While counting down the days to Brussels and seeing Leonard live again I’ve been editing a couple of photos to pass the time. Top photo edited using Paint.net and the bottom two using an on-line editor called Photogramio.
Giving Leonard Roses, Thanks James Nolan for the original photo.
RCMH NYC
So Long Las Vegas. Taken the morning after the final concert of the 2010 World Tour.
And then this morning while feeling depressed knowing loads of friends are going to the concert in London I instantly cheered up with these pendants arrived all the way from Toronto. Thanks to my friend Judy for the wonderful gift. My photos here don’t do them justice as they look great.
2 gorgeous pendants of me meeting Leonard in Ghent and Dublin. Bottom image is what the backs on both look like.
Here is a video I have made of Leonard singing Hallelujah using an audio file from the November 29th 2012 show in Montreal and using photos from only this song that I took at concerts in Ghent, Dublin, Montreal and Toronto in 2012.
When I am asked by people my favourite Leonard Cohen song and I answer with Hallelujah I sometimes get the reaction of raised eyebrows. It is sometimes conceived that answering with a major artists most well-known song as your favourite as a sign that you are not someone who has a great knowledge of the artist in question. I’d like to think while I don’t know everything about Leonard’s music that I do have a good knowledge of most of his work as a singer-songwriter.
So why Hallelujah? Well I will now attempt to answer that question. The first time I heard Hallelujah and indeed any of Leonard’s songs was the Jeff Buckley version of the song. It was August 23rd 2004 and almost midnight. I was listening to the radio, almost asleep when the DJ announced that as it was the 10th anniversary of the release of Jeff’s album Grace he would play his version of the song. I’ll never forget this moment as long as I live. I remember thinking how amazing the song was and it gave me goosebumps. While the DJ had said it was a cover he didn’t mention who the original singer and writer were so as soon as the song finished playing I picked up the phone and rang him and asked him. He said it is Leonard Cohen, adding knowing I was (and still am) a huge fan of soft rock that I would not like Leonard Cohen. I told him well I loved this song! For me at that time while I appreciated good lyrics the music was the most important, I had to enjoy the music before I could appreciate the lyrics. Hallelujah was the start of that scale changing for me and I now find myself drawn more and more to well written lyrics. Of course the music is still very important too.
I then made it my mission to get my hands on a copy of Leonard singing this song on CD. The DJ not a fan of Leonard’s refused to play his version for me. This proved a tricky mission. At the time I used to get most of my albums in either HMV or an on-line music store called CDWOW. CDWOW didn’t stock any Leonard Cohen albums at the time and while HMV did have some of Leonard’s albums it proved tricky getting one with this song on it. After a bit of searching I finally got my hands on a copy of The Essential Leonard Cohen in a HMV store. As soon as I got home I straight away listened to Hallelujah. On the first listen to Leonard singing this song I admit I was very taken aback as it is so different to Jeff’s version. I immediately listened to it again and something inside me clicked and I instantly felt I was listening to what in my opinion was the greatest song ever written and I still feel like this.
Trying to pinpoint exactly why I felt like this and still do is difficult as I’m not sure I even know the answer myself. I just knew that the lyrics and melody to my ears were just magical. I see Hallelujah as a conflict between religious beliefs and human desires. Trying to pick a favourite line from the song is impossible for me but two of my favourites are “Baby I have been here before I know this room, I’ve walked this floor” and “I did my best, it wasn’t much I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch”. I often quote these lines in conversation as well as many other lines from the work of Leonard.
After listening to Hallelujah on repeat a few times I went back to the start of the album and listened start to finish. How wrong that DJ proved to be. I instantly loved everything I was hearing and on that first listen the other song to really hit me was So Long Marianne. This song is very close in my affections to Hallelujah to this day. I couldn’t believe it had taken me around 27 years to discover Leonard Cohen and his music but maybe I wasn’t ready to discover him before this. I have mentioned to people that I discovered Leonard and his songs at a time in my life when I most needed it. I was going through a dark time and slowly listening every night to his songs I felt myself coming out the other side.
A few months after getting The Essential I finally found a copy of Various Positions in HMV and slowly starting adding all his CDs to my collection. When the 2008 world tour was announced the Dublin concerts were already sold out and I hadn’t yet discovered the Leonard Cohen Forum so put not having a ticket down to bad luck. I never have and never will use a ticket tout to get tickets to a concert. I’d signed up for notifications after this so I was finally able to witness the magic in 2009 for the first time. Hearing Hallelujah sang live for the first time was special moment for me. After the Lissadell concert in 2010 I was heart-broken to think I might never see Leonard live again so for the first time in my life I left Ireland and went alone to see him in Katowice, Poland and also to Las Vegas for the final two concerts of the tour. I’d never gone to see the same artist two nights in a row before but then Leonard isn’t like anyone to me.
When I met Leonard in Las Vegas I asked him to sign Hallelujah lyrics for me and on the plane home the following day while writing a review of the concerts I listened to Live in London on my mp3 player. As soon as Hallelujah came on I was in convulsions of tears. This song had literally changed my life forever. It had taken me 32 years to travel outside Ireland and had I never heard that song that day who knows what path my life would be on. Since seeing Leonard in Poland and Las Vegas I’ve also seen him in Belgium and of course the dream trip to Canada. Not only have I witnessed the magic of Leonard many times but have seen some wonderful places completely different to Ireland. Of course when everyone and anyone started covering the song I would have heard it at a later date anyway but that doesn’t mean I would have been able to hear the magic underneath to same level as I had done with Jeff’s cover which inspired me to find the original and for me the best. That night started me on a wonderful adventure in terms of first and most importantly discovering Leonard and then discovering the Forum and through it and Facebook connecting with many other wonderful people, some now who are my closest friends. I say Hallelujah for the song and Hallelujah for Leonard Cohen.
Everybody who knows me knows how much I love Hallelujah. Someday I will try and explain this but for today, here is two collage photos of the two concerts I attended in Ghent of Leonard performing my favourite song.
We were so happy when Charley, Hattie and Sharon came to the fan meetup after the 1st concert. Here I am pictured with Charley and Hattie. I was very honoured that the ladies remembered me from when we met before.
First time to meet Sharon but she is an absolute lady
A second photo of me with Sharon but I like both so sharing both!
With Neil Larsen. I made sure to tell him I love his solo in Hallelujah, my favourite song.
With Javier Mas. I told him I love his solos and especially Who By Fire. We were very pleased to later this day see Javier on stage with Adam.
Roscoe signing a photo for me 🙂
Roscoe and Me. Such a gentleman and even the following day when we saw him in the distance and not wanting to disturb him when I passed close by he came over to me and gave me a big hug 🙂
With Mitch Watkins, a new to member of the band (to me as he played with Leonard many years ago).
When Roscoe saw my “Keep Calm and Cohen On” badges he wanted to know where I got them. He was very impressed when he heard I designed them from the poster by Joey so I gave him one which he immediately put on 🙂
Mitch putting on a badge too 🙂
Recognition 🙂 Meeting Adam at the meet and greet after his concert in Brussels 🙂
Adam, remembering me from Dublin and knowing I love photography asked were we getting a pose photo to which I replied of course 🙂
Lightening strikes twice! After meeting Leonard in Las Vegas and it been the best moment of my life I hardly thought it possible it would happen again. However the new best moment of my life is walking towards Leonard and seeing the recognition and smile on his face. Thank you Leonard for everything.
Showing Leonard a photo I took of him on the last tour in Katowice, my favourite photo I have ever taken.
If someone could read my mind at that moment I was thinking something along the lines of “Is this really happening”?
The instant I laid eyes on Joey’s Keep Calm sign I knew straight away it would be perfect on a t-shirt so set about that same day making a file whereby I could print it on the t-shirt but rather have a block image I wanted the image only to be the letters and the unified heart. As I don’t have photoshop this took hours but it was worth it when everyone loved the t-shirts and the badges I made. I had given Charley Webb one for Leonard but never thought to mention it to him so I was very pleased when Joey told me Leonard loved it and also very honoured when Joey took this photo and others of Mandy and I in our t-shirts and when he published a photo on the Camp Cohen website! Thanks Joey!
With Leonard’s manager Robert Kory after the 2nd Ghent concert. The end of an amazing few days.
Thank you Leonard and co for the wonderful memories of Ghent 😉 Some of my friends will know why I use these words 🙂
Photo Credits:
Photos 1-15 were taken by my wonderful friend Mandy MacLeod. Thanks so much Mandy, I deeply appreciate you capturing these moments for me.
Photo 16 was taken by J.S Carenza III aka the webmaster of Camp Cohen and Leonard Cohen’s road manager. Thank you Joey.
Photo 17 was taken by Ine Mensink-Jenniskens. Thank you Ine.
Gwen's Leonard Cohen Journey 