Yeah, my musical heroes are aging--check that, are aged. Or, more charitably, well-seasoned. Gordon as you'd expect has changed quite a bit vocally, losing his resonance and richness, and doesn't move too fast on stage anymore. Not sure if he ever did.
But, none of that mattered. With a good band behind him, a great venue, and my old man and brother by my side, it made for a memorable evening. It was quite cool to see this old legend still performing, after all these years.
Gordon played 90 minutes and we were out of there by 8:30--old men all around, early to bed :). But he got through (almost) every one of the classics I was hoping he would. "Sundown," "Early Morning Rain,"
"If You Could Read My Mind," "For Loving Me," "Carefree Highway," "Song for a Winter's Night," and of course the highlight and everyone's favorite, "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." The latter was the highlight, and maybe it was my imagination but Gordon seemed to channel some deep wellspring of strength for this one. It was powerful and sounded pretty darned good.
"If You Could Read My Mind," "For Loving Me," "Carefree Highway," "Song for a Winter's Night," and of course the highlight and everyone's favorite, "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." The latter was the highlight, and maybe it was my imagination but Gordon seemed to channel some deep wellspring of strength for this one. It was powerful and sounded pretty darned good.
In an era where everything can be immediately captured on video and shared instantly with the world, it's interesting that this song, which became a no. 1 hit in Nov. 1976, almost a year to the day after the maritime disaster itself, outlives the ephemera, and the crisis of the day that really isn't. That's the power of art over instant gratification. We remember the doomed ship when we hear those sad opening bars, even now.
If anyone reading this is a resident of MA/NH or the broader New England region, the Tupelo is a good take. New, clean, small so the views are all great. Excellent bar with a good beer selection (I drank a couple local brews, a nice Battle-Axe IPA brewed by Kelsen). Reportedly good food too, if you want it. They open 90 minutes before showtime so you can get in and enjoy yourself, and have some cool art on the walls, acoustic guitars signed by a few of the greats, etc.
Nice bar.
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| (L-R) my brother, old man, and me. The place did fill in to capacity. |
Speaking of musicians and colds, have you read Frank Sinatra Has Cold by Gay Talese. The author follows Sinatra around for a couple of days. I read it not because I'm a huge Sinatra fan (I think he was a fine singer, but the kind of worship he gets annoys me), but because it has a first hand account of Sinatra trying to pick a fight with, of all people, Harlan Ellison.
ReplyDeleteMatthew: Have not heard of that title. But, sounds interesting... Harlan was known for mixing it up :)
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting especially since it was to some degree a coincidence that they even met. Sinatra was at popular club in LA for Hollywood types where Ellison was playing pool (he was a television writer at the time.) Sinatra saw across the room and took issue with the clothes Ellison was wearing. Surprisingly, since both Ellison and Sinatra were hot heads it did not end in fisticuffs.
ReplyDeleteThe piece is consider one of the earliest and most influential of the New Journalism where literary techniques were used in journalistic pieces. Gay Talese has a few collections with it in and I think you can find online.
Interesting, thanks Matthew. Can picture Sinatra in a suit and fedora with a cigarette in the corner of his mouth, eyeing Ellison. "Get a load of this hippie, fellas."
ReplyDeleteLove Gordon Lightfoot. Had no idea he was still alive, let alone touring!
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