Went to see Gordon Lightfoot last night


 
LMichaels

LMichaels

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
So last night we (wife, me, sister, brother in law, long time buddy and his wife) went to Genesee Theatre in Waukegan IL and saw Gordon Lightfoot. He's 83 now, and a poster child of why you should not smoke. His voice has deteriorated so badly it's heartbreaking and every couple songs or so he had to get a "hit" of what appeared to be oxygen for his emphysema. But, on the plus side, he can still play perfectly, his memory was great and no technical or memory screwups at all. So he overall (given his health issues) did an outstanding job. His band is still the same guys that toured with him since "forever" except for his old time guitar player Terry Clements who passed away awhile back. The replacement doesn't have the "touch" Terry did but great none the less.
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That's really cool.... good to catch the older stars before they're gone. I got to see Chuck Berry before he passed... I think he was in his eighties. Voice and guitar play was still pretty solid but he missed a few lyrics here and there.... He played it off jokingly and everyone had a good laugh with him.
 
We went to see Edgar Winter in Chicago probably 20 years ago. Good sounding show, but just a drummer & rhythm player on stage with Winter (recorded parts.) And.... was starting to wonder if he was gonna break a hip on stage. :)
 
JKalchik said:
We went to see Edgar Winter in Chicago probably 20 years ago. Good sounding show, but just a drummer & rhythm player on stage with Winter (recorded parts.) And.... was starting to wonder if he was gonna break a hip on stage. :)
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Heck, I saw him in the late 80's and thought the same thing:cool:
 
Rick P said:
Heck, I saw him in the late 80's and thought the same thing:cool:
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I saw him then as well. Been attending his concerts since the early 70s. He really started to show decline on a live performance in late 90s. But honestly his playing and performance is still "spot on" his voice and "wind" is gone. But the same talent is still there
 
Bob H. said:
We all have to age, mostly without much control........
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Yes but we can help to control "how" we age. I gave up smoking 45+ years ago, because even then I noticed some "issues". Yet even though I had for only maybe 10-12 years I pay the price to this day with mild COPD and lung damage. Just one example. But, if I had not given it up then, I am sure I too would be sucking from an O2 bottle (if I were still above ground).
 
Thats weird Larry I quit smoking 43 years ago and I smoked about 15-16 years. I was lucky I just said one day this is nuts and quit didn't have any desire to start up again. I don't have any lung problems from it my 02 levels are always around 98%
 
Rich Dahl said:
Thats weird Larry I quit smoking 43 years ago and I smoked about 15-16 years. I was lucky I just said one day this is nuts and quit didn't have any desire to start up again. I don't have any lung problems from it my 02 levels are always around 98%
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I was in an urgent care facility pneumonia about 14 years ago. They took X-Rays and such. Dr, pulled me in to look at them. Then asked "do or did you smoke" I told him many years ago yes. He pointed out areas and told me what I was seeing was scar tissue from that. I told him I had quit when I was 25 or 26 yo. He said the "if you quit your lungs return to normal" is a myth. He said it's sure one helluvalot better than continuing but he said the damage never fully goes away. Now also I am sure being around all the asbestos I was around as well at the time did not do me any favors and my 10 years of smoking was likely equal to 30 or more years. But, the damage is there and noted on more than one occasion. Of course at the time my brand(s) of choice were either Lucky or Pall Mall (both straights no filters). Anyway the docs told me it was good I quit when I did
 
he's got a big catalog to pull from

Great show. And he does have a big catalog.

He did one song from his first/debut album. Which he mentioned was released 50 years ago (1972).
 
I saw Gord about 10 years back and his high notes were long gone, still great though. There is an interesting about him on Roku, tubi and a couple other channels.
 
John Goin said:
I saw Gord about 10 years back and his high notes were long gone, still great though. There is an interesting about him on Roku, tubi and a couple other channels.
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Yes, you can find his recordings from various times on YT. Standard YT -- don't know or care about You Tube TV. With a good audio setup, it's an easy evening exploring old and new recorded music video from almost any artist. I find the inserted ads a nuisance, but not so much I would pay YT TV price for mostly redundant programming. And the ads are short and can mostly be skipped. The plus overwhelms the minus.
 
Sounds like it was a nice show.
The wife and I dig going to see live music.

I’m sorry to hear that his vocals were gone.
We saw Bob Dylan a couple years ago and his voice actually sounded better.
It had more of a gravel sound to it.

Sadly most singers don’t fair to well as they age.
Stevie Nicks was a complete let down for us and we sat very close to the stage.
 
Yeah, and then some do but then sadly their mind goes. Tony Bennet, Glenn Cambell, and so on. Was never a GC fan but always enjoyed Tony
 
LMichaels said:
So last night we (wife, me, sister, brother in law, long time buddy and his wife) went to Genesee Theatre in Waukegan IL and saw Gordon Lightfoot. He's 83 now, and a poster child of why you should not smoke. His voice has deteriorated so badly it's heartbreaking and every couple songs or so he had to get a "hit" of what appeared to be oxygen for his emphysema. But, on the plus side, he can still play perfectly, his memory was great and no technical or memory screwups at all. So he overall (given his health issues) did an outstanding job. His band is still the same guys that toured with him since "forever" except for his old time guitar player Terry Clements who passed away awhile back. The replacement doesn't have the "touch" Terry did but great none the less.
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One of my favorite songs ever! The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
 
GeorgeMeadal said:
One of my favorite songs ever! The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
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Yet it's the one that gets him more jokes poked at him of everything he's ever done. He's got a documentary out. In that Rick Haynes is interviewed (his bass player) and noted the recording was done all in one take and the first time they'd ever all played it "together" in one room. Go figure.
 
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