Gordon Lightfoot Forums - View Single Post - AUSTIN, TX Show last night

Melissa · 05-09-2018, 03:14 PM

What I really wish is that everyone who posts or reads here could have been at the Austin show last night - it was amazing!
I have a tendency to get very exuberant on this topic, so forgive me if I sound a bit over the top. But it's hard to describe how great the show was last night. I honestly think it was the best Gord concert I've been to in 10 years.
Yes, it was THAT good.
And NO, it's not just because I live here.

Now, first of all, we were coming off the San Antonio show, the night before. No offense to San Antonio (hey, I grew up there!) but the crowd was way too sedate for me. They opened up a bit in the second half, but they still were not all that into it, in my opinion. Gord's voice got stronger in the second half, too. But the sound wasn't good. It didn't fill the room. Gord's mic was not turned up enough. Overall, it just wasn't one of those shows that packed a punch.

BUT! If I had had any idea the treat I'd be in for the next night here in Austin, I would've been much more content.

Gord and the ensemble have played the Austin City Limits/Moody Theater 3 times now. As you can imagine, it's a great venue, since the ACL TV show is filmed there and those folks are well-equipped to handle every genre of music and every type of artist setup - from classical musicians to rap and everything in between. (thank goodness last night was in between......) So the equipment is first rate and so are the techs. And, before anyone asks the question.....No, last night's concert was not filmed and will not be an Austin City Limits broadcast. Although the venue is used for the TV show, it is more often used simply as a concert venue. But if there were ever a concert that should be filmed, it would be last night's!

As a concert goer, I can usually determine, in about the first 3 minutes, what the crowd is going to be like - how lively they are, how vocal they are, how familiar they are with Gord's music, how they're going to react to the lesser-known album cuts. Last night was a real treat because the people there were, clearly, BIG fans and knew Gord's catalog. One might think that because Austin is billed as the "Live Music Capitol of the World" and because so much of the music here is geared toward a much younger generation than mine, there wouldn't be a big audience here for Gord. That would be a serious misconception! Not only was the crowd wildly enthusiastic, a woman from the upper reaches of the upper balcony summed it up when she yelled, "Austin, Texas love you, Gordon!" Of course, Gord's response (after the applause died down) was "Thank you! We love the work!"

.....OK, I need to pause here and go take care of something - I'll return shortly with Part 2 in the next post.......Stay tuned!

Melissa

05-09-2018, 03:14 PM	#1
Melissa Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 221	AUSTIN, TX Show last night - AWESOME! What I really wish is that everyone who posts or reads here could have been at the Austin show last night - it was amazing! I have a tendency to get very exuberant on this topic, so forgive me if I sound a bit over the top. But it's hard to describe how great the show was last night. I honestly think it was the best Gord concert I've been to in 10 years. Yes, it was THAT good. And NO, it's not just because I live here. Now, first of all, we were coming off the San Antonio show, the night before. No offense to San Antonio (hey, I grew up there!) but the crowd was way too sedate for me. They opened up a bit in the second half, but they still were not all that into it, in my opinion. Gord's voice got stronger in the second half, too. But the sound wasn't good. It didn't fill the room. Gord's mic was not turned up enough. Overall, it just wasn't one of those shows that packed a punch. BUT! If I had had any idea the treat I'd be in for the next night here in Austin, I would've been much more content. Gord and the ensemble have played the Austin City Limits/Moody Theater 3 times now. As you can imagine, it's a great venue, since the ACL TV show is filmed there and those folks are well-equipped to handle every genre of music and every type of artist setup - from classical musicians to rap and everything in between. (thank goodness last night was in between......) So the equipment is first rate and so are the techs. And, before anyone asks the question.....No, last night's concert was not filmed and will not be an Austin City Limits broadcast. Although the venue is used for the TV show, it is more often used simply as a concert venue. But if there were ever a concert that should be filmed, it would be last night's! As a concert goer, I can usually determine, in about the first 3 minutes, what the crowd is going to be like - how lively they are, how vocal they are, how familiar they are with Gord's music, how they're going to react to the lesser-known album cuts. Last night was a real treat because the people there were, clearly, BIG fans and knew Gord's catalog. One might think that because Austin is billed as the "Live Music Capitol of the World" and because so much of the music here is geared toward a much younger generation than mine, there wouldn't be a big audience here for Gord. That would be a serious misconception! Not only was the crowd wildly enthusiastic, a woman from the upper reaches of the upper balcony summed it up when she yelled, "Austin, Texas love you, Gordon!" Of course, Gord's response (after the applause died down) was "Thank you! We love the work!" .....OK, I need to pause here and go take care of something - I'll return shortly with Part 2 in the next post.......Stay tuned! Melissa