Wendy V "fall tour" report #1
GAITHER HOMECOMING CONCERT
DULUTH, MN
OCTOBER 25, 2003
I said that when I started this three weekend "tour" that I thought I might find out what it was like for the artists to do this sort of weekend touring schedule. I did take a bus to Duluth. But not the type the Gaither gang travels in. I went Greyhound, which I hadn't done in about six years.
It was a very pleasant and smooth ride. In my portion of the state, the trees looked like they wanted to start turning but weren't quite ready yet. As we got up north, the fall colors were a little farther along, just starting to happen. I must say, I did spot some very interesting things in the landscape on the way. You'd ride along and see clumps of skinny trees set far apart from one another in the midst of grassy plains. I also spotted an ad for McDonalds cheeseburger stuck in the middle of a cornfield. And, I swear to you I saw this...I looked twice. I truly believe we passed a Jeep with no driver at the wheel! Was this thing on cruise control and the driver taking a nap? Or was I hallucinating?
To be honest, I arrived in Duluth with my spirits a bit sunken. I felt the Homecoming gang might have their work cut out for them with me. But as soon as I got to Canal Park and got out and walked along the Lake Superior boardwalk path, reunited with the Wendy V birthday celebration crew of Marti, Del, Denise and Scott for dinner at Grandma's, and walked through the door of the DECC, all started to be okay with the world again.
The concert was a mix of the old songs and bits and some new. I don't care how many times I've heard the same songs and repartee. There is not an experience quite like a Gaither Homecoming concert. It goes beyond how well everyone performs...the spirit and presence of the Lord is a magnificent power. Sure, you're cheering on the singers but you're also telling them that you're getting the message they're delivering.
The lineup was the GVB, Kevin, Anthony, Greg Ritchie and Mike Hopper sharing drum duties, Ivan, Ben, Lynda, Taylor, the Isaacs, Jeff and Sheri and Charlotte (and baby Landon!), Hoppers (minus Claude, recuperating from some medical tests), Sarah, Mike Allen, Jessy and the "queen of gospel music" herself, Vestal.
A few highlights:
Kevin did a great job of holding down the humor portions, particularly when heckling Bill about his hand (it's coming along fine).
Mike Allen did a fine job filling in for Claude on the Hoppers' signature tune "Shoutin' Time".
The new comic routine succeeding "Jesus on the Mainline", perhaps? The GVB did a song from their new a cappella CD. As they sang it, Anthony and Kevin, perhaps questioning their supporting musician job security, faked boredom and deciding to distract themselves--Kevin with various items, like a pizza and the book "Singing for Dummies" ; Anthony with a quick nap on the piano bench, which ended abruptly when he rolled off!
I was delighted to hear the Isaacs do one of my favorite songs of theirs, "He Ain't Ever Done Me Nothing But Good".
Taylor continues to impress me as a performer and a person (more on that in Fan Fare), adding some slick local color to his routine for the up north audience.
I don't know how David Phelps manages every night to pour his voice and his heart out into his songs without collapsing in a heap. But as always, the crowd went crazy.
It was an absolute thrill for me to see and hear Vestal live for my first time. The power of her voice is amazing. And what a dear lady--plenty of smiles for us as she passed by.
The Gaither Vocal Band remains the cream of the crop of quartets. What else can I tell you there?
We were in the second row center right where the artists took the stage, but midway into the first half we realized the front row was not going to show up (or Ticketmaster coughed and never sold the tickets). So at intermission, we moved up. It's a blessing for me to be able to be in that spot, especially when the artists are coming on and off the stage. That way, we may have an opportunity to give them some extra encouragement. Sonya Isaacs (she's beautiful!) and David Phelps grabbed my hand as they came off stage. There have been some comments recently about Bill Gaither's limited contact with the audience aside from being onstage. At this show, he went out into the audience during a couple of songs, and one of the most touching moments came when he serenaded a couple who had been married more than 50 years. And, I found him to be very warm as he passed by us, smiling at us several times and giving us a "thumbs up" as he left the stage at the end.
As I mentioned earlier, I was at Taylor's table, having offered to be the first customer to help his volunteers train in. When he saw both they and another artist's table next to his didn't have chairs for those volunteers, he went off himself and found chairs for both tables. What a guy!
LuAnn Burger reports that daughter Lori is juggling being on the road with taking her first course load at Columbia University. Lori has also been getting many requests to listen to material as a result of her recent first performances!
As the beginning of the second half was starting, Vestal spotted me wanting to take a picture and gestured to her son to move back so I could take it. (Thanks, Vestal!)
I also had the pleasure this evening of meeting Sue Carlson Silverstein, known to many Gaithernetters as the one who handles the ticket sales. She actually recognized me from my picture (and reads my posts!). We had to scoot quickly due to a report that the pedestrian lift bridge closed at 11 p.m. and we may have had to swim across Lake Superior to get to Del and Marti's car on the other side of the lake if we got out after that time. But, we made it over (sorry, Scott and Denise!). I probably would have grabbed a life preserver off the Vista Fleet boat and tried if I had to, because I wasn't going anywhere till the very end.
A Gaither Homecoming concert: good for what ails the soul, as always.
(To one person in particular, you know who you are: you are a spirit lifter, a blessing and I'm glad you're my friend, too.)