2009 Spring Tour - Ottawa, Ontario; Boston, Massachusetts; Denver, Colorado

Tour Reviews and Other Memories from
LEONARD COHEN WORLD TOUR Spring 2009

May 25 & 26, 2009
Ottawa, Ontario
National Arts Centre - Southam Hall

Set List for May 25
Set List for May 26
The Ottawa Citizen review & photos
The Ottawa Sun review & photo
CBC Radio 3 review
Fan reports
Youtube

May 29 & 30, 2009
Boston, Massachusetts
Wang Theatre

Set List for May 29
Set List for May 30
Boston Herald review & photos
Boston Globe review & photo
Boston Phoenix photos
Ipswich Chronicle review
Fan reports

June 4, 2009
(originally scheduled for
June 2 but postponed
due to rain)
Denver, Colorado
Red Rocks Amphiteatre

Set List for June 4
Denver Post review
Denver Westword review & photos
Fan reports
Youtube

Previous
New York, New York
Hamilton, Ontario
Quebec City, Quebec
Kingston, Ontario
London, Ontario

Ottawa, Ontario

Set List - May 25, 2009

Per cohenfreek on The Leonard Cohen Forum

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
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
Closing Time
I Tried to Leave You
Whither Thou Goest

Ottawa, Ontario

Set List - May 26, 2009

Per cohenfreek on The Leonard Cohen Forum

Ottawa, Ontario

Rebirth of a Ladies' Man: Cohen wows Ottawa audience

The Ottawa Citizen - May 26, 2009 by Chris Cobb (Photos: John Major)

OTTAWA — Hats off to Leonard Cohen.

Which would be a rather lame introduction if the Cohen concert wasn't such a hat thing.

Hats are the props – a simple but clever device that Cohen uses to emphasize the slightly old-fashioned gentleman crooner he has fashioned himself into.

He doffs his hat often to pay individual tributes to his musicians and singers — as well he might — and to his audience who, at the NAC last night, were too busy showering him with love to notice.

But it takes more than hats to rocket an aging musical poet to the dizzying career heights Cohen is currently enjoying. He’s hotter now than he’s ever been.

There has to be a reason why Cohen has left a legacy of breathless reviews and near unanimous adulation across the planet during his travels this past year or more.

Yet it’s a puzzle to many why Canada’s most famous ladies man has suddenly become one of the most sought out acts on the concert circuit and can sell t-shirts for $45 and other paraphernalia for similarly inflated, rock-and-roll prices.

There has been no new hot disc to shoot him up the charts and, if you discount the ubiquitous Hallelujah done by others, he has never had a mega hit to speak of.

Sure, the stars of fame and celebrity often align in mysterious ways, but after witnessing Cohen and his fabulous band perform for three hours, the answer becomes stunningly obvious:

It’s the songs dummy.

He runs onto the stage in defiance of his 74 years and launches into Dance Me to the End of Love. From that point its one beautifully crafted song after another.

To the Cohen aficionado, they are all familiar:

Who Shall I Say is Calling?, Bird on A Wire, Famous Blue Raincoat, Suzanne, Sisters of Mercy, Tower of Song, Marianne, Take This Waltz and Chelsea Hotel, his ode to Janis Joplin.

And many more.

Cohen’s singing voice, never up to much in a conventional sense, has grown deeper and gruffer. But he has always been smart in his hiring of the finest female singing talent to complement his own unique vocal styling.

His long-time collaborator Sharon Robinson and the Webb Sisters are his singing “angels” — his word — on this tour, his first in this neck of the woods for almost 20 years.

The songs are the substance, but the style his musicians give them are why these concerts have brought Cohen such great acclaim.

The band Cohen clearly admires is Roscoe Beck (bass, vocals), Neil Larsen (keyboards & Hammond B3 accordion), Bob Metzger (electric, acoustic and pedal steel guitar), Javier Mas (bandurria, laud, archilaud, 12-string acoustic guitar), Rafael Gayol (drums, percussion) and Dino Soldo (sax, clarinet, dobro, keyboards).

Cohen doesn’t take himself totally seriously. He’s obviously having fun onstage and while he makes the odd crack about his age, thankfully he doesn’t dwell on the subject.

The show has a few surprises but not a great deal of spontaneity and except for a wry comment or two, the minimum of banter from Cohen.

After many months on the road, it’s well-honed, precise and entirely delightful.

Ask the Monday night audience.

Then again, when the people give a performer a standing ovation just for walking onstage, the battle for their hearts and minds is already won.

It’s a privileged position for any artist to occupy and one that Leonard Cohen deserves more than most.

(Cohen’s second Ottawa concert is Tuesday night at the NAC. The show is sold out.)

Ottawa, Ontario

The master of seduction

The Ottawa Sun - May 26, 2009 by Denis Armstrong (Photos: Darren Brown/Sun Media)

Leonard Cohen's songs of the spirit and flesh gain new meaning in a magnificent performance

Leonard Cohen skipped onto the Southam Hall stage, knelt on one knee as if proposing marriage and sang Dance Me to the End of Love.

Not only was it a surprisingly spry move on the part of the 74-year-old poet, singer and former Buddhist monk, but it was also a fitting indication of what was to come in the first of two concerts at the National Arts Centre's Southam Hall last night.

Few songwriters have captured spiritual yearning and fired the erotic imagination like Cohen.

But now, as the senior high priest of love songs showed a remarkable durability as a charismatic interpreter of his own songs of the flesh and of the spirit, it's clear that his poetic reach has only intensified with age.

Wearing a chic black suit and fedora and ably backed by the soft jazz ensemble of Javier Mas on bandurria and laud, Dino Soldo on winds, guitarist Bob Metzer, Raphael Bernardo Diode on drums, Neil Larson on keyboards, bassist Roscoe Beck and three singers, it was apparent that Cohen is relishing the opportunity to perform again.

It wasn't supposed to be this good. Cohen only reluctantly agreed to do concerts after being defrauded out of $5 million, leaving him nearly bankrupt.

But instead of relying on the goodwill of his fans, Cohen delved deep into the music, performing with the energy and surprisingly potent musical imagination that often illuminated even familiar songs such as Who By Fire with new and sometimes disturbing meanings.

Here was Cohen the elder, no longer the singer of earnest love songs, but the wise old man fondly remembering the romance of youth.

With a voice like granite and dramatic timing, it didn't take Cohen long to seduce an already enraptured audience, singing the cautionary tale of The Future and the warm R&B There Ain't No Cure for Love. There was a hint of the younger Cohen in his plaintive vocal prime on Bird on a Wire, declaiming Everybody Knows, the sermon of My Secret Life, and inspired versions of Who By Fire and Chelsea Hotel #2 that sounded sweeter with time.

He barely spoke throughout the set, other than to thank the fans for coming, and joking about getting old.

Cohen was less introspective in the second half, which he began at the keyboard to play Tower of Song, Suzanne, and included Hallelujah.

Cohen's concert turned out to be much more than a night of fond nostalgia. It was an epic performance by a skilled poet.

Leonard Cohen performs again tonight at the NAC at 8 p.m.

---

LEONARD COHEN
The National Arts Centre
Sun Rating: 5 out of 5

Ottawa, Ontario

Cohen at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa

CBC Radio 3 - May 27, 2009 by Amanda Putz

Dear Mr. Cohen,

I tried to avoid knowing what you were going to deliver last night. From my friends who went in London, Kingston, and the night before in Ottawa I heard things like, "satiated, post-coital" and "...best 3.5 hour concert of my life" and "I cried."

Even with only those three reports, I kind of expected to be blown away.

In a world full of disappointment, I thank-you for delivering the goods. The tears welled by the third song, Bird on a Wire. I've never felt particularly close to that song until I heard it sung from your lips. I'm at the age you were when you wrote it. It felt like an everyman's song and my heart felt like it was wrapped tight in a tensor bandage.

Those post-oyster feelings came with the recitation of 1000 Kisses Deep. Your voice, it's something else.

Sometimes the very best musicians are not those that rattle triplets on the snare or whose fingers fly across the strings or keys shredding notes like scissors. They're those that can, quietly and understatedly, create a frame for some of the most perfect words ever assembled into verse in the English language. You found the band, you're their man.

You are a dignified gentleman who donated time for each of those musicians to take a turn in the spotlight and showcase their prowess, at which point you removed your hat and then graciously bowed to them in deference afterward. You even took time to thank your drivers and the lighting guy. You are Classy with a capital C.

To anyone reading this in the States or anywhere your tour takes you next, GO see this man. Mr. Cohen, you make it very worth the price of admission, and then some.

Sincerely, your fan and humble appreciator,

Amanda C. Putz

(ps. Yes, I bought the t-shirt. The ticket is my bookmark now.)

Ottawa, Ontario

Blogs and Other Fan Reports

Blog - "My Magnificent Life" - "Dance Me To The End of Love" Leonard Cohen"
Everything about his performance was designed to entertain, and he did not disappoint. I especially loved his fedora hat, which throughout the evening he removed to give respect to the fans and his band...

Discuss the tour and read fan reviews on The Leonard Cohen Forum and in French on the Leonard Cohen Forum (French site).

Boston, Massachusetts

Set List - May 29, 2009

Per Eskimo on The Leonard Cohen Forum

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

Boston, Massachusetts

Set List - May 30, 2009

Per Eskimo on The Leonard Cohen Forum

Boston, Massachusetts

Leonard Cohen gives us songs of love, life

Boston Herald - May 31, 2009 by Daniel Gewertz (Photos: Arthur Pollock)

“We are ugly, but we have the music.” So says a character in one of Leonard Cohen’s most precise and pointed songs, “Chelsea Hotel No. 2.”

On Friday night, at a packed and reverent Citi Performing Arts Center, one of the finest songwriters of the 20th century beautifully proved that he still has the music. And though at 74 he is far from movie-star handsome, Cohen possessed a majestic grace that could put mere pop stars to shame.

Just the scope of this monumental show suggests the ways it celebrated a 40-year career: Slightly more than three hours long, there were 28 songs and four encores.

Cohen - who made his mark as a Canadian poet and novelist before writing early songs such as “Suzanne” and “Bird on a Wire” - has long been known for his grave, gravelly voice and somber, erudite manner. Yet in concert he also has a bit of a mischievous sprite in his nature. Every time he left the stage Friday he did it by skipping, and sometimes twirling, too. He often sank to his knees mid-lyric, imploring like a lover. It was a theatrical gesture that perfectly captured his simultaneous grandeur and modesty.

It’s been about 15 years since Cohen last toured, and he’s making up for lost time: He and his nine-member band are already on month 15 of a world tour that has no fixed end.

Though Cohen may not possess the range he had 16 years ago when he played Berklee Performance Center, he gained power and vigor as the long night proceeded. By the time he sang “I’m Your Man,” “Democracy” and “Closing Time,” he was almost rocking.

The band was superb, as were the playful arrangements by Roscoe Beck. But Javier Mas on flamenco guitar and Dino Soldo on saxophone, harmonica and clarinet, were most notable. A klezmer-like merging of tragedy and merriment was often reflected. Longtime Cohen collaborator Sharon Robinson was both earthy and haunting on vocals, and the Webb Sisters wove a spell-like charm on “If It Be Your Will.”

Every spoken word of a Cohen show may be as carefully orchestrated as his elegant, expressive music. But in the end, the largeness and wild possibilities of life are also evoked. Part celestial, part sensual, Leonard Cohen brought a whole life onstage.

Boston, Massachusetts

Hallelujah for Leonard Cohen

Boston Globe - May 30, 2009 by Sarah Rodman (Photo: Michael Loccisano)

A review of Leonard Cohen in concert could consist of nothing but perfect couplets from his esteemed body of songs, each a world unto itself, and still not get at the depths of what transpired onstage. The quiet power, the original hipster cool, the resonant voice simultaneously evoking angels and demons, the unerringly tasteful nine-piece band attuned to Cohen's every lyrical nuance, the mordant humor, and amazing grace.

Stepping into the Citi Wang Theatre last night (the show repeats tonight) was like crossing the threshold of a grand and elaborately decorated mansion mid-party, where each room housed a guest offering wicked, witty, or wise advice on the ways of the world.

The only piece of advice the impressively lithe 74-year-old, who occasionally skipped about the stage and frequently went down to his knees, imparted during the bountiful three-hour-plus performance was to stay away from those lighted, magnifying hotel mirrors. Good advice.

Otherwise, 15 years after his last visit to Boston, Cohen and his band -- operating in the same lite jazz-rock neighborhood as Steely Dan but with more focus on ambience than groove -- dedicated themselves to the music.

Although he's generally not lauded as a vocalist but rather for his songwriting skills, Cohen's deep, chalky voice was a glorious thing. Whether he was pushing it to its limits on his most famous song, the majestic and oft-covered "Hallelujah"; applying sinister edges for the cynic's anthem "Everybody Knows"; or simply reciting the dark poetics of "A Thousand Kisses Deep," it was the perfect instrument for the job.

The attentive crowd bathed him in ovations and cheers at the ends of classic lines in famous songs including the vivid and devastating epistolary "Famous Blue Raincoat," the suddenly hopeful sounding "Democracy," and the dark sweep of "First We Take Manhattan." Cohen reciprocated with hat-on-his-heart gratitude.

If there's a quibble to be made, it's that, as tastefully as it was played, the music sometimes felt edgeless and occasionally alarmingly close to smooth jazz. But given the sharp lyrical shards roiling beneath the placid surface, maybe that was a necessity. There was no quibbling, however, with the band, which played with suppleness and telepathy, especially the chameleon-voiced trio of backing vocalists.

Part of the impetus for this tour stemmed from Cohen's recent financial problems, yet never has a performer seemed less like he was doing it for the money. As he told the crowd, "With so much of the world plunged into suffering and chaos, it is a real privilege to gather with you and the music." The feeling was mutual.

Boston, Massachusetts

Slideshow: Leonard Cohen at the Wang Theatre

Boston Phoenix - May 29, 2009 (Photos: Eric Antoniou)

Boston, Massachusetts

Cohen’s contradictions reshape understanding

Ipswich Chronicle - June 5, 2009 by Dan Mac Alpine

He slipped onto the stage from the left. All in black, from his fedora to his shoes. He doffed his hat revealing a head of white hair. His espresso grind voice filled the sold out Wang Theater and hung beyond his exhale like breath on a cold day. His audience — more like a few thousand disciples — was ready to worship.

And Leonard Cohen gave them every reason to.

At 74, Cohen proved a lithe stage presence. At times slinking, swaying, slithering. A weightless, hypnotic cobra. Other times singing from his knees in supplication.

Priest. Seer. Pornographer. Bereft. Hopeful.

Cohen blends his contradictions so seamlessly they become extensions of each other. Prayer becomes curse. Curse becomes prayer. Condemnation, absolution.

For the uninitiated, Cohen is more poet than singer. His voice has a range of low, lower and lowest. It’s safe to say no one ever mistook him for the late Luciano Pavarotti.

Yet his music has the simple power of a Shaker chair.

His nine-piece band hung layers of jazz, soul, gospel and tungsten-edged rock over Cohen’s minimal superstructure — adding depth, color and nuance to Cohen’s single-octave delivery.

Cohen’s lyrics contain layerings all their own. His most famous song is probably Hallelujah. Think Shrek.

“Love is not a victory march
“It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah”

Yes, even as Cohen evokes King David’s greatest transgression — falling for another man’s wife and sending him to the front lines to be killed — it’s still a hallelujah. Cold. Broken. Maybe even hollow. But a hallelujah nonetheless.

Sometimes that’s the best we can do.

It seems impossible I wrote an English theme on “Suzanne,” one of Cohen’s better-known songs, over 30 years ago. Back then I didn’t even know he could sing. OK. Maybe he can’t actually “sing.” But he captivates an audience with his voice.

Suzanne was in my Norton Anthology. The imagery cutting against itself. The perfect contradictions. The entwining of the spiritual and sexual. The thing ripped from the page, grabbed me by the throat and dragged me into another understanding.

I went on for 10 pages back then. Don’t worry. I won’t put you through that now.

“Suzanne takes you down to her place near the river,” and, “She feeds you tea and oranges that come all the way from China.”

From there Cohen gets to Jesus as a sailor. Don’t ask me how. I doubt even he knows.

Which, of course, begs the question: Is Suzanne siren or baptismal saint?

Some songs change with the times or one’s political perspective.

“Democracy is coming to the USA,” seems oddly prayerful and hopeful in our post-Cheney world, rather than a sly reminder of our republic’s shortcomings.

And so it went for over three hours. Cohen cast each song out to his audience with respect and reverence. Each a piece of obsidian, flashing in the light. Creating a needed, momentary blindness so we can see things anew.

May you always have people in your life with whom you share tea and oranges that come all the way from China.

Boston, Massachusetts

Blogs, Photos and Other Fan Reports

Blog - "The Boston Survival Guide" - "Leonard Cohen at the Wang Theatre, Boston, May 30, 2009"
Hearing others burst out in spontaneous laughter at those particular lines in songs, feeling those around you uplifted as you are at other moments. Deeply moving. And of course, the chance to add your voice of appreciation - in person - for this brilliant poet and entertainer. Just to share in that special moment in time...

Blog - "onesmallheart" - "Boston 2009"
Never seeing LC before, this was the opportunity of a life time. It went by like a blur. The songs that I listened to for a long time now hearing them live. It was a life changing experience. Everything was new, the cartwheels of the Webb Sisters, the solos of Sharon Robinson and Javier Mas, on guitar. The Broken Hallelujah. Teddy Thompson was in front of me...

Blog - "Hannah, just breathe..." - "Enough is enough."
I was taking in Leonard Cohen at The Wang, and crying, and squeezing my mother’s hand and my father’s arm, and singing the lyrics my parents taught me when I was barely 10 years old and already a doting Leonard fan...

Blog - "A Seat at the Window" - "Leonard Cohen in Boston"
I don't think I have the words to describe the show we saw on Saturday night. Sublime..Sensational..Exceptional...Transcendant...All expectations were met AND exceeded. From the moment he appeared on stage he was musical perfection...

Blog - "Allan Hunter" - "Leonard Cohen"
It’s not often that a concert turns itself, with gracious ease, into an act of gratitude and prayer to the power of creativity that can be loaned to us, for a while. It’s both inspiring and humbling. Last night we were in a sacred space...

Blog - "Cat Bennett" - "Thank You, Leonard Cohen"
Last night Leonard Cohen played to a packed house at the beautiful old Wang Center in Boston and we were so very blessed to be there. It’s hard to put into words the ways in which his very artfully constructed concert and presence brought tears to our eyes. The music was brilliant—every single musician absolutely first rate and the sound so beautifully balanced that even up in the rafters we could hear every instrument and every word. One of the great things about the words and music is that they open your heart and light it up too...

Blog - "Intent" - "Leonard Cohen: and the powers of creativity"
It’s not often that a concert turns itself, with gracious ease, into and act of gratitude and prayer to the power of creativity that can be loaned to us for a while. Last night we were invited into a sacred space where real magic happened...

Blog - "FE's Art" - "Leonard Cohen"
He was great, his band was great, the theater building was great, the lighting was great, it was all AWESOME! But even though now I know a bit more why people like him so much, I still think his fans are all rather... well, crazy! hehehe, and that includes my mom! :)...

Blog & Photos - "xrayspx.com" - "Leonard Cohen - Wang Center, Boston MA 5-29-2009"
Tonight's Leonard Cohen show will certainly have been the coolest show I go to this year. As people have been saying all tour, he just keeps going and going...

Blog - "Neo-Necon" - "Leonard Cohen comes to Boston"
Cohen’s musicians and backup singers are all extraordinary artists as well. Each one has more than a moment in the spotlight and each one is fully up to the task. This is no small part of what is so satisfying about a Cohen concert. One is carried along not only by Cohen’s sonorous voice, his powerful presence despite his diminutive size, and the force of the songs themselves, but also by the wall of sound that accompanies them. No song ever sounds exactly the way it did on the record, nor does it sound exactly the way it did on the You Tube video of some other concert, but it is a tribute to the extraordinary musicality of Cohen and everyone else on the stage that none of the new variations is ever a disappointment no matter how deeply entrenched in one’s head a beloved original might be. Each new phrasing, each new riff, is a revelation....

Discuss the tour and read fan reviews on The Leonard Cohen Forum and in French on the Leonard Cohen Forum (French site).

Denver, Colorado

Set List - June 4, 2009

Per MaryB on The Leonard Cohen Forum

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
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
Closing Time
I Tried to Leave You
Whither Thou Goest

Denver, Colorado

Live review: Leonard Cohen @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Denver Post - June 5, 2009 by Ricardo Baca

The most important ingredient in any given Leonard Cohen song is the lyrics. The Canadian singer-songwriter is best known for his unparalleled way with words, and so it was incredibly fitting that the lyrics took center stage at Cohen’s sprawling Red Rocks Amphitheatre set Thursday night.

Not only is Cohen a master of the sly yet audible delivery, but the cheery weather also agreed with the songwriter, his six-piece band and three backup singers. After postponing the show Tuesday because of rain and cold, Thursday’s weather couldn’t have been more agreeable to Cohen’s canyon-deep bass and the subtleties of his mood-defying music.

Cohen front-loaded the night with some of his most familiar, celebrated songs — from a “The Future” that was breezy instead of sinister and a “Bird on the Wire” that had fans tearing up before the sun had set.

Before hanging his fedora up for a mid-set intermission — he is 74, mind you — Cohen threw down a revelatory take on the dark epic “Waiting for the Miracle” and a surprisingly powerful, yet expectedly relevant, “Anthem.”

Cohen often started songs bent down on one or both knees, getting a little Bono-weird on the audience. But his minimalist-rooted theatricality worked — a tip of the hat for accentuation, a muted old-man shuffle, an unsettling sway to a carnival beat. The charm of a song like “Take This Waltz,” which won over the crowd in the middle of the second set, defines Cohen’s presence on a stage: He’s classic, refined and ageless.

And that God-like bass-growl? Forget about it. It was 10 times more rewarding watching and listening to Cohen in 2009 than seeing Bob Dylan verbally stumble his way through another concert.

Cohen, who introduced each band member twice over the course of the night played for more than three hours. The singer’s signature song, “Hallelujah,” was classically placed toward the end of the first set, evoking a near-riotous, well-deserved standing ovation from the audience. Whereas the localization of most songs sounds trite and cheap, Cohen’s inclusion of the lyric du jour, “I have not come all the way to these Red Rocks to fool you,” was poetry.

Cohen’s first encore began with a gorgeous “So Long, Marianne.” And with that, he began another long goodbye — a goodbye that included multiple encores that were capped off with a couple upbeat-for-Cohen jams. Of those closers, “Democracy” was quite memorable — what with Cohen leading the singalong on the chorus and his incredibly talented band backing him up proudly and ably.

Denver, Colorado

Last night: Leonard Cohen at Red Rocks

Denver Westword - June 5, 2009 by Tom Murphy (Photos: Soren McCarty)

Leonard Cohen
Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Better Than: Cohen probably was fifteen years ago.

Something must have happened to Leonard Cohen these past several years, because the performance the man gave on Thursday was stronger, more confident and even better developed than he has often sounded on his records. At the outset, the ten-piece group, including Cohen, were dressed in dark colors and many were wearing hats. The show began immediately with "Dance Me to the End of Love," and it was obvious that Cohen had lost none of his emotive powers as a singer. If anything, he was able to hit incredibly low notes, especially during "In My Secret Life," that were a marvel to witness.

Before a song or three, Cohen performed spoken-word pieces that sometimes began with interactions with the audience. And it was there, and with a number of songs, that Cohen exercised his ability to mix the profane and the sublime into a transcendent poetry. Clearly the show was well rehearsed, but somehow Cohen has a way of conveying his sincerity in every moment. Even when, between songs, he would joke with the audience, you had the feeling that a wise and old friend that understands you was not having a chuckle at your expense, but at the gently absurd moments that life often brings us in good spells, bad patches and everything in between. At risk of sounding like someone swept up in the power of the moment, Cohen and his band created moments of sublime beauty that made the lasciviously profane lyrics of "Chelsea Hotel #2" seem holy in comparison to that average slab of pop confection you'll hear on the radio.

After the first hour or so of music closed with "Anthem," the band took a short break, and Cohen could be seen skipping off the stage like a kid. The second set began with "Tower of Song," and it struck me how it seemed that the first set was mere warm-up for Cohen especially, but also for the group in general. The energy level was higher, and Sharon Robinson sang "Boogie Street" alone with Cohen standing back and giving her the spotlight. The whole show could have ended with "Take This Waltz," but there was such enthusiasm in the crowd that Cohen and company came back on for extended encore of seven songs, beginning with "So Long Marianne" and, perhaps partly in a good-natured jest, even if it was planned, "I Tried to Leave You." For the encore, Cohen's energy level was even higher, and at 25 songs, there was no doubt that he was generous not just with his energy but in his incredibly sincere and gracious thanks to everyone involved once the performance ended.

Critic's Notebook:
Personal Bias: Cohen's records got me through some rough times.
Random Detail: Nathaniel Rateliff went to this show before playing his own show at the hi-dive the same night.
By the Way: Cohen collaborator Sharon Robinson knows where to find the fountain of youth.

Denver, Colorado

Photos and Other Fan Reports

Photos - "Jake Sutton's photostream" - "Red Rocks"

Photos - "Brooklyn Vegan" - "Leonard Cohen @ Red Rocks in Colorado - pics & setlist - photos by Lori Baily"

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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