Lightfoot!

Yup, he's back on stage. Gordon Lightfoot. The man.

Back when I was in junior high, I didn't listen to any music. Ever. When I was a kid, I jammed to the oldies and all sorts of stuff, but for some reason (maybe 'cause I couldn't understand Bob Dylan at the time, and my dad listened to him a lot), I didn't purposefully listen to much music by the time I was like 11. Then one day, my dad popped Gord's Gold into the car tape deck. I wore that tape out listening to it over and over. Gord's music became something the whole family had in common, something we could celebrate together.

Right around his 1993 release, Waiting for You, my dad surprised us with tickets to a Lightfoot concert down at Chataqua Institute. I remember it settling in..."Wait. You mean I can actually see the guy in concert that I'm hearing on these cds?" It was an incredible outdoor show, my first concert ever. Since then, my family has made two trips up to Toronto to see him at Massey Hall, where he plays once every year and a half. We always stay at the same hotel, and we always have a great time.

Then, of course, Gord went into a coma and it was questionable whether he'd ever play and sing again. Now he's back with a new cd, Harmony, which is simply stunning given all he's been through. His voice is certainly not the deep baritone of the 70's, but it still has that character to it.

He's also resuming his Massey Hall plans. The last time my family went up to Massey Hall was May 9, 1998, and Gord played this set list. Being that he's six years older and has had so many health issues, I'd be surprised to hear such a great set list again. But regardless of how the show goes, this will be a special trip. My brother Brad and I are both married now, and in a month, my other brother, Eric, will also be married. We're taking the whole family - dad, mom, us three boys, and our marvelous wives - to his show on May 21st. I can't wait.