2005 Tour Summary
2005 Tour Summary
| The year 2005 found
Lightfoot back in familiar territory, touring steadily again for the
first time since his illness in late 2002. But he did make several
appearances in 2004 which I will include as part of this summary. The
2004 appearances were a one song surprise performance at the Mariposa
Folk Festival and a 5 song set in Peterbourough, ON as part of a flood
relief benefit. He closed out 2004 with two benefit concerts in
Hamilton, ON in late November, with proceeds going to the hospital
foundation where he was treated. The two Hamilton shows employed an
opening act, with Lightfoot doing a one set show. During those shows he
debuted Clouds Of Loneliness
and River Of Light
from Harmony, as well
as the title track and Couchiching,
those last two songs were played only once before in concert - on the
last fateful
show in 2002 before illness struck. He also brought On The High Seas out of
retirement, after not having played it live for many years. At the
flood benefit in August of 2004 he
debuted Inspiration Lady
in concert, as well as the traditional Diamond Joe, which he played
many times years ago as a solo act. Hangdog Hotel Room made a
few appearances as another song not played often in recent years. Blackberry Wine was not in
regular rotation as in years past, making only sporadic
appearances midway through and late in the year. Canadian Railroad Trilogy
was not attempted until a few shows into the tour, after which it again
became a regular.
The 2005 year proper began in April in California and Nevada, before heading back to Toronto for the Massey Hall series in May. He made two July appearances at Live 8 in Barrie, ON and Mariposa in Orillia, ON. He resumed the tour in August, this time in the midwest, with the final show of that leg scheduled for Seven Springs, PA being cancelled due to inclement weather. September saw him do a brief run again in Calfornia and Nevada, before doing a series of east coast shows in October. The year wrapped up with concerts in southern Ontario, the final night being appropriately in Orillia, where his 2002 tour ended prematurely. In all he performed 37 concerts in 26 cities, not counting the three brief appearances - in Mariposa for one song in 2004, the Peterbourough Flood Benefit and the Live 8 performance. Only Harmony; Couchiching and Clouds Of Loneliness received regular rotation from the new album in 2005 and they translated very well to the live stage. The road tested live cuts from Harmony, The No Hotel and Shellfish were shut out of the year's setlists. Openers were rotated between Spanish Moss, Never Too Close, 14 Karat Gold, and Let It Ride. All The Lovely Ladies opened one of the Hamilton benefits and Morning Glory opened once at Mariposa. Encores included Old Dan's Records, Cold On The Shoulder, Early Morning Rain, Canadian Railroad Trilogy and Bitter Green. There were no new or previously unreleased songs performed in 2005 (unless you want to include the traditional Diamond Joe from the '04 flood benefit). There were 49 different songs performed over the course of the year. Shadows continued to be the most drawn upon album, garnering 127 performances spread among 6 of its songs. Two studio albums were entirely shut out, Did She Mention My Name and Salute. |
SONG
SUMMARY BY ALBUM
Here are
how the setlists break down by album.
| All of this information is based on a sample of 35 complete setlists and 3 brief guest appearances. If anyone heard a song that isn't listed here, I'd be more than happy to add it to the list. In brackets following the song is the number of times the song appeared in the 38 setlists to give you an idea of their frequency. |
