May 24–31, 2001

scene and heard

Lightfoot, Young Heart

At 62 years of age, Canadian folk man Gordon Lightfoot doesn’t show much wear. Rock star thin in a crisp shirt, snug blue jeans and pair of tennis shoes, Gordo stood tall before the near capacity crowd of suburbanites in Glenside’s historic Keswick Theatre (Sun., May 13). With a smile of wisdom on his face, he approached the mike, carrying an acoustic guitar and a mellow grace that may have come from age and experience — but the only senior citizens were in the audience. Complemented by a full band, including long-time companions Terry Clements and Rick Haynes on guitar and bass, Lightfoot played two long sets of material that showed just how deep his back catalogue has become. It’s easy to forget that Gordo ruled the airwaves in the early ’70s until you hear him reveal hit after hit. Lightfoot graciously ended the first set with his signature "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." Gord’s strumming and Clements’ tight lead guitar were made grander by the addition of keys and heavy drums, and even the septuagenarians beside me were tapping their orthopedic shoes. With the exception of a few shouted requests for obscure tunes, however, the crowd was dead. The Keswick is a wonderful place to see live theater, not a bad seat in the house, and the sound is excellent, but even Lightfoot’s storytelling couldn’t infuse the place with the intimacy that his music calls for. But in spite of the venue and the crowd, Lightfoot and his band recreated the magic while playing songs like "Beautiful" and "If You Could Read My Mind," lyrical and literate with utterly hummable melodies. You have to respect a man whose body and body of work have aged so well.

—Chris Nosal