the
eyes.. oops ..did I say that out loud? lol! Playing bass guitar was David
Woodhead.
Tim told of Rambling Jack Elliot calling him up when he ran a coffee
house in Toronto way back when. He wanted to see Gordon Lightfoot after his
performance and told Tim to call Beverley, Gord's sister. It was set up and
after Tim's set he was heading up the stairs as Gord was heading down. Gord
told him he really enjoyed his set and Tim thanked him. He then proceeded to
say how much he loved Lightfoot's work, especially the stuff with Red Shea
and John Stockfish. As he said this he realized he said the wrong thing but
the words were out. Gord looked at him and said "Yeah!-Well people move on."
What Tim wanted to say was that the music at that time was when it mattered,
songs mattered, words mattered and as a young 14 year old he had a brother
at the University of Toronto. He had young Tim come down from Owen Sound to
see the big city, campus life and had the surprise of two tickets to the
Riverboat to see Gordon Lightfoot. That was when Red and John were playing
with Gord. At 14 Tim had a defining moment in life and that night was
responsible.
He then sang what he called the "quintessential Canadian love
song." -Song For A Winter's Night. It was a gentle rendition of SFAWN
complete with bells (we missed Melissa!)

Next up was Katherine Wheatley http://www.interlog.com/~kwheat/ from
Parry Sound. (Bobby Orr) She sang I'll Be Alright" and "Wherefore and The
Why." Catherine is vibrant and her voice is clear and distinct. A real joy
to watch and listen to her.The fiddle playing by Anne Lindsay during
Wherefore and Why was haunting.

Dan Kershaw http://www.deepbluefunk.ca/broscosmoline.htm (he's the one
in the white shirt) sang Talking In Your Sleep and Long Thin Dawn which was
a fast paced, hand clapping, toe-tapper!

Bob Snider was up next. http://www.bobsnider.ca/ Bob plays gigs like
this and can also be seen busking around Toronto. He played guitar and sang
Sundown - it was different to say the least. Almost completely in a
monotone. He then told his Gord story. In 1964 he dropped into a coffeeshop
during the day and there were 2 or 3 people there. One was Lightfoot sitting
and playing guitar. So Bob sat down, had a coffee and a couple of hours
later got up and left while Lightfoot was still sitting there and playing.
He then said "That's my Gordon Lightfoot story." He said the next song he
was offered was hard because he's "not built for it." So he was gonna cheat.
He sang Steel Rail Blues and when the ooooh oooh parts came he did a noble
job to say the least, said that was the cheating part and then audience
helped along. He got a rousing ovation, shrugged his shoulders and said
"Can't say I didn't try." LOL what a character.

Bill Garret and Sue Lothrop http://www.borealisrecords.com/a_garrett.html
Bill was a founder of Borealis Records and was largely responsible for
the tribute album "Beautiful" last year.
They sang Don Quixote and when it was over Bill said "Gord has to be
one of the wordiest son of a bitches." Then Sue sang Shadows. It was a great
rendition.

Terry Tufts http://www.terrytufts.com/ was up next. His guitar playing
is astounding. His first song was "That's What You Get For Lovin' Me."
...which is on the tribute cd... He has a fabulous voice and is a very
enthusiastic performer. He spoke of Gord owing him a huge cheque for therapy
for 40 years of trying to keep his 12 string tuned after hearing the
wonderful sounds that Lightfoot produced with his. He said "Ther's nothing
like a 12 string when it's cooking and nothing like Gordon Lightfoot's hands
on a 12 string when they're cooking." He launched into Canadian Railroad
Trilogy and mesmerized thw whole place. Anne on fiddle and mandolin along
with the fast pace took my breath away. Amazing.

Catherine MacKinnon http://www.canoe.ca/JamMusicPopEncyc.../mcKinnon.html is a peer of
Lightfoot. I recall watching her on TV as a child and my parents playing her
music. She is a pro - a pro's pro and knows how to command the stage. She is
funny, irreverant and still has an incredible voice. She told of a show at
the C.N.E. (The EX) in Toronto in 1968 and how Gord had written a song for
her to perform. It was called "Land With No Name." It was pouring rain, she
had a garbage bag over her costume but sang this beautiful song so long ago.
It was about our land, the Metis, the building of a country I suppose. It
was mesmerizing and so haunting. The room was so quiet as she sang.
She used to go to Lightfoot's house to hear some of his material and
he attended a "Bad Taste" party at her home one hot July. This is where
people are dressed in furs, eat out of boxes and I can't imagine what other
bad taste things. After the party, in the early morning hours Lightfoot
called to ask her if Patricia (her sister) and her wanted to come with him
and the band to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh for a couple of shows. The next
morning a car picked them up, they boarded the private plane and the looks
of surprise on the bands faces was priceless as the McKinnon sisters made
their entrance!
Another time he called her early in the morning he told her he had
written the most gorgeous song and it would be perfect for her but she
couldn't sing it because it was "a man's song." She then said "but I'm going
to sing it anyway" and performed "Beautiful." And it was.

Then it was time for a break.. Jenney and I were enjoying ourselves so
much - it was truly a night of superb talent and immense pride amongst these
performers.
We spoke with Jory and Aengus a bit and then it was time for part two.

The emcee of the show, David Newland http://www.davidnewland.com/ then
sang asong that he wasn't sure was about peace, acceptance or just the way
things are. He played harmonica and guitar and had a bit of a Dylan quality
to his voice. He sang Leaves of Grass.

Jory Nash http://www.jorynash.com/ was up next - this young man is
enthusiasm personified. A bundle of talent, energy and grace. His version of
In The Early Morning Rain was beautiful. His voice has an echo quality, a
timbre that reaches right inside you.
He then told a story of dating a girl back in 1991 and things weren't
going so great. He found out that she was a Lightfoot fan and had one
particular song she'd love to hear. He got them two tickets WAY up in the
third balcony but on the rail where if you dared to lean over you saw the
tops of everyone's heads. He mentioned how he hated how people would yell
out requests during Lightfoot shows Lightfoot would ignore them and move on,
but thought that if he did just that for his girlfriends song it would score
him some much needed points. At a break between songs he screwed up his
courage and yelled out the song title. Lightfoot stopped, looked way up and
said "That's a good old song" and proceeded to sing a verse a cappella.
While he was singing the girlfriend reached over and took Jory's hand. In
his head he was thing "Thank you Gord.!!" LOL A week later she dumped his
sorry ass..... He then blew us away with "Mother Of A Miner's Child." What a
performance....that girl is sorry now I bet.....

Jason Fowler www.jasonfowler.ca took centre stage from his spot as
guitarist in the house band. His array of guitars on stage was amazing, and
he played beautifully. He spoke of trying to emulate the 4 "T's" of
Lightfoot guitar playing and performing - Tone, Timing, Tuning and Taste.
And he did just that. He sang what he felt was the one gem on the David
Foster produced album East of Midnight - I'll Tag Along. Well - it was
fabulous - it was a perfect fit for Jason's voice and guitar playing. I
loved it. I love that song.
Jason told of how he worked in a small Toronto guitar shop and
Lightfoot would come in for strings and sometimes chat. When Jason made his
first CD he gave Gord a copy and said even if you never play it I'd like you
to have it. Gord took with thanks. A week later he came back and admitted he
hadn't listened to it because he didn't have a CD player. But if Jason could
transfer it to cassette he'd give it a listen! LOL
Jason did that and Gord came back a couple of weeks later and pulled
out some papers from his pocket. He had taken notes about the CD. He didn't
give Jason the papers but read them to him. LOL
He also told the story that Gord told him about boiling strings when
he, Red and John would take their strings off once a week and boil them -
Red Hot Boilers. He said he couldn't prove it but he believed there was some
molecular process that happened in the strings after boiling and they
sounded better. It cleaned them and took the dirt and oils off them. He
still does it with his new strings! ...Jason had mentioned the guitar
lessons he had taken along with classical and Gord gave him a baggie with
some Red Hot Boilers. There was a red strip on the bag meaning R for Ready.
(or Reddies!)....A blue strip meant "Boil - B for Boil!"
This was too funny.... An hour later a panicked Gord called Jason
back at the store and said "Jason - don't boil the nylon ones - they'll
melt!" LOL!!
He then performed Cold On The Shoulder - smooth, cool, fabulous.

Two pretty young ladies took the stage - one a blonde, tall and thin,
the other a short brunette with long straight hair and sky blue eyes. She
had a fiddle and a guitar, the blonde had a guitar. Hmmmmm.....MadViolet http://www.madviolet.com/bioset.html- Brenley McEachern is the blonde and
the brunette is Lisa MacIsaac - sister of our famous Canadian fiddler from
down east - Ashley. http://ashley-macisaac.com/ . This was going to be
interesting. The harmonies and passion when they sang Poor Little Alison
blew us all away. Brenley sang lead with Lisa coming in for backup. The band
stepped in behind them but they were centre stage - it was amazing. Brenley
recounted that as a young teen she refused to joing the choir and taught
herself guitar witha borrowed book from a friends father. The Big 75 it was
called. She would find songs that had easy chords and learn them. Then came
the Lightfoot pages...she saw things like G 11 suss and thought "What the
hell is suss?" "I only have ten fingers!" and skipped along to the Eagles
section... LOL. She never did explain SUSS to the non-guitarists in the
crowd but we knew what she meant!
Lisa sang The Way I feel and for a tiny little thing she really nailed
it. They were marvellous.

Aengus Finnan http://www.aengusfinnan.com/ (pic of Gord and Aengus on
website) took a turn. As a young lad he came from Ireland with his family
and lived on a farm. He played guitar and sang Pussywillows-Cattails. It was
electric. He's a dark, mysterious, good looking lad with wavy dark hair and
a wonderful voice. He sang it slowly and every word had a meaning...it was
quite poignant. He told of heading to North Bay to teachers college and
finding himself with a room-mate taht had nothing in common with him. They
went on their days and Aengus was thinking of moving out when one day a
Lightfoot song came on and they both pulled out their collections - this was
the thing that brought together a folkie and a hard metal listener. Hours
passed, each singing the praises of Lightfoot.
Aengus then sang what he called "a Spanish sounding version of Romeo
and Juliet" - Miguel. omigosh! It was so beautiful.

Rick Fines http://www.rickfines.com/ This fellow sings the blues and
plays guitar like I never heard before. Last year he stood out from the rest
of the performers and he did it again this year. Rick spoke of being a
young boy and being taken to a Lightfoot concert and getting backstage to
try and get an autograph. They were told that Lightfoot wasn't giving
autographs at that time and Rick's mum told them "we are family." That
cracked everyone up. He took "Bossman" and set it to the blues and it rocked
with his slide guitar playing. ..In many ways it was the best song of the
evening, as his approach to it was so different, and yet worked so well.
Boss Man as a Memphis Blues song, just amazing.......He then sang a version
of Ribbon of Darkness like you would never think it would be played -it was
mesmerizing, as was his gravelly blues voice. Utterly as fantastic as he was
last year.

Dave Matheson http://www.davidmatheson.ca/ from Moxy Fruvous was next.
Another performer full of energy and totally wired up. A
comedian-slash-musician type of guy. A soulful voice and touching version of
"I'm Not Supposed To Care" took my breath away. Cotton Jenny was a rousing,
clapalong/singalong and we all had a great time.

Laura Smith http://www.laurasmith.ca/ came out and sat on a bar stool
with lyric sheets on a music stand in front of her. She performed "Minstrel
of The Dawn." She told of being invited to Lightfoot's Rosedale home and
playing pool even tought hey'd never met. Over the pool table was a huge,
long Tiffany lamp. She was playing and Gord was nowhere to be seen. She
struck the lamp and it was swinging slowly back and forth when she heard the
voice - "Be careful with the lamp." "It was him. I left." We've never
met....
She did Rainy Day People next and both songs were done in a singing,
instructive, look right into the audience way. It was part drama/part music.
It was superb.

All performers then gathered on stage. Thank you's were issued to the
house band, the emcee, the people at Hugh's and the woman who organized the
whole thing and of course a huge thank you to Gordon Lightfoot. We had a
rousing sing-a-long of Alberta Bound and then Rich Man's Spiritual with
different performers singing the verses. The stage was so crowded that some
performers squatted down so we could see who was singing. They were having a
ball up there and we were too. It was 3 hours after start time and I wanted
more!

Jenney and I would have to wait until Saturday night......
what WOULD we do in the meantime????
LOL!!

01-14-2004, 02:15 PM	#2
Char1 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: canada Posts: 173	Well, I'm back home in Whitby, Jenney is heading down the Carefree Highway to Connecticut with a working window wiper spritzer and probably like me, trying to recall every single moment of all three nights at Hugh's Room. For me they come back in little bursts - as if it was so long ago that I'm surprised I recalled it at all. It was, to say the least an "emotional overload" weekend. For those who know me you know what that means for me....yes there were tears...! Friday January 9, 2004 - Night One at Hugh's Room. I was already at the Delta for an hour or so before Jenney arrived. I was snuggled up in the blankets of my bed when she arrived. She had the drive from hell that took about 3 hours longer than scheduled. A snowstorm near Hamilton, a frozen water spritzer for the window wipers and many trips to the side of the road to wash the windows by hand left her more than slightly frazzled. Big hugs and instant conversation helped calm her somewhat enough to quickly get ready for our first of three jaunts to the Lightfoot tribute shows "The Way We Feel" at Hugh's Room. Arriving at Hugh's and finding our table was on the lower level, 10 feet from centre stage was very cool. There are two levels at this venue and a few are right down near the stage. Some sound checks were going on and we settled down to order dinner. I did introduce myself to the darling young man named Jory Nash. We have e-mailed, (along with Aengus Finnan) several times since the 2003 Tribute shows and I told him I'd be there. They are the two lads responsible for the Tribute Shows happening at all. They were in the planning stage prior to Lightfoot falling ill. These young men cannot be gushed over enough - their singing and songwriting stands on it's own but coupled with their love of Lightfoot and this whole project makes them nominees for The Order of Canada in my book. And they are every bit as nice as they are talented and good looking! I dearly wish I was younger or my Lisa was older!! Jenney wanted to bring one or both of them home as presents for her daughters, but was running out of room in the Rav..... Jenney and I (along with many other people) told them how proud they should feel and being like The Man himself they were humbled and thankful. The show started later than planned but that gave Jenney and me more time to talk and drink! THAT'S a GOOD thing! lol We scoped the room but didn't see anyone we knew. I was looking for Jimmy Jones who surprised me last year by showing up. No Jimmy tonight.... The lights dimmed around 9:15 and Jory and Aengus introduced themselves and spoke of what we were about to see and hear. The same young man, David Newland, was to be the emcee as last year. His way with the spoken word was wonderful. He is also a talented singer/songwriter/performer and knows many of the performers. The first performer was Tim Harrison http://www.timharrison.ca/discography.html who has had albums produced by Stan Rogers and Daniel Lanois. His first song was "Did She Mention My Name?" I really enjoyed his voice and it was a wonderful start to the evening. He was accompanied by the "house band" of Anne Lindsay http://www.anne-lindsay.com/ on fiddle/mandolin, Jason Fowler http://www.jasonfowler.ca/ on some of the most beautiful guitars I have ever seen. He's an amazing player. He also sang back up and was quite easy on the eyes.. oops ..did I say that out loud? lol! Playing bass guitar was David Woodhead. Tim told of Rambling Jack Elliot calling him up when he ran a coffee house in Toronto way back when. He wanted to see Gordon Lightfoot after his performance and told Tim to call Beverley, Gord's sister. It was set up and after Tim's set he was heading up the stairs as Gord was heading down. Gord told him he really enjoyed his set and Tim thanked him. He then proceeded to say how much he loved Lightfoot's work, especially the stuff with Red Shea and John Stockfish. As he said this he realized he said the wrong thing but the words were out. Gord looked at him and said "Yeah!-Well people move on." What Tim wanted to say was that the music at that time was when it mattered, songs mattered, words mattered and as a young 14 year old he had a brother at the University of Toronto. He had young Tim come down from Owen Sound to see the big city, campus life and had the surprise of two tickets to the Riverboat to see Gordon Lightfoot. That was when Red and John were playing with Gord. At 14 Tim had a defining moment in life and that night was responsible. He then sang what he called the "quintessential Canadian love song." -Song For A Winter's Night. It was a gentle rendition of SFAWN complete with bells (we missed Melissa!) Next up was Katherine Wheatley http://www.interlog.com/~kwheat/ from Parry Sound. (Bobby Orr) She sang I'll Be Alright" and "Wherefore and The Why." Catherine is vibrant and her voice is clear and distinct. A real joy to watch and listen to her.The fiddle playing by Anne Lindsay during Wherefore and Why was haunting. Dan Kershaw http://www.deepbluefunk.ca/broscosmoline.htm (he's the one in the white shirt) sang Talking In Your Sleep and Long Thin Dawn which was a fast paced, hand clapping, toe-tapper! Bob Snider was up next. http://www.bobsnider.ca/ Bob plays gigs like this and can also be seen busking around Toronto. He played guitar and sang Sundown - it was different to say the least. Almost completely in a monotone. He then told his Gord story. In 1964 he dropped into a coffeeshop during the day and there were 2 or 3 people there. One was Lightfoot sitting and playing guitar. So Bob sat down, had a coffee and a couple of hours later got up and left while Lightfoot was still sitting there and playing. He then said "That's my Gordon Lightfoot story." He said the next song he was offered was hard because he's "not built for it." So he was gonna cheat. He sang Steel Rail Blues and when the ooooh oooh parts came he did a noble job to say the least, said that was the cheating part and then audience helped along. He got a rousing ovation, shrugged his shoulders and said "Can't say I didn't try." LOL what a character. Bill Garret and Sue Lothrop http://www.borealisrecords.com/a_garrett.html Bill was a founder of Borealis Records and was largely responsible for the tribute album "Beautiful" last year. They sang Don Quixote and when it was over Bill said "Gord has to be one of the wordiest son of a bitches." Then Sue sang Shadows. It was a great rendition. Terry Tufts http://www.terrytufts.com/ was up next. His guitar playing is astounding. His first song was "That's What You Get For Lovin' Me." ...which is on the tribute cd... He has a fabulous voice and is a very enthusiastic performer. He spoke of Gord owing him a huge cheque for therapy for 40 years of trying to keep his 12 string tuned after hearing the wonderful sounds that Lightfoot produced with his. He said "Ther's nothing like a 12 string when it's cooking and nothing like Gordon Lightfoot's hands on a 12 string when they're cooking." He launched into Canadian Railroad Trilogy and mesmerized thw whole place. Anne on fiddle and mandolin along with the fast pace took my breath away. Amazing. Catherine MacKinnon http://www.canoe.ca/JamMusicPopEncyc.../mcKinnon.html is a peer of Lightfoot. I recall watching her on TV as a child and my parents playing her music. She is a pro - a pro's pro and knows how to command the stage. She is funny, irreverant and still has an incredible voice. She told of a show at the C.N.E. (The EX) in Toronto in 1968 and how Gord had written a song for her to perform. It was called "Land With No Name." It was pouring rain, she had a garbage bag over her costume but sang this beautiful song so long ago. It was about our land, the Metis, the building of a country I suppose. It was mesmerizing and so haunting. The room was so quiet as she sang. She used to go to Lightfoot's house to hear some of his material and he attended a "Bad Taste" party at her home one hot July. This is where people are dressed in furs, eat out of boxes and I can't imagine what other bad taste things. After the party, in the early morning hours Lightfoot called to ask her if Patricia (her sister) and her wanted to come with him and the band to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh for a couple of shows. The next morning a car picked them up, they boarded the private plane and the looks of surprise on the bands faces was priceless as the McKinnon sisters made their entrance! Another time he called her early in the morning he told her he had written the most gorgeous song and it would be perfect for her but she couldn't sing it because it was "a man's song." She then said "but I'm going to sing it anyway" and performed "Beautiful." And it was. Then it was time for a break.. Jenney and I were enjoying ourselves so much - it was truly a night of superb talent and immense pride amongst these performers. We spoke with Jory and Aengus a bit and then it was time for part two. The emcee of the show, David Newland http://www.davidnewland.com/ then sang asong that he wasn't sure was about peace, acceptance or just the way things are. He played harmonica and guitar and had a bit of a Dylan quality to his voice. He sang Leaves of Grass. Jory Nash http://www.jorynash.com/ was up next - this young man is enthusiasm personified. A bundle of talent, energy and grace. His version of In The Early Morning Rain was beautiful. His voice has an echo quality, a timbre that reaches right inside you. He then told a story of dating a girl back in 1991 and things weren't going so great. He found out that she was a Lightfoot fan and had one particular song she'd love to hear. He got them two tickets WAY up in the third balcony but on the rail where if you dared to lean over you saw the tops of everyone's heads. He mentioned how he hated how people would yell out requests during Lightfoot shows Lightfoot would ignore them and move on, but thought that if he did just that for his girlfriends song it would score him some much needed points. At a break between songs he screwed up his courage and yelled out the song title. Lightfoot stopped, looked way up and said "That's a good old song" and proceeded to sing a verse a cappella. While he was singing the girlfriend reached over and took Jory's hand. In his head he was thing "Thank you Gord.!!" LOL A week later she dumped his sorry ass..... He then blew us away with "Mother Of A Miner's Child." What a performance....that girl is sorry now I bet..... Jason Fowler www.jasonfowler.ca took centre stage from his spot as guitarist in the house band. His array of guitars on stage was amazing, and he played beautifully. He spoke of trying to emulate the 4 "T's" of Lightfoot guitar playing and performing - Tone, Timing, Tuning and Taste. And he did just that. He sang what he felt was the one gem on the David Foster produced album East of Midnight - I'll Tag Along. Well - it was fabulous - it was a perfect fit for Jason's voice and guitar playing. I loved it. I love that song. Jason told of how he worked in a small Toronto guitar shop and Lightfoot would come in for strings and sometimes chat. When Jason made his first CD he gave Gord a copy and said even if you never play it I'd like you to have it. Gord took with thanks. A week later he came back and admitted he hadn't listened to it because he didn't have a CD player. But if Jason could transfer it to cassette he'd give it a listen! LOL Jason did that and Gord came back a couple of weeks later and pulled out some papers from his pocket. He had taken notes about the CD. He didn't give Jason the papers but read them to him. LOL He also told the story that Gord told him about boiling strings when he, Red and John would take their strings off once a week and boil them - Red Hot Boilers. He said he couldn't prove it but he believed there was some molecular process that happened in the strings after boiling and they sounded better. It cleaned them and took the dirt and oils off them. He still does it with his new strings! ...Jason had mentioned the guitar lessons he had taken along with classical and Gord gave him a baggie with some Red Hot Boilers. There was a red strip on the bag meaning R for Ready. (or Reddies!)....A blue strip meant "Boil - B for Boil!" This was too funny.... An hour later a panicked Gord called Jason back at the store and said "Jason - don't boil the nylon ones - they'll melt!" LOL!! He then performed Cold On The Shoulder - smooth, cool, fabulous. Two pretty young ladies took the stage - one a blonde, tall and thin, the other a short brunette with long straight hair and sky blue eyes. She had a fiddle and a guitar, the blonde had a guitar. Hmmmmm.....MadViolet http://www.madviolet.com/bioset.html- Brenley McEachern is the blonde and the brunette is Lisa MacIsaac - sister of our famous Canadian fiddler from down east - Ashley. http://ashley-macisaac.com/ . This was going to be interesting. The harmonies and passion when they sang Poor Little Alison blew us all away. Brenley sang lead with Lisa coming in for backup. The band stepped in behind them but they were centre stage - it was amazing. Brenley recounted that as a young teen she refused to joing the choir and taught herself guitar witha borrowed book from a friends father. The Big 75 it was called. She would find songs that had easy chords and learn them. Then came the Lightfoot pages...she saw things like G 11 suss and thought "What the hell is suss?" "I only have ten fingers!" and skipped along to the Eagles section... LOL. She never did explain SUSS to the non-guitarists in the crowd but we knew what she meant! Lisa sang The Way I feel and for a tiny little thing she really nailed it. They were marvellous. Aengus Finnan http://www.aengusfinnan.com/ (pic of Gord and Aengus on website) took a turn. As a young lad he came from Ireland with his family and lived on a farm. He played guitar and sang Pussywillows-Cattails. It was electric. He's a dark, mysterious, good looking lad with wavy dark hair and a wonderful voice. He sang it slowly and every word had a meaning...it was quite poignant. He told of heading to North Bay to teachers college and finding himself with a room-mate taht had nothing in common with him. They went on their days and Aengus was thinking of moving out when one day a Lightfoot song came on and they both pulled out their collections - this was the thing that brought together a folkie and a hard metal listener. Hours passed, each singing the praises of Lightfoot. Aengus then sang what he called "a Spanish sounding version of Romeo and Juliet" - Miguel. omigosh! It was so beautiful. Rick Fines http://www.rickfines.com/ This fellow sings the blues and plays guitar like I never heard before. Last year he stood out from the rest of the performers and he did it again this year. Rick spoke of being a young boy and being taken to a Lightfoot concert and getting backstage to try and get an autograph. They were told that Lightfoot wasn't giving autographs at that time and Rick's mum told them "we are family." That cracked everyone up. He took "Bossman" and set it to the blues and it rocked with his slide guitar playing. ..In many ways it was the best song of the evening, as his approach to it was so different, and yet worked so well. Boss Man as a Memphis Blues song, just amazing.......He then sang a version of Ribbon of Darkness like you would never think it would be played -it was mesmerizing, as was his gravelly blues voice. Utterly as fantastic as he was last year. Dave Matheson http://www.davidmatheson.ca/ from Moxy Fruvous was next. Another performer full of energy and totally wired up. A comedian-slash-musician type of guy. A soulful voice and touching version of "I'm Not Supposed To Care" took my breath away. Cotton Jenny was a rousing, clapalong/singalong and we all had a great time. Laura Smith http://www.laurasmith.ca/ came out and sat on a bar stool with lyric sheets on a music stand in front of her. She performed "Minstrel of The Dawn." She told of being invited to Lightfoot's Rosedale home and playing pool even tought hey'd never met. Over the pool table was a huge, long Tiffany lamp. She was playing and Gord was nowhere to be seen. She struck the lamp and it was swinging slowly back and forth when she heard the voice - "Be careful with the lamp." "It was him. I left." We've never met.... She did Rainy Day People next and both songs were done in a singing, instructive, look right into the audience way. It was part drama/part music. It was superb. All performers then gathered on stage. Thank you's were issued to the house band, the emcee, the people at Hugh's and the woman who organized the whole thing and of course a huge thank you to Gordon Lightfoot. We had a rousing sing-a-long of Alberta Bound and then Rich Man's Spiritual with different performers singing the verses. The stage was so crowded that some performers squatted down so we could see who was singing. They were having a ball up there and we were too. It was 3 hours after start time and I wanted more! Jenney and I would have to wait until Saturday night...... what WOULD we do in the meantime???? LOL!!