Tour Reviews and Other Memories from
LEONARD COHEN WORLD TOUR Spring 2009
May 9
Detroit, Michigan
The Fox Theatre
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Set List for May 9
Detroit Free Press review
The Oakland Press review
Fan reports
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May 11
Columbia, Maryland
Merriweather Post Pavilion
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Set List for May 11
The Washington Post review
The Washington Times review & photo
Fan reports
Youtube
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May 12
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Academy of Music
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Set List for May 12
The News Journal (Delaware) review & photos
Philadelphia Inquirer review & photos
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette review
Philadelphia City Paper review
Magnet review & photo
Fan reports
Youtube
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May 14
Waterbury, Conneticut
Palace Theater
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Set List for May 14
The Hartford Courant review
Fan reports
Youtube
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Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Chicago, Illinois |
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New York, New York
Hamilton, Ontario
Quebec City, Quebec
Kingston, Ontario
London, Ontario
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Detroit, Michigan
Set List - May 9, 2009
Per Marie
First Set
Dance Me To The End Of Love
The Future
Ain't No Cure For Love
Bird On The Wire
Everybody Knows
In My Secret Life
Who By Fire
Chelsea Hotel
Waiting For The Miracle
Anthem
Second Set
Tower Of Song
Suzanne
Gypsy Wife
The Partisan
Boogie Street
Hallelujah
I'm Your Man
A Thousand Kisses Deep (recitation)
Take This Waltz
Encores
So Long, Marianne
First We Take Manhattan
Famous Blue Raincoat
If It Be Your Will
Democracy
I Tried to Leave You
Whither Thou Goest
Detroit, Michigan
Leonard Cohen amazes at the Fox
It's been about 15 years since Leonard Cohen last undertook a U.S. tour, but penance -- and then some -- was paid on Saturday night as a sold-out crowd at the Fox Theatre was gifted with a highlight-after-highlight performance.
The Canadian poet and songwriter unveiled a litany of his most-beloved songs, from the outsider's mission statement "Bird on the Wire," to the probingly sensual "Boogie Street," to the cynical lament "Everybody Knows."
Including a short intermission, the show lasted well over three hours, the 74-year-old gaining depth of voice and energy as the evening progressed -- even to the point of doing spritely little jigs on and off the stage during multiple encores.
He was complemented by nine-piece ensemble, including three heavenly voiced backup singers who fully utilized the Fox's fine acoustics. The band was filled with crackerjack players who lithely stepped around Cohen's toes rather than on them, their dexterity evident whether providing sublime accompaniment or when frequently stepping forward for quick and tasteful solos.
They were a perfect backdrop for Cohen's ethereal baritone, which moves from a husky whisper to a more demanding, oaken instrument. It's Cohen's signature voice that is the ultimate draw in this sort of live setting, and at more times than could be counted Saturday, it caressed the theater into rapt silence, the violet vibe more reminiscent of a church service than a pop performance. To steal the title of Cohen's perhaps best-known tune, "Hallelujah."
Detroit, Michigan
Leonard Cohen Brings His "Tower Of Song" To The Fox
DETROIT -- There are certainly those who sing Leonard Cohen's songs prettier and with more technical proficiency. That much has been made clear by hundreds of covers recorded by other artists over the years, as well as by an assortment of high-profile tribute albums.
But there's nothing quite like hearing the artist perform his own work, which is what made the celebrated Canadian-born singer, writer and poet's generous performance Saturday night at the Fox Theatre such a genuine treat.
As part of his first concert tour in 15 years -- "I was 60 years old, just a kid with a crazy dream," he cracked -- Cohen dove deeply and broadly into his 42-year canon of music, covering 25 songs over the course of nearly three (plus intermission) with a gentle and genial grace and humility. That this tour is partly necessitated by personal financial issues did not at all dampen the proceedings; rather, Cohen and his nine onstage compatriots reveled in a rich catalog of material, delivering one captivating performance after another of his pointed and, after all these years, still potent philosophical observations about romance, relationships, politics and mortality.
And, amidst all that, the proverbial good time WAS had by all. Cohen, dapper in a dark suit, gray shirt and Fedora -- and in far better voice than his sometimes his reputation -- made each entrance and exit with a giddy skip and warm smile. He doffed his hat to acknowledge each of the virtuoso soloists in the band -- and the occasional athletic feat, like when sister backup singers Charley and Hattie Webb turned cartwheels to accompany the "white man dancing" reference in "The Future." And Cohen frequently sang on one or both knees, a gesture of surrender to the music and appreciative respect to the audience that seemed as heartfelt as it was theatrical.
The highlights were plentiful -- and, it would be fair to say, included every single song. But among those that stood out the most were a soulful rendition of "Ain't No Cure For Love," a taut arrangement of "Bird on a Wire" that left space for solos by guitarist Bob Metzger and woodwindist Dino Soldo, the gypsy ambience of "Everybody Knows" which spotlighted Javier Mas' flamenco-styled picking, a lush "Chelsea Hotel," stirring deliveries of "Anthem" and "First We Take Manhattan," and an epic version of "Hallelujah." "Tower of Song" and "Suzanne" received stark, stripped-down treatments to open the show's second half, while longtime Cohen collaborator Sharon Robinson took the lead vocal on "Boogie Street."
"I Tried to Leave You," positioned in the final encore, made a pleasantly wry comment on the show's length, and bringing not just the band but also crew members downstage for a mostly a capella "Whither Thou Goest" made for a classy, communal and uplifting conclusion.
There's no saying if Cohen will make his way back on the road after his current sojourn; at his age..., as they say. But on Saturday left us with a performance to remember and a testament to the simple power of a songwriter singing his own songs.
Detroit, Michigan
Blogs and Other Fan Reports
Blog - "The Post-Rockist" - "Leonard Cohen at the Fox Theatre, May 9, 2009"
For a long time, I felt that Cohen had done just that: turned his back on the crowd. He had every right to do so. But he did the opposite. He met us face to face. He bared his heart to us (as he has always done). I'm not really one for hero-worship. The midwesterner in me finds it distasteful. But if I'd have worn a top hat to the show, I surely would have taken it from atop my head and held it to me heart, bowing in appreciation.
Blog - "detroiter MOTORCITYBLOG.net" - "Wild At Heart - Friday May 15th 2009"
Cohen is not known for his singing voice but he hit all the right notes that night and what might be the show of the year after an impressive 3+ hours which saw about 3 encores...
Discuss the tour and read fan reviews on The Leonard Cohen Forum and in French on the Leonard Cohen Forum (French site).
Columbia, Maryland
Set List - May 11, 2009
First Set
Dance Me To The End Of Love
The Future
Ain't No Cure For Love
Bird On The Wire
Everybody Knows
In My Secret Life
Who By Fire
Chelsea Hotel
Waiting For The Miracle
Anthem
Second Set
Tower Of Song
Suzanne
Gypsy Wife
The Partisan
Boogie Street
Hallelujah
I'm Your Man
A Thousand Kisses Deep (recitation)
Take This Waltz
Encores
So Long, Marianne
First We Take Manhattan
Famous Blue Raincoat
If It Be Your Will
Democracy
I Tried to Leave You
Whither Thou Goest
Columbia, Maryland
Leonard Cohen: Live Last Night
Ladies and Gentlemen, opening for the serene and poetical Mr. Leonard Cohen this evening: the brilliant and genteel Mr. Leonard Cohen.
At Merriweather Monday night, under skies that might be called "Coheneque" -- cold, rainy, despairing, but not without a solitary beauty -- the spry 74-year-old songwriter's songwriter glided on-stage at 7:35, and sang for 65 minutes. Yes, sang. Save your jokes. He's heard them all, and written some of the better ones himself. After a half-hour's intermission, he returned to perform for another hour-forty, a headliner's set in its own right. All told, he offered more than two dozen impeccable numbers from a tower of song that reaches back four decades.
But the arrangements? Peccable, alas. With nine musicians joining him onstage, the temptation to drown Cohen's meticulous language in flaccid lite-jazz instrumentation was constant. Too often, it was irresistible: The "Dance Me to the End of Love" that opened the show didn't need one sax solo, much less two.
Javier Mas's banduria was a consistent, welcome exception amid the bloat. His lithe Mediterranean flourishes never felt like they were competing with Cohen's stiff but authoritative baritone, which is perhaps why the great man addressed so many of his down-on-one-knee serenades to Mas. The star was happy to share the approbation, graciously introducing the band not once, but twice.
Still, the night's best performances were its least ornamented: A spare, haunted "Suzanne", with cartwheel-turning sister-singers Charley and Hattie Webb accompanying Cohen's denuded rasp. The poem "A Thousand Kisses Deep," recited with barely any instrumentation at all. "Famous Blue Raincoat," still aching with betrayal. If the entire show had been as strong as the three encore sets (!) that comprised its final half-hour, the gig would have been one for the books. Instead, it played more like a microcosm of Cohen's career: Long, with moments of staggering beauty interspersed among dormant stretches.
Before a stirring "Anthem" to close the first set, Cohen observed "We're so privileged to gather like this, with so much of the world plunged in chaos and suffering." Which is, roughly translated, Canadian poet-turned-monk-speak for "Throw your hands up and make some noy-oiiiise, Maryland!" A shed like Merriweather is an outlier on a tour itinerary that has Cohen playing mostly theatres in the U.S., doubtless a better fit for his moody, midtempo introspection. But the ensemble, resplendent in sharp suits and arrayed in front of a curtain bathed in gold or violet or crimson as the mood required, managed to conjure something of a nightclub atmosphere despite the incongruous surroundings.
Cohen's current tour -- his first U.S. roadshow since 1993 -- was born of money problems. Specifically, a former associate stole most of his while Cohen was living in a Los Angeles monastery. Even so, Cohen proved determined to give the reverent crowd value for their hard-earned, and he appeared genuinely humbled by the standing ovations that erupted after "Waiting for the Miracle," "Hallelujah," and too many other performances to name. Alas, commercial considerations still intruded: The show's setlist, arrangements, and even Cohen's stage banter were largely reprised from his just-released "Live in London" double CD, recorded last summer. Then again, that Cohen can still perform as tirelessly and powerfully as this at 74 is probably surprise enough.
Columbia, Maryland
Cohen enriches his reputation
The Washington Times - May 14, 2009 by Adam Mazmanian (Photo: Associated Press)
At 74 years of age, Leonard Cohen has become the craggy immortal that always lurked in his voice and in the lyrics and flawless meter of his majestic songs. The weathered face, the severe black suit and fedora now seem like they were always there. It's easy to forget that while he is a decade older than most of his musical contemporaries, he was a comparatively young man when he wrote some of his best loved songs, like "Bird on a Wire," "So Long, Marianne" and "Suzanne."
His searing, often self-abnegating lyrics were borne of emotional and spiritual struggle, but as a singer Mr. Cohen appears serene and confident. Even after two sets stretching over more than three hours, Mr. Cohen felt spry enough to bound and skip on and off the stage between encores Monday night at the Merriweather Post Pavilion. His rigid baritone held steady throughout the show, despite the unseasonable chill and driving rain that soaked those watching from the lawn.
He played, by my count, 24 songs on Monday evening. Some were pitched as austere confessionals, some set to lush orchestrations that featured multiple solos by his fellow musicians. Mr. Cohen is touring with a top-flight band. Neil Larsen set the tone with the whistling, easy Hammond B3 sound that played beautifully with Bob Metzger's spare, haunting electric guitar. Alternating between the small, mandolin-like banduria and the 12-string guitar, Spanish guitarist Javier Mas added unexpected grace and life to the often bleak and gritty sentiments of Mr. Cohen's songs. Longtime Cohen collaborator Roscoe Beck was credited (during Mr. Cohen's two rounds of band introductions) as both bassist and musical director and deserves special kudos for his imaginative and elegant arrangements.
Mr. Cohen, for his part, played a little guitar, but not much. His playing has always been the shakiest part of his game. He earned a courtesy ovation for a little bit of one-handed keyboard noodling on "Tower of Song" to open the second set, and acknowledged the roar of the crowd impishly, saying, "You're too kind."
To go by the relative youth of the crowd, most of his current fans probably came to him through the back channel of popular cover versions of "Hallelujah" by the late Jeff Buckley or Rufus Wainwright or even "American Idol" contestant Jason Castro. It is doubtful that many were disappointed; Mr. Cohen is that rare living legend who lives up to the hype. Unlike other artists of similar stature (Bob Dylan springs to mind), Mr. Cohen makes his work perfectly accessible, enunciating every lyric with fierce precision. Despite the elements, it was not a show to be missed because, as Mr. Cohen said by way of thanking the audience, "I might not pass this way again."
Columbia, Maryland
Blogs and Other Fan Reports
Blog - "Dumbek's Random Stuff" - "Whew"
Wow. Is it too early to declare this "Show of the Year"? He just has this amazing presence that's just mesmerizing...
Blog - "MetroMusicScene.com" - "Leonard Cohen @ Merriweather / A Review"
Thus began an evening of masterful musicianship, high sartorial style, inspired lighting and some of the most beautiful lyrics ever written in the English language...
Discuss the tour and read fan reviews on The Leonard Cohen Forum and in French on the Leonard Cohen Forum (French site).
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Set List - May 12, 2009
First Set
Dance Me To The End Of Love
The Future
Ain't No Cure For Love
Bird On The Wire
Everybody Knows
In My Secret Life
Who By Fire
Chelsea Hotel
Waiting For The Miracle
Anthem
Second Set
Tower Of Song
Suzanne
Sisters Of Mercy
Take This Waltz
Boogie Street
Hallelujah
I'm Your Man
A Thousand Kisses Deep (recitation)
Democracy
Encores
So Long, Marianne
First We Take Manhattan
Famous Blue Raincoat
If It Be Your Will
Closing Time
I Tried to Leave You
Whither Thou Goest
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Sincerely, L. Cohen
The News Journal (Delaware) - May 13, 2009 by Ryan Cormier (Photos: Bill Bretzger/The News Journal)
Back in 1992 when influential songwriter Leonard Cohen released his most unsettling and somewhat apocalyptic album, "The Future," a pre-9/11 United States was enjoying relative stability, including growing relations with Russia with then-Russian Boris Yeltsin visiting Washington D.C. for the first time.
At that moment, many of Cohen's words seemed not of these times, including the wary title track on which Cohen sang, "Give me back the Berlin Wall/Give me Stalin and St. Paul/I've seen the future, brother: it is murder."
About 16 years after those words were written, hearing them from a 74-year-old Cohen at Tuesday night's show at the ornate Academy of Music in Philadelphia was downright chilling as the world around us swirls with war, nuclear fears and an economy on the brink.
And even though there's plenty of despair to go around, Cohen's return to Philadelphia for the first time since 1993 was a reason to celebrate for fans as he winds down a 36-date North American tour.
Dressed in a sharp black suit and a matching fedora, the Canadian poet-turned-songwriter treated the effusive sold out crowd to a 3-hour concert, which included a staggering eight standing ovations.
He touched on his greatest works from his 42-year career, backed by a soft-touch six-piece band with Javier Mas on 12-string guitar as its highlight and a trio of back-up singers made up of longtime collaborator Sharon Robinson and The Webb Sisters, who delivered synchronized cartwheels during "The Future."
Cohen, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year, skipped on and off stage throughout the night as if he were a giddy schoolboy and took off his hat during solos as a sign of respect for his backing band. At other times, he dropped to one knee for some lines and was on both knees for parts of "First We Take Manhattan."
"It's been a while since I stood up on stage here. It was 14 or 15 years ago. I was 60 years old, just a kid with a crazy dream," Cohen joked in between his songs of love and hate. "Since then, I've taken a lot of Prozac, Paxil, Effexor, Wellbutrin, Ritalin and I also turned to a rigorous study of religions and philosophies, but cheerfulness kept breaking through."
The dark themes in some of the songs, which Kurt Cobain sang about as a "Leonard Cohen afterworld" on "Pennyroyal Tea," and the darkened times we find ourselves in was not lost on Cohen himself.
"Some people say it's going to be worse than Y2K," he said, jokingly, before turning serious in front of 2,900 fans. "So much of the world is plunged in suffering and chaos that it is remarkable that we have the opportunity to gather in places like this."
But it was the eerie relevance of his songs, dating back at least 15 years, that made the night a mind-twisting experience.
Whether it was his singing about the "the brave, the bold, the battered heart of Chevrolet" on "Democracy" or how "the poor stay poor, the rich get rich" on "Everybody Knows," it was hard not to shake the songs' remarkable timeliness.
The crowd broke into spontaneous applause over similar themes. The first was for "Anthem" -- "Can't run no more with the lawless crowd/While the killers in high places say their prayers out loud/But they've summoned up a thundercloud/And they're going to hear from me." The second was during "Tower of Song" in which the line, "The rich have got their channels in the bedrooms of the poor and there's a mighty judgment coming, but I may be wrong," caused a woman to vent some frustration by yelling, "No, you're right Leonard!"
His oldest songs were the best received, whether it be "Bird On A Wire," which was halved by solos by guitarist Bob Metzger and saxophonist Dino Soldo or "Who By Fire" with a brilliant 2-minute acoustic introduction by Mas on the laud as his shadow towered over him in the background. And Cohen's autopsy of his fling with late singer Janis Joplin -- "Chelsea Hotel #2" -- drew laughter and applause when Cohen sang with conviction, "You told me again you preferred handsome men, but for me you would make an exception."
He also reclaimed "Hallelujah," his oft-covered song, raising his voice for one of the few times during the night, expanding the range of his baritone to hit the right notes. He injected an emotion into that song that it originally lacked when first released in 1984, but was later captured by Jeff Buckley's majestic version of the song. Cohen also injected some local love into the song, singing, "I didn't come all the way to Philadelphia just to fool you."
Cohen, known for sometimes taking years to complete the writing of a song, also toyed with his well-crafted lyrics, slipping in, "There's very little entertainment here and the critics are severe," into "Waiting For A Miracle," which like "The Future," was included in Oliver Stone's own disturbing work, "Natural Born killers." On "I'm Your Man," he added that he would wear an "old man's mask" for the song's heroine while taking off his hat and showing off his close-cropped gray hair.
In the years since Cohen's last U.S. tour, his set list has not changed much and Tuesday's show was a virtual replica of his newly released "Live in London" two-disc CD of a 2008 concert. But given how long it took Cohen to return to the road -- he spent five years as a Zen Buddhist monk at the Mt. Baldy Zen Center in Los Angeles after his last tour -- a passing thought that this could be Cohen's final tour was seemingly shared by many.
With that in mind, the night ended with an elegant goodbye, in which Cohen thanked everyone involved with the tour, from the musicians right down to the bus drivers and caterers.
"I don't know when I'll pass this way again, so until then, take care friends. The weather's kind of tricky out there, so don't catch a cold. If you have to fall, fall on the side of luck," he said. "And may you be surrounded by friends and family. And if this is not your lot, may the blessings find you in your solitude. Thank you so much for your warmth and your hospitality. We greatly appreciate it. Good night, friends."
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Leonard Cohen puts on a magnificent show at the Academy
Philadelphia Inquirer - May 13, 2009 by Dan DeLuca (Photos: David Swanson)
Leonard Cohen isn't quite as old as the Academy of Music, he just sounds like he is.
On Tuesday, the 74-year-old Canadian song-poet put on a magnificent three-hour-show at the 152-year-old opera house that was filled with prayer-like intensity and easygoing grace, not to mention sartorial splendor, meticulous musicianship and as perfectly crisp a sound mix as I can ever recall hearing at a rock show.
And the white-haired guy - who can look like an elderly gentleman begging for alms or a remarkably nimble and debonair cock of the walk, depending on whether he's holding his fedora over his heart or wearing it on his head - cracked a bunch of old guy jokes, too.
"I haven't been this happy since the end of World War II," he dryly croaked in "Waiting for the Miracle," the elegantly stately song in which he sang, "the maestro says its Mozart, but it sounds like bubblegum," before gesturing toward the bust of the Austrian composer atop the Academy's proscenium arch.
And Cohen altered a lyric in the sashaying "I'm Your Man," to volunteer to "wear an old man mask for you," as part of his septuagenarian seduction technique.
Cohen hasn't toured in nearly 15 years - or, as he put it, when "I was 60, just a kid with a crazy dream." In the interim, his stature has rightly grown as an iconic wordsmith of the first generation of rock singer-songwriters, a philosopher of love and death, sexual ecstasy and societal doom, whose cigarette-scarred singing voice has grown more effective even as its range has become more limited.
This time around, Cohen was backed by a superb 10-piece band whose standouts included the Spanish bandurria player Javier Mas, the keyboardist Neil Larsen, and a chorus consisting of Cohen's co-writer Sharon Robinson, and sisters Charley and Hattie Webb.
The crowd at the sold-out Academy - which would have been even more cross-generational if the ticket prices hadn't hit nearly $200 (not that anybody was complaining) - regarded him with deep respect.
Early on in the first set, Cohen performed "Everybody Knows," his song of political and personal betrayal from his fruitful late-'80s electronic phase. And at the Academy, everybody knew that he would probably still be holed up in a Buddhist monastery in Los Angeles if he hadn't been allegedly bilked out of millions by his former manager (he was later awarded $9 million by a Canadian court in a civil suit).
And everybody seemed happy with the turn of events, especially Cohen, who skipped on and off the stage each time he came and went over the course of two sets and three encores. (He didn't display as much gymnastic prowess, however, as the Webb sisters, who executed dual handstands early on during the dystopian "The Future," signaling that the marathon show to come was going to be as playfully theatrical as it was satisfyingly serious-minded.)
"So much of the world is plunged in chaos and suffering, it's remarkable that we have the opportunity to gather in places like this," Cohen said before "Anthem." And he may or may not have had the Liberty Bell in mind when he found hope in the idea that "there's a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in."
For a guy known first and foremost as a lyricist, Cohen pays acute attention to every acoustic detail. Every song got its due, and every Hammond B-3 or sax solo - from Larsen and multi-instrumentalist Dino Soldo, respectively - came through as crystal clear as the vocals.
One of Cohen's specialties has always been writing words that are about music - music as a source of spiritual sustenance without which the soul will wither and die. "But then, you don't really care for music, do you?" he sang in "Hallelujah," issuing the ultimate put-down in a blood-and-guts version that contrasted gravely with Jeff Buckley's ethereal cover.
In Cohen's apocalyptic encore of "First We Take Manhattan," he indicated his narrator's deprived state by asking: "Remember me, I used to live for music?" And in "Chelsea Hotel No. 2," he got a big laugh for rhyming "you told me again you preferred handsome men, but for me you would make an exception." But then he cut to the song's core by singing about the gift he was giving to his reverential audience at that very moment: "We are ugly," he sang, in an unpretty voice. "But we have the music."
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
I'm Your Fan: An evening with Leonard Cohen
At 74, Leonard Norman Cohen, formerly of Montreal, was a lot spryer than he had a right to be as he sprinted to the stage of Philadelphia's Academy of Music on Tuesday night.
For the nearly three hours he was on stage, Leonard Cohen cut an impossibly elegant figure in his dark pin-striped suit and fedora. He didn't wear a tie, but that was about as loose as it got during two meticulous sets separated by an intermission.
Doffing his hat and bowing deeply to acknowledge the standing ovation he earned simply for showing up with his six musicians and three backup singers, he looked like a man capable of promising a miracle and delivering it. Throughout the night, the creases around his mouth gave way to smiles and an impishness not characteristic of his music.
As the proud owner of a $179 ticket purchased at the box office shortly before the show sold out, my flirtation with buyer's remorse vanished as soon as Leonard Cohen and his ensemble launched into a note-perfect rendition of "Dance Me To The End of Love."
Though just as esteemed, if not as prolific, a songwriter as Bob Dylan, his legendary cohort in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Mr. Cohen operates on a much higher level when it comes to fulfilling audience expectations. On any given night, Dylan is notorious for fluctuating wildly between poles of indifference and utter brilliance.
Because Mr. Cohen tours less frequently -- this is his first world tour in 15 years -- he is far more conscientious about what happens on stage, down to the scripted monologue and instrumental solos by his peerless backup musicians. His deep, sometime craggy baritone may sound like something echoing through a crypt, but he always manages to hit the low notes, even if they're buried in a grave.
Having dished out nearly $200 between a ticket and a modest dinner in Center City, no one was more relieved than I was that Leonard Cohen had not come to Philadelphia to "do a Dylan."
As much as I love Bob Dylan, I haven't been to one of his shows in years. I shudder to think what I would have missed had I not driven the length of the Pennsylvania Turnpike to catch Leonard Cohen a few days ago. If it wasn't the best concert I've ever seen, it is definitely in the top three.
In retrospect, it seems crass to have ever doubted it would be. It would have been worth twice what I paid.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Leonard Cohen, May 12, Academy of Music
Your faith was strong but you needed proof.
"It's been 14 or 15 years since I stood on this stage. I was 60 years old -- just a kid with a crazy dream," Leonard Cohen joked with the Academy of Music crowd. That's right: joked. From the moment he danced (danced!) onstage, Cohen belied the sober and even dour image he built up over four decades of self-styled rock poetry. I've always found it hard to take Cohen as seriously as he took himself, especially since so many of his songs sounded as if they were designed to get women to sleep with him. But notwithstanding its three-hour-plus running time, Tuesday's show was blessedly free of pretense. From the opening bars of "Dance Me to the End of Love," where he dropped to one knee in front of guitarist Javier Mas, he was more inclined to plead than to pontificate, posing questions rather than selling answers.
It's no secret that Cohen's return to touring was prompted by the theft of most of his fortune by his former manager, but there was no whiff of cash-in. The tickets may have started north of $100, but Cohen seemed determined to earn every penny, guiding his exceptional six-piece band through just about every song anyone could care to hear. By the time he wrapped up the third encore with "Whither Thou Goest," one imagines even the most devout Cohen acolyte was well and truly sated.
Cohen handed off a few songs to his backing vocalists -- collaborator Sharon Robinson took the lead on "Boogie Street," and Charley and Hattie Webb did the honors on "If It Be Your Will" -- but the 74-year-old Cohen never left the stage, and his energy never flagged. With a literal spring in his step, he danced softly around the stage, his hands pulled up near the brim of his trademark fedora (also mandatory attire for his stage crew). "I tried all the religions," he told the crowd, also rattling off a long list of antidepressants. "But the cheerfulness kept breaking through."
Levity isn't a trait one associates with Cohen, but the attentive crowd pulled out the tongue-in-cheek asides from songs like "Waiting for the Miracle," where he quipped, "I haven't been this happy since the end of World War II." The opening bars of "I Tried to Leave You" wouldn't normally call for a laugh, but when Cohen used to open his third encore, the crowd erupted. By then he had tried many times, although his inability to leave the stage could hardly be called a failure.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
From The Desk Of John Wesley Harding: Leonard Cohen At The Academy Of Music, Philadelphia, PA, May 13, 2009
Magnet - May 24, 2009 by John Wesley Harding
John Wesley Harding: Leonard Cohen is a 75-year-old man at the top of his game. My previous "favorite concert of all time" was his show at The Royal Albert Hall in 1993 on The Future tour. And this was better. He certainly sang better. So I think I may have just seen my favorite-ever gig. Steering clear of 2004's Dear Heather and with only a few glances at 2001's Ten New Songs (the two albums he's released in the last 17 years), Cohen, without a hint of nostalgia and with infinite grace, not to mention surprising vocal and physical agility, entertained us for three short hours with the very greatest of his greatest songs. The band was simply phenomenal--in the '70s, they'd all have had beards and been called The Quiet Storm--fleshing out the programmed Euro-austerity of the studio records into living, breathing organisms. "I call to you, I call to you," Cohen sings on "Ain't No Cure For Love," "but I don't call soft enough." The sound embodies his lyrical vision.
The concert was sublime and profoundly moving, from the moment Cohen bounded onstage, through the humility with which he doffed his hat to every soloist, to the final moment he thanked everyone--and I mean everyone (and I mean by name, including the woman who looked after that hat)--after the valedictory hymn. So often he kneeled on the floor, as if in supplication; for Cohen, his songs are prayers. And the concert was, for its audience, a religious experience. All eyes are on Cohen, but his are beyond. Every performer of a similar vintage should be required to see these concerts as part of a compulsory refresher course, to hear the singer wring ever last drip of meaning from each word as though (literally) his life depended on it. The gentle humor, which has always held his work together (but which was ignored during the dull years, when his name unfairly became synonymous with the depressed bedsit singer/songwriter) is here, too, in his delivery and the show's art direction. And in every line: a thought, a feeling, perhaps a change of content ("Give me crack and careless sex," he now sings on "The Future," replacing "anal" with "careless," thoughtfully reconsidering a crisis).
Will I ever see Leonard Cohen again? I hope so. I wonder. His show is truly redemptive and leaves you feeling better and more generous. Even if you have been sitting behind the only person in this beautiful venue who is singing along and pumping his fists. It is by no means the smallest wonder of the night that I bore him no ill will. I had much better things to do. Watch a video of "The Future" from this year's Coachella after the jump.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Blogs and Other Fan Reports
Report - Philadelphia Inquirer - "Comedy, confidence, and Coldplay"
Dan DeLuca interviews Chris Martin
Answer (Martin): So what's the news in Philadelphia?
Question (DeLuca): Well, I saw Leonard Cohen last night.
A: Wasn't it amazing? I saw it in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago. I mean, kind of phenomenal.
Q: Did you desperately care about him growing up?
A: Yeah, very much so. There's something about him that we're sometimes seen to suffer from - taking yourself too seriously. I always thought that Leonard Cohen was Mr. Serious. Or Mr. Miserable. But I love his music. Then I saw him in concert, and I thought: This guy's like a stand-up comedian.
It's funny, because my favorite comedians, like Woody Allen, actually turn out to be miserable. So it's nice to know that misery and comedy go so well together.
Blog - "Bag Of Songs" - "Leonard Cohen Live At The Academy Of Music 05.12.09"
This past Tuesday night at the Academy Of Music in Phildelphia a 74 year Leonard Cohen delivered what not only likely be the best show I will see this year but also one of the best shows I have ever seen...
Blog - "Ratphooey" - "Leonard Cohen"
Spry and debonair, he's become a much better singer as he's aged. Opening with Dance Me to the End of Love, a favorite of mine, he murmured and warbled and growled and sang. It was wonderful...
Blog - "Philebrity" - "Department Of Benedictions: Leonard Cohen, And How To Be A/The/Your Man"
As you may know, Leonard Cohen played the Academy of Music last night, and though good manners prevent us from gloating here about just how great he was at length, suffice to say it was one of the single greatest performances by any human being that we've ever seen in our lives...
Discuss the tour and read fan reviews on The Leonard Cohen Forum and in French on the Leonard Cohen Forum (French site).
Waterbury, Conneticut
Set List - May 14, 2009
First Set
Dance Me To The End Of Love
The Future
Ain't No Cure For Love
Bird On The Wire
Everybody Knows
In My Secret Life
Who By Fire
Chelsea Hotel
Waiting For The Miracle
Anthem
Second Set
Tower Of Song
Suzanne
Sisters Of Mercy
Take This Waltz
Boogie Street
Hallelujah
I'm Your Man
A Thousand Kisses Deep (recitation)
Democracy
Encores
So Long, Marianne
First We Take Manhattan
Famous Blue Raincoat
If It Be Your Will
Closing Time
I Tried to Leave You
Whither Thou Goest
Waterbury, Conneticut
Review: Leonard Cohen in Waterbury
Leonard Cohen spent a fair portion of his performance Thursday in Waterbury singing while down on his knees.
It was a genial bit of showmanship on his part, but it was also something more -- almost as if the 74-year-old singer and songwriter were showing deference to the music he has written over the past 40-plus years.
There was plenty of that: Cohen performed for nearly three hours before a capacity crowd at the Palace Theater in what was essentially a tour through his greatest songs.
With a stellar backing band providing tasteful accompaniment (including virtuosic flamenco-style playing on a series of acoustic stringed instruments, lovely Hammond organ and three singers adding stunning harmonies), Cohen glided through two sets and three encores totaling 26 songs, his deep voice enveloping the audience like a warm and slightly scratchy blanket.
He was spry, trotting out to center stage at the start and beaming at the standing ovation that greeted him. His first set had a somber air as Cohen intoned doomy lyrics on "Everybody Knows" and reminisced in his vivid, poetical way on "Chelsea Hotel #2," his voice playing with the rhythm by circling slightly behind or just ahead of the beat.
Bluesy guitar led into the easy, hypnotic tempo on "Bird on the Wire," and a lusty bass line ebbed and flowed through "Waiting for the Miracle."
Cohen's sense of humor showed right away in the second set, which began with the wry "Tower of Song," featuring dispassionate interjections from the backing vocalists. It was the start of a gorgeous trilogy that continued with "Suzanne" and then "Sisters of Mercy." Everyone on stage fell into perfect synchronization on the latter, and the way Cohen merged his voice with his singers' was nothing short of astounding.
Later, on "Hallelujah," Cohen's body strained upward from the balls of his feet as he sang a song of praise. Sacred turned to sensual on "I'm Your Man," and he spoke the lyrics to "A Thousand Kisses Deep" in a silky, purring voice that hinted at an implicit melody.
He ended the second set with "Democracy" and skipped literally off stage before returning for "So Long, Marianne," one of his best-loved songs, and "First We Take Manhattan."
After exiting just long enough for a huge wave of applause to wash over the theater, Cohen returned again to sing "Famous Blue Raincoat. He got "If It Be Your Will" started before ceding the song to backup singers Charley and Hattie Webb, who blended their crystalline voices in clear, pure harmonies as the former played guitar and the latter played a small harp.
Cohen began his third encore with "I Tried to Leave You," which took on another meaning in light of the thunderous applause, before ending on "Whither Thou Goest."
Waterbury, Conneticut
Blogs and Other Fan Reports
Blog - "Hypebot.com" - "On Our Few Moments In The Tower Of Song"
Last Thursday I spent the evening with Leonard Cohen. Along with witnessing the concert of a lifetime, I was reminded of my own place in our collective dance in the service of music...
Blog - "TVEye" - "Playlist 5-15-09"
It was a concert of surprises, style and poetry and just about every one of his songs you ever wanted to hear...
Blog - "throw another bear in the canoe" - "and the white girls dancing"
Last night, I witnessed an artist totally in command of his material and the tools of his craft. A grandmaster who has surrounded himself with other grandmasters. There was not a musician on that stage who I would not have paid handsomely to see perform on his or her own...
Blog - "throw another bear in the canoe" - "and the white girls dancing"
Last night, I witnessed an artist totally in command of his material and the tools of his craft. A grandmaster who has surrounded himself with other grandmasters. There was not a musician on that stage who I would not have paid handsomely to see perform on his or her own...
Blog - "Irtiqa" - "Off-Topic: See Leonard Cohen Live"
I don't know how he did it, but at the end it felt like Leonard Cohen gave me a small, informal, and private concert...
Discuss the tour and read fan reviews on The Leonard Cohen Forum and in French on the Leonard Cohen Forum (French site).
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