05-30-2006, 12:51 PM
The Commodore got me as close as I've ever been to the esteemed Mr. Downie in mid-performance - like, 10 feet away - and although I always kinda knew this, I got to see up close just how demanding his performance style is. Which raises the question in my thread title. This is not a style one can credibly carry into, say, one's late 50s or 60s, is it? At some point doesn't it just get to be impossible to maintain?
I bring it up because of interviews where Gord has commented about the band's 'stage of career,' saying that they're entering the 'Bob Dylan' stage (which I take to mean, older, more vocally damaged, not necessarily inferior in terms of craft or passion, perhaps even more profound) ...and his admiration for the Howlin Wolfs and other blues legends who carried on with performance into their 70s...and that he's tense before every performance because he knows it's going to hurt...etc..
How long can Gord do it? And where does he take it, once he scales back back the manic physical intensity of his shows?
Thoughts?
I bring it up because of interviews where Gord has commented about the band's 'stage of career,' saying that they're entering the 'Bob Dylan' stage (which I take to mean, older, more vocally damaged, not necessarily inferior in terms of craft or passion, perhaps even more profound) ...and his admiration for the Howlin Wolfs and other blues legends who carried on with performance into their 70s...and that he's tense before every performance because he knows it's going to hurt...etc..
How long can Gord do it? And where does he take it, once he scales back back the manic physical intensity of his shows?
Thoughts?