The Lightfoot Band terrifically tense ahead of Massey Hall return

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Take it from the two musicians who played with Gordon Lightfoot on stage the longest — bassist Rick Haynes (55 years) and drummer Barry Keane (48 years) — it’s an honour for The Lightfoot Band to return to Massey Hall on Nov. 21.

Especially without their band leader for the first time.

The Lightfoot Band — one of two house bands alongside Blue Rodeo as part of a star-studded tribute to Lightfoot in 2024 at Massey Hall — have been touring since then but never headlined at the venue.

Now, the two veteran players have big feelings about appearing at the House of Gord, as Massey has been nicknamed, given Lightfoot is the artist with the most appearances there (at least 176 times.)

“Anxious, apprehensive, excited,” said Haynes, 81, seated beside Keane, 77, at Massey Hall on Tuesday. “I remembered Gord said, ‘When you don’t get nervous anymore, it means you don’t care.’ And I’ve always hung onto that.”

Added Keane: “We’re pumped to be back at Massey Hall for so many reasons. We’ve played so many great venues. We’ve played Carnegie Hall. We’ve played Royal Albert Hall. We’ve played the Greek Theatre, Lincoln Centre. But for me, and I think I can speak for the boys in the band, this is our home gig. This is our favourite show.”

Since 1967, Lightfoot played a November residency at Massey Hall (around his Nov. 17 birthday), but the group wasn’t sure they had much of a future after Lightfoot’s death on May 1, 2023, at age 84.

Band left in limbo following Lightfoot’s death

“We didn’t know what to do,” Haynes said. “We sort of didn’t know what hit us.”

Added Keane: “He was always, ‘the show must go on.’ So when I got the phone call from Rick from the hospital that Gordon had passed, it was a shock.”

Rounding out the group now is keyboardist Mike Heffernan, who joined in 1980, American import and vocalist Andy Mauck (since 2024) and lead guitarist/latest recruit Bill Bell.

“(Andy) was a friend of Gord and a fan and he had been hanging around with us since the mid-’70s so he’s been part of our culture so to speak,” Haynes said. “He really knew the material, he knew the songs. He’s really pumped to be doing Gordon Lightfoot material.”

Still, there was the matter of group dynamics and what would the fans think.

“We always wondered if this was going to work because we don’t have Gord anymore,” Haynes said. “I’ve had people ask me, ‘Do you have a singer?’ Well, of course we have a singer. We’re not trying to imitate Gord or clone him or anything like that, but it’s very important that people understand that we are doing this out of respect for Gord and to continue on with his great songs.”

Added Keane: “It’s a very joyful experience for us. It’s an honour and a privilege to be able to keep Gordon’s legacy alive.”

But the real test came after a couple of rehearsals/auditions with the band who called him up after Lightfoot’s death to see if he wanted to sing.

New singer has passion, sincerity and respect for Lightfoot

“Andy sings the songs with such passion and sincerity and respect, as Rick said,” Keane said. “He’s the man for the job. We were concerned how many people would be interested in seeing a Gordon Lightfoot show without Gordon Lightfoot. But I have to say the response has been overwhelmingly positive and a big part of that has been Andy and his vocals.”

Among Keane’s favourite Lightfoot/Massey Hall memories over the years was seeing two “bright white suits” in the crowd circa the ’90s.

“It was Jimmy Buffett and Don Cherry,” he said.

“They were a little behind in fashion,” he added with a chuckle.

Haynes’ favourite memory is one for the musical history books.

“The first time I played here with Gordon (in 1969), we also made an album out of it called Sunday Concert. That really stood out to be because here I am, a Toronto kid, holy smokes, playing in Massey Hall with Gordon Lightfoot and making an album out of it. I mean, ‘Wow, what else can you do?’”

The Lightfoot Band also has an earlier gig on Oct. 29 at the Orillia Opera House, which, of course, is the venue in Lightfoot’s hometown. That performance is part of the fourth annual Gordon Lightfoot Festival running Oct. 29-31.

“Pressure’s pretty similar,” said Haynes, who gives the slight advantage on that front to Massey given its larger size and reputation compared to the Opera House.

“And we’re very proud of our history, especially our history here at Massey Hall.”

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