The Lightfoot Band

Can You Pronounce Guelph?

This thing is really happening. Our meetings, rehearsals, long-range plans, and the debut at the historic El Mocambo have all been very exciting, but it wasn’t real for me until we stepped on stage at the River Run Theatre in Guelph, Ontario, a week ago Thursday. 

This is the kind of venue we were aiming for, the kind we played frequently with Gord, and we aced it. 

In Good Standing

Sure, there were some flaws. One tune, in particular, was like musical chairs with nowhere to sit.

It didn’t matter as we took a very attentive audience on a journey through Gord’s music and regaled them with stories from our many years together. They showed their appreciation later with two standing ovations. 

Oh Geez, Here We Go

Here’s an interesting thing: I’ve played in a lot of bands since 1970. Many of them were start-ups, so I witnessed how they would develop and mature more than a few times.

You rehearse until everyone knows what they’re doing, and then you start performing in public. In most cases, it’s okay, even sometimes great, right from the get-go. But the fun has yet to begin. If you’re lucky, the band will solidify after a while and really start to groove. 

Call it a system of subtle cues, confidence in predicting what other members will do, or simply everyone relaxing into their roles; to me, it might just as well be voodoo with its mixture of chemistry and magic. 

This maturing process occurred after our debut at the El Mocambo and revealed itself dramatically at the next show in Guelph. That’s fast by anyone’s standards.

The Case For The Defence

It could be argued that we had a head start because we’d been together for so long with Gord. Keep in mind, though, that we were locked in with his particular stylings. Pauses, endings, intros, vocal phrasing, and dynamics are naturally idiosyncratic. Every singer is different. When Andy came into the picture, we encouraged him as much as possible to copy those stylings, and he did a remarkable job. But still it remained that a bunch of old dogs had to learn some new tricks. That was enough, at first, to interrupt the flow.

Judgemental

That being said, these guys I work with are pros. To us, a piece of music isn’t a set of isolated rules and directions; it’s a context or framework. This perspective allows us to adapt to changing circumstances in real time. Like rescuing a tune that’s getting into the weeds or recovering from mistakes and botched arrangements. And, ahem, getting used to a new guy.

Hard To Be Humble

As a result, even though we didn’t quite settle into a groove until the River Run Theatre in Guelph, our first shows at the El Mocambo were still very acceptably played.

Many thanks to all those appreciative fans who supported us at our debut.  

You Aint Seen Nothin’ Yet!