LC sings Famous Blue Raincoat:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pXBisteRms
Leonard Cohen's performance at the Fox was transforming and transcendent. Not only Cohen, but his band, especially Javier Mas on 12 string guitar, and Dino Soldo on sax, flute, and other wind instruments gave us the sublime expression of the soul that Cohen's poetry evokes. At 75, LC was as full of energy, creativity, and power as ever. When he would kneel on the Persian rug on stage, singing his heart out to Javier Mas, whose guitar set off Cohen's deep, sonorous, smooth voice, we were mesmerized, our hearts sacrificed as if to a Mayan Chac Mool. Cohen reached in, caressed our hearts, and brought tears to our eyes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pXBisteRms
Leonard Cohen's performance at the Fox was transforming and transcendent. Not only Cohen, but his band, especially Javier Mas on 12 string guitar, and Dino Soldo on sax, flute, and other wind instruments gave us the sublime expression of the soul that Cohen's poetry evokes. At 75, LC was as full of energy, creativity, and power as ever. When he would kneel on the Persian rug on stage, singing his heart out to Javier Mas, whose guitar set off Cohen's deep, sonorous, smooth voice, we were mesmerized, our hearts sacrificed as if to a Mayan Chac Mool. Cohen reached in, caressed our hearts, and brought tears to our eyes.
My friend, Cliff Bostock, found the 4 curtain calls too stagy and obviously planned (though he praised everything else about the performance). On the last curtain call, Cohen sang out, " I tried to leave you" and "Are you satisfied now?" It was clearly planned and so were the curtain call performances of the band, the Celtic harp number by the sisters backing up Cohen, and a round of the whole band. But I found the handling of the curtain calls to be superb, circumventing the now regular clapping and cheering to bring bands back on stage. It always happens. Every time, and usually goes on far too long. So why not just take control of it and make it entertaining. Cohen was always quick to return, doing a little dance number on and off the stage, dancing us to the end of time. It was three hours plus of as beautiful and sublime song and music as I have ever heard.
Jack
Cohen in 2008
from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Leonard_Cohen_2187-edited.jpg
At my first (and only, Leonard Cohen concert, 20 years ago, "I Tried to Leave You" was the FIRST song he sang.
ReplyDeleteConsidering that the song dates from at least 1974-- it was on "New Skin for the Old Ceremony, Cohen's yin-yang Jungian flip-off to 'folk music' -- I betcha he agrees that it's stagey and, uh, that's the whole self-referencing po-mo point. Reincarnated. -- Darryl