Jan and I went to the Gordon Lightfoot show at the Dodge Theater in Phoenix last night (10-24-08).  I'd never seen Gordon performing live before, but I had fond memories of listening to his albums [mumble] years ago, when I was young.  Sitting around Dick's house, drinking beer, playing guitar, listening to Gordon Lightfoot and Kris Kristofferson albums.  Those were good times.

Sadly, Lightfoot has been ill and had to cancel a number of concerts earlier this decade.  I thought the illness showed in his voice which was not as rich and vibrant as it had been.  His guitar playing was still good and his stage presence was just fine - and the songs, well, that's the whole point, isn't it?  The songs were just as pretty, quirky, catchy and interesting as they've always been.  It's easy to forget that Lightfoot's songs have been picked up by a lot of people, including Elvis.

He didn't introduce his backup band and I would have liked to know more about them.  Their playing was subdued, the focus was on Lightfoot - but the guitar player was quietly tasteful and I really liked his work.  It was the first time I'd heard a synth player using a harmonica patch, though.  It was oddly both familiar and jarring.

And what is it about men with deep voices shouting from the audience that they love the (male) performer?  This happened at Ringo's show, too.  Lightfoot made a joke that it would be even better if it was a woman's voice - and several woman promptly cried out that they loved him, too.

New songs come along and old songs step aside for them - but there's gold in Lightfoot's catalog of tunes that can be mined for a long time.

Don H.