July 10, 2015 by Gwen Langford

Tower of Song GIF in New York

Leonard’s antics during Tower of Song in New York, April 6th 2013.

GIF created using photos by Gwen Langford

October 15, 2014 by Gwen Langford

Leonard at the Beginning…….

A discussion on Facebook led me to comment I have a few special photos of Leonard at the beginning of the concerts. The following six I think are my best ones from these moments. It isn’t always possible to get good photos at this stage because fans can be clapping wildly over their heads so I feel blessed I was able to get these photos which I think tell a special story of the connection between Leonard and the audience on a given night.

Kilmainham September 14th 2012. (This was the day after I bought this camera with the sole purpose of being able to get better photos of Leonard in concert!)

Kilmainham September 15th 2012

Toronto December 5th 2012

New York April 7th 2013

Brussels June 30th 2013

The O2 Dublin September 12th 2013

All photos by Gwen Langford.

June 20, 2013 by Gwen Langford

Counting down the days to Brussels

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.

May 28, 2013 by Gwen Langford

Fan Dinner in New York

Apologies for the serious delay with this post! I had it ready to post shortly after returning from New York so no excuses as to why I am only posting it now except to say live Cohen withdrawal symptoms is the only excuse 😉

When in New York there was a fan dinner organised by Dick Straub and his wife Linda for the night before the first concert on April 5th in a wonderful restaurant called East of Eight which is beside The Chelsea Hotel. Before the dinner I took the opportunity to take a couple of photos outside the hotel.

After this it was time to go join everyone else in the restaurant and it was great meeting up with friends I’d met before and also to meet new friends. We were joined on the night by the wonderful Sylvie Simmons who with Ali Hugh’s and Brett Avery treated us to their renditions of Leonard’s songs before, between courses and after our dinner. Sylvie has written my favourite to date biography of Leonard so it was a pleasure to meet and speak with her and I also enjoyed my conversations with Ali and Brett. Apologies for the quality of these photos. I didn’t want to use the flash and blind you all!!

Also in attendance was Leonard’s sister Esther Cohen. It was a privilege to meet and speak to this wonderful lady who told me when I asked for permission to publish the photo of us on this site said she was honoured that we allowed her be part of our experience. I replied that we are the honoured ones.

After the wonderful dinner and music and speaking with friends and our special guests there was one more treat in store where it had being arranged by Dick for us to get a look inside The Chelsea Hotel. The hotel is currently closed for renovations so to be able to have this glimpse inside was precious and is a wonderful memory to have.

I’d like to say thank you to Dick and Linda for organising this wonderful night, to Sylvie, Ali and Brett for the entertainment, to Mandy for taking the photos of me with Esther and of me inside The Chelsea Hotel and Esther for being so kind and gracious when I spoke with her.

April 16, 2013 by Gwen Langford

Review: Leonard Cohen, New York April 6th and 7th 2013

After fulfilling a dream of seeing Leonard Cohen in his home town of Montreal last year next on the wish list was New York and Manhattan. While New York was on the list of locations last year I was unable to go so it was great when it appeared again this year and it didn’t take very long to decide to go. There are so many New York connections in Cohen’s songs and hearing the likes of First We Take Manhattan and Famous Blue Raincoat being performed in the city they referenced was something I was really looking forward to.

Heading into the Radio City Music Hall last Saturday I was very excited knowing I had two nights of Cohen and company live ahead of me. With the exception of the addition of I Tried To Leave You for the second concert the set lists for the two concerts were identical. However as I have often stated before Cohen could perform the same songs every night and I would still enjoy and relish the experience each and every time. For the Saturday concert while close to the front our seats were out to the side which meant we couldn’t see Mitch Watkins at all and only caught glimpses of Alexandru Bublitchi when he stood for his solos. However for the second concert we were in the centre so I could see all the band members and enjoy all their solos.

From the traditional opener of Dance Me To The End Of Love each night Cohen and company were in top form and it was good to see all the band looking happy and healthy given their recent flu and I was especially delighted to see Roscoe Beck looking well after him having to leave a concert early and miss one due to exhaustion.

Cohen has taken to making interesting introductions to Ain’t No Cure For Love and Anyhow on this tour and I love them both. The intro to Ain’t No Cure For Love is always variations of him looking in the mirror in his hotel room and telling himself to get a grip and when will he ever learn there ain’t no cure for love. His New York description included him describing the mirror as the ones found in hotel bathrooms which enlarge the face and how the one in his hotel there had bright lights and that people over the age of eleven should never look in mirrors. Anyhow is introduced with Cohen speaking about when he is 80 he is going to take up smoking again and he describes how a nurse, will bring out a tray with an open box of cigarettes on it and that the cigarettes will look like gleaming tiny Parthenon’s and he will ask the nurse to tap out the bubbles from the IV. During Sunday’s concert he extended this to include that the nurse could be male or female. I always love seeing Cohen and company smiling and enjoying themselves on stage. Another funny moment in both concerts was his antics during Tower Of Song. Cohen uses a keyboard for this song and soon into the song when the crowd are cheering he stops singing and looks into the crowd asking are we humouring him. He then proceeds to show us what else he can do with the keyboard and includes running his elbow along the keys.

As always I had many musical highlights with Hallelujah my usual favourite moments. I will never get tired watching Cohen perform this song. He sings this song with such an intensity that makes us forget the many covers and claims the song back as his own. First We Take Manhattan got a great reception on both nights with the audience clapping to the beat as soon as the band started playing the intro. It is the most up tempo song on the set list and the atmosphere was electric. I noticed during Democracy on the second night Cohen stood back for some of the choruses and let his backing singers sing while he danced and enjoyed the atmosphere. Having only witnessed Show Me The Place live once last year I was pleased to hear it both times in New York. I also loved hearing So Long Marianne although I have to confess I do prefer it here in Europe where we can stand at the front for the encores. However I still love hearing the song at every concert. Listening to Famous Blue Raincoat in New York was amazing even though we never actually made it to Clinton Street! The one song I would loved to have heard but didn’t was Chelsea Hotel #2 given we were in New York but Cohen choose not to sing it. However having both First We Take Manhattan and Famous Blue Raincoat in the set list was great.

I felt while the crowd was good both nights that the second night had the edge. Every time a band member had a solo piece the crowd respectively clapped when the solo ended and it always gives me a warm feeling when I am part of a great audience and Cohen and company deserve the best in return for giving us their best each and every night. While all the band did receive a great reception it was Sharon Robinson’s rendition of Alexandra Leaving which got the greatest cheer and indeed a standing ovation. The Webb Sisters also got a load cheer for If It Be Your Will. While I’m prone to tears at any time at a Cohen concert the one song that never fails to have them streaming down my face is If It Be Your Will and New York was no exception here. The more I hear Alexandru Bublitchi on the violin the more I enjoy his contributions to Cohen’s songs. He adds a beauty to the songs and most especially in Dance Me To The End Of Love and Take This Waltz. It must also be noted how beautiful the contribution by Hattie Webb singing duet on Take This Waltz sounds. A real crowd pleaser and something I always look forward to is Javier Mas’ introduction to Who By Fire on the bandurria with Roscoe Beck joining on the stand up bass and Charley Webb on clarinet. I love Mitch Watkins solo on lead guitar on Bird On The Wire, This is one of my favourite Cohen songs and I’ve felt in shows in Canada last year and again in New York that Cohen is singing it with even more intensity than before. I’d always loved the song and always felt it was perfect but Cohen demonstrates that he can always improve on his songs and take them to a new level we didn’t even know existed.

Other highlights included Cohen’s recitation of A Thousand Kisses Deep. I adore this poem and it is always a real treat to hear Cohen recite it live. Neil Larsen’s organ playing is always beautiful and especially on the aforementioned Hallelujah and while Rafael Gayol seldom has solos his contribution is immense and I love watching him on the drums being the drummer in the quietest rock and roll band in the world. He did have a solo in I Tried To Leave You and everyone cheered when he threw his drumstick in the air and caught it. This was at the end of the second of two wonderful nights of which Cohen and his band well and truly took Manhattan!