Leonard Cohen Event Dublin 2014 Review

When it was announced that the biennial Leonard Cohen Event was to be held in Dublin for the first time in 2014 I was ecstatic and relished the chance to welcome our friends to Dublin knowing that the people on the organising committee would do a fine job.

I do confess to making an error with not having taken notes over the weekend thinking I would remember enough to fill reports for each individual day. However such was the packed programme and little sleep means some of the details have slipped my mind. I hope therefore to give one report in which I hope those who were there will appreciate it and those who weren’t can be given a flavour of what our weekend entailed. Following this report I will make posts of the photo highlights of the weekend.

Last December I received an email from Paula McCann, chairperson of the organising committee, asking me would I like to have photos exhibited at the Event along with Tony Crosbie, a fellow Irish citizen and fellow lover of photography. I replied it would be an honour and a first for me because I’d never exhibited my work before.

This exhibition allowed me and Tony to attend a special reception at the Canadian Embassy for Canadians attending the Event, Forum Moderators and performers at the Event. I was  delighted to attend this reception by the Canadian Ambassador Loyola Hearn. We were well looked after, with some delicious fancy food canapés  and wine to wash it down! Paula introduced the Ambassador and he spoke for a few minutes and I was very impressed with his speech. He spoke completely without notes about the links between Ireland and Canada and had some advice for visiting Canadians to look after their passports or they would be finding themselves back in the Embassy quicker than they could imagine!

After a lovely couple of hours chatting to old and new found friends we made our way to the Lansdowne Hotel for the official launch of the Event by Loyola Hearn, who made another off the cuff amazing speech! We were treated to a BBQ, an excellent layout of straw bales and little turf burners which created the most wonderful atmosphere. Music was supplied for the first couple of hours by The Irish House Party, who performed traditional Irish music, which was great for our visiting friends. Albert Noonan had created a DVD of his wonderful videos of Leonard’s concerts to supply the music for the rest of the night.

Already on the Thursday night I had a feeling that this weekend was going to be really special and one what will live in our memories for a long time to come. When we arrived at the hotel we registered and received our registration bags which contained a t-shirt, programme, pin from Leonard and a wristband to wear for the gatherings in Liberty Hall for quick identification purposes. There was a real piece of treasure awaiting us in the programme. Leonard being the class act he is, choose the programme of our Event to announce the name of his next album, Popular Problems, and that it will be released at the end of next month shortly after his 80th birthday. I can’t think of one other artist who treats his fans as well as Leonard does. Also in our programme was note from him saying he was happy we were gathering in this great country which has been so kind to him over the years and thanking us for our long journey.

Day 2 began with coffee in the Mansion House at 11am and a welcome by, Christy Burke  the Lord Mayor of Dublin. While he was there, his second in command, the Deputy Lord Mayor, Larry O’Toole made the speech and it was followed by him and Paula singing a couple of verses of The Dublin Saunter. After a few minutes of chatting to friends Paula approached me and told me we were all going to sing So Long Marianne to the Lord Mayor. This song always gets a wonderful reception everywhere Leonard performs it but it is extra special here in Ireland so it brought back great memories when we all sang this in the Mansion House.

After some down time with friends after the Mansion House I made my way down to Liberty Hall and helped Albert Noonan with hanging our photos for the exhibition. I was very emotional seeing my work on display like this for the very first time. It really warmed my heart when I saw strangers come up and admire the photos. Support from friends is always brilliant but seeing people who don’t know me and think I have a talent is very special to me.

It was really exciting when I saw a reporter and crew from RTE arrive to interview participants and fans. RTE is our national broadcaster and it shows the high regard that Leonard is held in here that they would want to feature our Event on the main evening news. I enjoyed watching them interviewing Dermot Bolger in front of my photos and then while I was on duty checking wrist bands at the entrance to the theatre I was able to witness them at work interviewing people as they made their way into the venue.

Soon it was time for our four Event organisers, Paula McCann, Marie Nolan, Albert Noonan and Sheila O’Mahony to officially start proceedings. The first on the amazing list of talent was a five minute audio visual of Leonard at Lissadell by Yvonne  Acheson. This was very enjoyable and brought back wonderful memories of the concert I still consider to be my favourite of all time. There was then a poetry reading and talk with Gerard Smyth  and an interview of John MacKenna by Dermot Bolger. I do confess with between checking the door and the excitement of seeing my photos on display means I am drawing a blank while I try to remember what was being discussed here but I do remember enjoying it at the time. It was one of the reasons I held back writing this review until now in the hope the the fog would clear from my brain!

After a short interval we were treated to some really funny poetry by The Poetry Divas. One of their poems, called Flaming for Leonard, borrowed some of Leonard’s song titles and lyrics and had us all in stitches laughing. The final part of the Spoken Word was an interview with Lief Bodnarchuk by Tony Clayton-Lea. I was really looking forward to this because Lief worked with Leonard on all the tours from 2008-2013 as a guitar technician for Mitch Watkins and Javier Mas. Having read Lief’s book No Ideas I didn’t really hear anything I didn’t already know but I never tire of hearing about life on the road with Leonard and it was good hearing Lief explain how he got the gig with Leonard through having worked with the band Ash. Tony Clayton-Lea was a great interviewer and credit to him for trying his best to try and get some gossip on Leonard. It wasn’t forthcoming though. One thing in common with the people close to Leonard is their loyalty and it is a trait that I greatly admire.

After a very successful opening afternoon and break for dinner it was time for the first of the three concerts of singers and musicians from Ireland and abroad. Opening musical proceedings was a  Meath man Gerry Tully. I must admit I was very apprehensive about how I would take the live music. Those who know me know I am not generally a fan of other people performing Leonard’s songs with few exceptions including Judy Collins and those who have collaborated with Leonard or indeed performed with him. However I have to say that attitude has being changed after what can only be described as an amazing weekend of outstanding performances starting with Gerry!

His opening song was Who By Fire and I was immediately impressed. His set also included Suzanne, I’m Your Man, Tower of Song and Hallelujah. The first of many Hallelujah’s we were to hear over the weekend but he did the song, and indeed all the songs justice. I have to say though it was his powerful rendition of Raglan Road that was my favourite of his performances. It gave me goosebumps and got a great cheer from the entire audience after. This song has special significance because our Event Chairperson Paula is the niece of the late, great Luke Kelly. The story of how Gerry came to be performing is actually very funny. Paula accompanied a friend to what she thought was going to be TR Dallas gig and was wondering was it him for the first few songs until he did a Leonard Cohen cover. After the gig she went up to him and said “You are not TR Dallas, so who are you?” And went on to explain about the Event and asked would he like to be one of the performers!

Our second performance on this night was by a Canadian woman, Patricia O’Callaghan and her band. I am not sure I can find a good enough adjective to describe how incredible this performance was. I think my thought I had after sums it up. If Leonard Cohen songs are going to be covered this is how it should be done. Patricia is a classically trained singer and it showed in her outstanding performances of songs such as The Window, Alexandra Leaving and what was my absolute favourite rendition of Hallelujah all weekend. I loved when she sang Dance Me To The End of Love interspersing English and Spanish and the English and French for Suzanne.

After the music ended and we were all having the post concert craic I had the pleasure of speaking with both Gerry and Patricia and thanking them for their amazing sets. Our first full day had been a resounding success and after the wonderful previous day this weekend was shaping up to be one of the most memorable of my entire life. The excitement of this day was not yet over though. RTE had initially being making their news report for their Six One News but due to other breaking news they had to move it to the Nine News instead. I was misinformed that the Event wasn’t shown and then told it was, so confused when we got back to our accommodation I checked it on my laptop and discovered not only was it shown but my photos were used as the main backdrop while the newscaster introduced the story and were shown a few times during the actual report too. Not only that but Mandy my friend and travelling companion to many of my Leonard adventures was interviewed and got a moment on air. It made for a lovely Closing Time for Day 2 of our Event.

Day 3 began with a Hidden Secrets History walking tour of Dublin with  Tina Robinson. First on the agenda was a tram journey to the first point  of interest St. Michan’s Church which dates back to 1095 and has crypts with containing mummified remains. It was interesting hearing the history of the families of those in the crypts and the tour guide at the church was an impressionable fellow with his hand signals for what happened people who were too long or had got on the wrong side of the law! While most of the approximately 70 strong group took up the option of seeing the crypts, I preferred to stay where it was bright and the ground was even. I may visit again when there are less people around. Unfortunately due to time restraints I had to leave the tour at this point so to have time for lunch before heading back down to Liberty Hall for the afternoon events where I was again on the door checking wrist bands. I explained this to Tina and thanked her for what I had already seen.

The afternoon session this day was the Open Mic with fans performing Leonard’s songs and hosted by Darby, one of the Forum moderators. Proceedings were opened with a comedy sketch by Michael Wolkind. He was hilarious and part of his sketch was to give away some Leonard Cohen t-shirts to some lucky people in the audience. The first singer to perform was Don Cummer, partner to Paula, and his first song was his own version of Memories with added lyrics and story of how he first met Paula, four years previously at the Event when it was held in Krakow in 2010. I had heard this before but it was great to hear it again. He also performed a great version of  Sisters of Mercy.

There were lots of other great performers including a stunning performance from Claudia of Take This Waltz and I especially enjoyed Henning, another of our Forum moderators putting to music to some of Leonard’s poetry rather than just singing covers. At this stage the lack of sleep was starting to make me dizzy so I had to go get fresh air and coffee so had to miss the last couple of performers of the Open Mic. It was another successful afternoon.

For our concert on the Saturday we had one band, Jack Healy and The Van Diemens. Up to this point the music had being mellow and gentle. This was about to change with a full on rock performance. This was welcome to my weary body and it energised me! This concert was covers of what Jack called the holy trinity of Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits and Nick Cave. I confess to knowing little of Caves music and less of Waits. However I really enjoyed Jack and The Van Diemens interpretations of all the songs. Highlights of Leonard’s songs for me included Tower of Song and a wonderful solo version of Anthem. Someone commented after, that this is what Leonard’s songs would sound like if they were covered by Nick Cave! I thought that a very good description.  I also really enjoyed his Cave covers, Are You the One that I’ve Been Waiting For and Mercy Seat.  Jack Healy is an excellent front man so I was amazed when talking to him after he says he usually is the bass player in any his bands. He told us a great story during the concert about how Mary Coughlan, a well-known Irish singer attended a Leonard Cohen concert with her daughter. After the concert she asked her daughter what she thought. Her daughters reply was it was like going to mass and having the mass said by Jesus!

Day 4 began with a viewing of Leonard’s last concert of the 2013 tour in Auckland. To have the chance to witness this concert was so special to me. The viewing was in Screen Cinema so we had a nice big screen and surround sound for the music. Leonard’s production manager, Ed Sanders, put this DVD together for us and it must be stated the fine job that he did. Such was the quality we found ourselves forgetting it was in a cinema we were watching this and every now and then there was spontaneous clapping at the end of songs. What I especially enjoyed was seeing close ups of the band and moments I normally don’t see at the concerts when more often than not my eyes are on Leonard unless it is during an actual solo! During Alexandra Leaving the DVD stopped. It turned out that while we were engrossed in the concert, outside a thunderstorm raged and played havoc with the cinema systems for a couple of minutes. I explained to Jarkko after that the DVD player just couldn’t handle the beauty of Sharon’s voice and sure there is a crack in everything.

It was all too soon time for our final concert of the weekend in Liberty Hall. On this night we had Tír Na nÓg,  and closing out the Event Ali & the Thieves. However before the music we listened to the organisers of the two Events for 2016 speak of what we can expect in their cities. First we heard from Dr. Kim Solez and Mallory Chipman who spoke about Edmonton in Canada and then from Wybe and Willy Lageveen speaking about Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

Tír Na nÓg are an Irish duo, Leo O’Kelly and Sonny Condell who have been performing together since the late 1960’s. This should suggest I would be familiar with them but no, I wasn’t. In a break with tradition over the weekend they did their own music with only one Cohen cover, True Love Leaves No Traces. I absolutely love this song but hate what Phil Spector did to Leonard’s beautiful lyrics with his so called Wall of Sound. So hearing a stripped back version by accomplished singers was great. I also enjoyed hearing their own songs and I must say I will be paying them more attention in the future!

After a short interval our final performance  began with Ali and her band playing what she calls Leonard Cohen Koans. I am not experienced enough to explain that properly so I am borrowing the description from our programme: “Leonard Cohen Koans is a meditation on the man behind the myth through his poetry, prose and song.” It incorporated Ali telling interesting stories and then her and the band performing their own versions of Leonard’s songs.  I already knew the amazing voice Ali had having seen her perform at our fan dinner in New York last year. This was even better though. I especially loved the introduction to Avalanche. She spoke of  how a man sees a tiger and starts running and the tiger follows. The man grabs a root vine and flings himself over the edge of a crevice. The tiger is still above him and when he looks down he sees another tiger. Then two mice, one black, one white start gnaw at the top of the vine. From the corner of his eye he saw a luscious wild strawberry and holding the vine with one hand  he reached out with the other hand. Ali then started singing the song. Other highlights were If It Be Your Will and Lady Midnight which was our last song of the night and indeed the whole weekend!

To end proceedings Jarkko Arjatsalo and Michael Wolkind went on stage to thank our wonderful organisers, presenting Paula with flowers and giving them all a voucher for a meal in a restaurant to convey our thanks for the amazing weekend we just had. I always knew this would be a special weekend and it proved to be even better than I could have imagined. I enjoyed a couple of drinks in the company of everyone at the post craic in the bar of the Liberty Hall Theatre and saying goodbye to old and new friends was hard but we know we will all meet again. It is so long for now but not forever. Thank you so much to all the people who made this weekend possible.

Gwen Langford 2014

 

Concert Review: Dublin O2 September 11th and 12th 2013

When the European tour for this year was initially announced Ireland wasn’t on the list and while I was disappointed I was grateful for all the concerts we’ve had here, and had of course the New York and Brussels concerts to look forward too. To say I was ecstatic when Dublin was then announced is an understatement. To have Leonard returning to the venue where I first saw him in concert was something I really relished and after freezing in Kilmainham last year, and as much as I love outdoor concerts it was a relief to know we’d have no incremental weather to disturb us!

I was very excited and a little sad knowing that concerts were the last I will attending this year. I had gotten used to in the last year of having the knowledge of future concerts to look forward to, such is how spoilt we have been by the tour over the last year.

Like in 2009 the lighting director Ryan Murphy bathed the background of the stage in the colours of the Irish flag for us to see as we were coming into the venue. I’ve no knowledge of seeing this anywhere else. That isn’t to say it doesn’t be done at other venues, just that in all the concerts I’ve attended I’ve never seen it anywhere else.

After taking our seats in the fifth row dead centre we awaiting Leonard and his wonderful band to take the stage and when they did it was a great reception from the delighted Irish, and travelling fans, of whom there were many in attendance, from all over the world.

As always Leonard opened with Dance Me To The End Of Love. The set list for the first half of the concert is mostly the same these days so we always have a fairly good idea what is coming next. This never takes away from the excitement for me as I could witness these songs live a thousand times and never bore of them.

After Dance Me To The End Of Love Leonard thanked us all for coming, thanking those in the high seats for climbing up there and those of us at the front for breaking our household budgets in these tough economic times. While the concert tickets are expensive I personally think Leonard is worth every cent as his concerts are longer than nearly everyone except Bruce Springsteen but Leonard has been know to do even longer concerts than Springsteen on occasion and indeed the second Dublin concert was longer than the one Springsteen concert I was at earlier this year. It must not be forgotten that for a man of his age, Leonard will be 79 next week this is a very impressive statistic. Not only are the concerts long they are performed to perfection, and Leonard always gives us as he promises at the start of his concerts everything that he has got. There are no songs I’d call fillers and Leonard is never going through the motions.

I’ve often stated in the past it is hard to pick favourite moments from Leonard’s concerts because everything is performed very well but thinking back to Wednesday night moments from the first half that stand out include Javier Mas introductions to Who By Fire and The Gypsy’s Wife. He is a musical genius on any of the stringed instruments he plays and it is mesmerising watching him perform and while my tired mind can’t remember which night now on one of the nights I had tears streaming down my face during Who By Fire at the beauty of it.

Before Leonard performed Darkness we heard a what is familiar introduction to us for a different song, Ain’t No Cure For Love, where Leonard speaks about looking in the mirrors in his hotel rooms with the magnifiers and how it is a bad idea to look into these after the age of eleven and that he says to him self “Lighten up Cohen” This is normally expanded to include the line that there ain’t no cure for love before beginning the actual song. On Wednesday night he just said and “Now I am going to sing a song about it”. I can’t say if this was a mistake on Leonard’s part or if Darkness was his original intention as the set list for the last few concerts had Darkness in this position but either way I love that introduction from him so was happy to hear it!

Something while rarely fails to move me to tears is anywhere in the concerts where Hattie and Charley Webb are singing and this week was no exception. Their voices are so angelic and it is no wonder Leonard refers to them as the sublime Webb Sisters and his angels. They perform the opening lines to Come Healing and it is achingly beautiful to hear.  During the encores they perform If It Be Your Will and for me it is impossible not to be in floods of tears during that performance.

Lover, Lover, Lover brought us to the end of the first half. While I do love the song and if I take this version as a stand alone and not compare it with the original version or the one performed on the previous tour it is brilliant but I do confess I do much prefer when this song is performed at a slower pace and find it much more intimate.

The second half was opened with Tower of Song which is a great opener for the second half. Leonard is very playful during this song on which he plays the keyboards. It never fails to amuse me and having a good reaction from the audience means a very happy Leonard and therefore a very happy Gwen!

It is special to hear Suzanne after this. I’ve always love this song but even more so since visiting Montreal and the location of the line “And the sun pours down like honey on our lady of the harbour”

After Chelsea Hotel #2 we had the wonderful surprise Night Comes On. This song hasn’t being performed live in a while and it is one of my favourites from one of my favourite albums Various Positions.

Sharon Robinson was exquisite singing Alexandra Leaving. This song doesn’t normally bring tears but on Wednesday night it did. At the end of the song she got a much deserved  standing ovation from many of us in the audience. It can never be stated enough how important she is to Leonard and indeed to all of us as she has co-written so many of the songs he loves to perform for us and we love to hear.

After Hattie Webb’s solo in Take This Waltz I caught her eye and mouthed “Thank you that was beautiful” and she smiled and mouthed back “Thank you”. I was yet again a tearful wreck. I always get emotional at some point at a Leonard concert but for the two Dublin concerts I was more emotional than usual. I think it was a mixture of the fact they were my final two concerts but also the fact that they were absolutely amazing concerts. Leonard and co for me keep getting better and better. I always think the concerts are perfection but having attended a lot of concerts now I have learned there is always room for improvement and that things can be taken to whole new levels, ones which I didn’t even know existed!

From when I bought my tickets I knew that with my brilliant central location I wouldn’t be able to escape for the encores like I usually do so I stayed put and enjoyed it as much as always. Lots of my favourites are performed. I’ve been lucky to see Leonard in many different locations but I have to say for the audience participation especially during So Long Marianne means that my favourite concerts are the Irish ones. I must state though that I’ve loved all the concerts I’ve attended and to be able to witness the magic is so many locations is something I am truly grateful for and I’ve loved all the different places I’ve visited.

The atmosphere for So Long Marianne didn’t disappoint and it was amazing. A couple of times I glanced around the venue and it was electric seeing the whole place up enjoying it. The reaction to First We Take Manhattan was on a par with New York and reminded me of those concerts.

While it looked like Closing Time might have indeed being closing time Leonard delighted us with performing one last song, I Tried To Leave you. I love when this is done as each band member has a solo. One of my favourite parts is Rafael Gayol’s drum solo where he throws his drumstick in the air and tries to catch it. This time he missed but that made us all smile.

 

Heading into The O2 for night two my heart was torn with a mixture of excitement for the night to come but also with an ache knowing this was going to be my  last concert for the foreseeable future. Please readers know I am truly grateful for all the concerts I had but I’ve never become complacent and Leonard’s concerts and the times I’ve spent speaking with him are the best moments of my life.

This was an extremely emotional concert for me and in my opinion very very close to Lissadell as one of the most special concerts I’ve attended. Between a new song, the return of one of my absolute favourites Anthem, actual funny hecklers and Leonard’s closing words it made for what I can only describe as a magical recipe of perfection.

The first song to have me in tears was Bird On The Wire. Again like Who By Fire the previous night I don’t usually cry during this song but it is one of my favourites and in what I call my top five of Hallelujah, So Long Marianne, Anthem and Famous Blue Raincoat. What made this song so special Thursday night was what was an astoundingly amazing performance from Leonard. It is always performed well but I remember thinking at the first night in Montreal Leonard had taken it to a whole new level. Well Thursday night he done it again and so much so my friend and I turned to each other in amazement at the end and said something along the lines “That was out of this world” to each other.

There was no repeat of the “introduction” to Darkness on Thursday but I should make a note of a chant Leonard does to Raphael Gayol during this song. No one has any idea of what this means as I did ask a couple of the crew members who said no one has asked Leonard what it is or what it means!

I was on cloud nine when Leonard performed Anthem at the end of the first half on Thursday. I was heartbroken when I saw it dropped from recent concerts. That song is very significant to me personally and I think it is the perfect song for that part of the concert.

The antics during Tower Of Song were again very amusing with hecklers adding to Leonard. I can’t remember now what was shouted up but at the time found it hilarious. Hopefully a video will appear to remind me!

After Chelsea Hotel #2 on Thursday Leonard had an extra special treat for us, a new song called I’ve Got A Secret. I didn’t recognise the melody but immediately recognised some of the lyrics. While I couldn’t place them at that moment on returning to the hotel I investigated and discovered that they were some of the lyrics from what I call the second version of Feels So Good which we’d heard in Toronto. Speaking with Hattie Webb after I mentioned this and she told me she hadn’t made that connection and was very impressed that I did! On that first listen to the song I immediately loved it. The melody has a lovely jazz feel to it.

As much as I love Leonard singing I also love when he recites A Thousand Kisses Deep. I recorded this on both nights but missed the first few words the first night so had to try again. I’m glad I did though as it was unique the second night when Leonard had a false start due to a lady in the row behind us yelling “Leonard I’m your woman”. Normally someone yelling during this would be on the receiving end of a glare from me but given it was the start it was funny and anything that makes Leonard smile makes me smile.

As it is my all time favourite song from Leonard Hallelujah is always my ultimate highlight at the concerts. He puts passion into every song but seems to do more so in this song and for me I think the Thursday version is my all time favourite rendition. Of course the tears were flowing and more so as it is my last live performance but the tears didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the song.

Like the previous night given my central location I didn’t think I would be able to escape to the front for the encores. However seeing a huge gap directly in front of the seats I asked the person in front would she mind me climbing over the seats to which she kindly allowed and for the first couple of songs of the encores I was in the second row of standing pilgrims but then a gap appeared which allowed me to be at the very front almost centre for the last few songs. This was very special for me as the last time I was that close to Leonard as he performed was during the encores in Katowice 2010. Being that close for especially So Long Marianne and Famous Blue Raincoat is great. It means we can see the glances between Leonard and his band and also experience a up close view of the wonderful musicians.

There was a funny moment for me when having developed a sore throat and lungs from the singing along and the dry ice I was spending ages rooting in my bag for throat sweets. Having eventually found them buried under my jacket I looked up to see a confused look from Charley Webb as to what was I doing. I held them up and touched my neck to demonstrate and she smiled down at me.

It must be noted that the musicians I haven’t mentioned personally throughout this review were just as amazing as they always are. I’m just aware this is a very long review and I hope my readers enjoy it. I think I just want to have a record of as many moments of these two concerts as I can! Just to mention though Alexandru Bublitchi performances on the violin are always breathtaking and I always appreciate the contribution by the musical director and bassist Roscoe Beck.

After having Anthem as a extra song I thought maybe we’d get a shorter encore but no Leonard actually gave us an extra song there too with Save The Last Dance. While I always prefer hearing Cohen’s songs over covers I was very happy to get this as an extra at the end. Also I am rarely a fan of listening to covers preferring the originals,but maybe it my love of Leonard but I actually prefer his version to the original!

Leaving The O2 on Thursday night I couldn’t have wished for more over the two nights. We had a total of 60 songs performed, 31 different ones between the two nights. Leonard and his band never fail to deliver but on these nights he gave us everything he got and more. His closing words after Closing Time on Thursday were very special and we could tell he enjoyed these concerts as much as we do. I never thought I’d witness a concert to be on a par with magical Lissadell but the Thursday concert especially is up there for me.

Thank you to Leonard, your wonderful band and crew for giving us the most memorable nights. If these do turn out to be my final concerts I couldn’t have asked for a better ending. For now I take forth the memories and will be eternally grateful to do so.

 

 

Review: Leonard Cohen, Brussels, June 30th 2013

Having spent a fortune seeing Leonard Cohen in concert over the last year and funds starting to run low I had to decide on one European mainland location and when Brussels was announced for the day after my birthday it was decision made to go there.

I’ve being dismayed with how since late last year Cohen concerts have been delayed due to  the audience not being in their seats at the scheduled time so it made me determined to arrive extremely early and got there before the doors even opened. I wasn’t sure what to expect of the venue after hearing negative reports but on entering was pleased to see it didn’t look too bad and our seats were in a great location, 3rd row directly in front of  Javier Mas.

After the delay to allow the seats to be sufficiently filled Cohen and his band came on stage to a massive cheer by a delighted audience. After the opening song Dance Me To The End Of Love Cohen thanked us for coming and to those in the high seats for climbing to those high places and for those of us at the front for paying so dearly. As always every song performed was amazing and every song a highlight. In the opening half my favourites included Who By Fire. I don’t know if it was my close proximity to Javier Mas but for me it was my all time personal favourite rendition. Mas is a musical genius and his solo at the start this song gave me goose-bumps. I also loved the extended applause after his solo and when Hattie Webb joined in on the harp and Roscoe Beck on stand up bass. This applause lasted for the entire first verse. I never witnessed this before and on reading the No Ideas blog from technician Leif Bodnarchuk I see he has never witnessed it either.

Hallelujah aside, my other favourite moment was when Cohen recited A Thousand Kisses Deep. I adore this and Cohen doesn’t  normally quote it at non-English speaking countries so I was delighted and moved to tears when he did it, focusing completely and  soaking it in. Other first half highlights included an as always sublime performance of Bird On The Wire and Lover, Lover, Lover. I do confess I prefer the version sung on the previous tour but judging this version on its own merits it is great and I love the new arrangement at the start of the song. We found it amusing when Cohen started chanting nearing the end of Darkness as we have no idea of why he is doing it but it adds an air of mystery and makes for a good discussion after the concert! Maybe someone reading this can explain it to me. We were also discussing the line change in Anthem from “the dove is never free” to “the dove is always free”.

As always Cohen opened the second half with Tower Of Song and like we had witnessed in New York is continuing to joke about his keyboard abilities and running his elbows along the keys. Having looked at the set lists for recent concerts and seeing both Sisters Of Mercy and Heart With No Companion I had prayed they would remain for this concert so was delighted when they did.  As Brussels is a French speaking country La Manic and The Partisan were both performed and received a huge reception from the audience. I love when during The Partisan Neil Larsen comes down from being the organ and keyboards to play the accordion.

Sharon Robinson as always was amazing when singing Alexandra Leaving. Hallelujah as usual for me was my absolute highlight and the final song of the second half Take This Waltz, with an as usual exquisite solo from Hattie Webb and hauntingly beautiful violin playing from Alexandru Bublitchi was great.

As Cohen did his band introductions at the end of Take This Waltz some of us raced to the barriers. The barriers were closer to the stage than in Dublin last year, so I really enjoyed being the closest I have been to Cohen as he performed, since Katowice in 2010 for the encores. While I did of course love the Canadian and New York concerts I do admit I missed being able to stand in front of the stage singing along to So Long Marianne, First We Take Manhattan and Closing Time. These songs all got a great reception with lots of interaction from the crowd which pleased everyone on stage. The crowd reaction after an as always excellent Famous Blue Raincoat was so loud we could barely hear Cohen speak after it!

I understand the times when to be quiet at a  Cohen concert but there was one person who in the tiers didn’t and it didn’t go down well with me or those around me when he started shouting when Cohen was reciting at the start of If It Be Your Will. The Webb Sisters as usual though were outstanding singing this and also as usual for this song I couldn’t stem the flow of tears.

I always love when I Tried To Leave You is in the set list as it includes solo’s from the entire band. My favourite part of this is Rafael Gayol’s solo where he throws his drumstick in the air and catches it. For the encores I enjoyed being able to see Mitch Watkins as he was hidden from my view for most of the concert. However I still appreciated his input and enjoyed hearing his contribution and especially during Bird On The Wire.

The actual songs aside I just loved the entire feel of this concert. Cohen and everyone on stage was in great form with lots of smiles in appreciation to the audience reception. With the exception of the one person shouting I thought the crowd to be excellent and it always makes me feel good when I am a part of such crowds. I felt this was a very special concert where especially with the slower songs in the gentle way they were performed. In trying to put this feeling into words and thinking about it the only description coming to mind is that of sitting near water and the songs being like waves, soft and soothing during the slow songs and then more powerful but still breathtaking during the faster songs. It was simply magical and a night I’ll never forget.

When I thought my weekend in Brussels having my birthday and a concert the following day couldn’t get better on the Monday it did. After going sight-seeing we were exiting a metro station when I spotted a burger restaurant in front of us and even though we had planned to eat later we decided to go in. After getting our food and sitting down I was looking out the window when I spotted a woman and thought to myself she looks very like Leonard’s PA. Then I saw him and couldn’t believe our luck. Mandy thought I was joking when I said “Leonard is outside” and asked me was I sure and then saw him herself. We went outside and stayed a distance away as never would we dare to approach Leonard while he was eating. When he finished he got up and walked in our direction. He was very happy to see us and thanked us for coming.

After getting a few photos we talked about the previous night and the songs we loved hearing. I mentioned A Thousand Kisses Deep and how I wasn’t expecting it as he doesn’t normally do it at non-English speaking countries and he agreed with me and said that on Sunday night he felt like doing it and was happy I enjoyed it. I also told him I was happy to hear Sisters Of Mercy and Heart With No Companion and of course as always Hallelujah. Mandy also mentioned the songs she enjoyed most. After this Leonard told us we are great friends and we said our goodbyes wishing him well on the rest of the tour. It made for a wonderful memory for us to take with us and treasure forever.

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!

Review of Montreal and Toronto

Ever since I first discovered Leonard Cohen I’ve had the dream of seeing him perform in his hometown of Montreal so when the concerts were announced earlier this year it was an easy decision to travel across the Atlantic to realise this dream. I had always said if I went to Montreal I would also go to Toronto and from there visit The Niagara Falls. Destiny would have it that the days we would be in Toronto Leonard would also be there so we had the added pleasure of attending the concerts there. In total there were four concerts, two in each city and like all the Leonard concerts each concert was individual with highlights of their own.

The Montreal concerts were held in the Bell Centre which is a hockey arena and is also used for concerts. On entering the venue I was amazed at how big it looked and was very relieved at having seats close to the stage. While of course I’m grateful for any seat at a Leonard concert I do confess I like to be as close to the stage as possible and see his expressions when he sings and when he takes in his surroundings. When Leonard and his talented musicians came on stage at the start of the concert everyone got to their feet and cheered to welcome Leonard back to his hometown for his first concert there in four years. Every Leonard concert is special but seeing him perform in Montreal was very special. As always he opened with Dance Me To The End Of Love and it was good to see that most people in attendance appeared familiar with all the songs though I have to say the Canadian concert goers are a lot more reserved than the Irish! I was very pleased to see there was little movement from the audience during the songs so we had no distractions while we listened and watched some superb performances.

Highlights on the first night for me included what in my opinion was the best performance I have ever seen of Bird On The Wire. Leonard’s singing and body language as he sang this song for me seemed to be on a whole new level and I was pleasantly surprised as I have always felt he performs this song to perfection so for it to be even better than before was amazing. I’m also loving the addition of some Mitch Watkins solos in this song.

Since I last saw Leonard in Dublin the arrangement for Darkness has changed with him now starting the song at a later verse than before. On the first night in Montreal we wondered was it a mistake but when the same happened the following night we knew it was Leonard doing what he often does in changing songs. He used to play guitar on this song but now performs it without the guitar. This allows him to be very expressive and I loved the body language.

It was also great to hear Leonard recite A Thousand Kisses Deep at all the concerts I attended in Canada. The last time I’d witnessed this was in Las Vegas in 2010. While I love Leonard as a singer I also love when he recites poetry as he is an expert and knows exactly how it should be done. We heard some funny intros to Ain’t No Cure For Love with him using these words on the first night in Montreal. “Sometimes, I stumble out of bed, look at myself in the mirror and say to the mirror `Lighten up, Cohen, how long is it going to take you to get used to the news that there ain’t no cure for love’?”

On the first night in Montreal we were treated to the tour premiere of Show Me The Place and indeed the first time this song was sung live as it is from the new album. It sounds great live and it was very much appreciated. Hallelujah as always was my concert highlight and I loved when Leonard sang the line “I didn’t come home to fool you”. Even though as usual come the end of this song I had tears streaming down my face this made me smile and pleased I was to be witnessing him in his hometown.

As always everyone on stage gave a great performance and it was great to see. Both Mitch Watkins and Alexandru Bublitchi appeared to have more solos than when I had seen the tour in Europe. It was also great to see Raphael Gayol had an extra solo in Darkness.

For night two in Montreal we were a little further back but not so far that I needed the screens and I could still see the expressions from everyone on stage. The first set was the same as the first set on the previous night but as I stated in reviews before if Leonard sang the same songs every night I’d never complain as when the performance is to such a high standard I feel there is no room for complaints! Of course there are songs I’ve never heard him sing live that I’d love to hear but I can’t complain about perfection.

At every Leonard concert we are treated to amazing solos and one that always stands out is Javier Mas at the start of Who By Fire. He is a genius on the bandurria and he plays with such an intensity that the whole crowd is instantly silenced and he always receives a resounding applause after his solo. I love when Roscoe Beck joins in on standup bass nearing the end of Mas’ solo. Beck is a fantastic musician and as musical director for the tour his input is immense. The addition of the violin at Leonard’s concerts on this tour is very welcome to my ears and I especially love Alexandru Bublitchi’s contributions to Dance Me To The End Of Love and Suzanne.

While the addition of Show Me The Place was much appreciated the first night Leonard had something extra special for us on the second night. After an introduction in French he sang a song unknown to me but which was very well received by the Canadians in the concert. I since discovered that the song in question was La Manic originally sang by Georges Dor, a song held dear by the people from Quebec. While I didn’t recognise the song I knew from the audience reaction we had just witnessed something very special. I felt this was very appropriate that Leonard should do this in his hometown. Another special song to hear in Montreal was The Partisan. As this song is sung half in English and half in French it was very well received by the home crowd. I love the way Leonard brings all the musicians close together for this song and it especially good to see Neil Larsen down from behind his keyboards playing the accordion.

Also performed on the second night was I Tried To Leave You. I always love when Leonard sings this song live as each band member has a solo in it and I love Rafael Gayol’s solo as he throws his drumstick in the air and then catches it. As he is hidden from view behind his drums we seldom see him but his contribution is huge and he really is the Master of precision as described by Leonard in his band introductions at all the concerts.

Visiting Montreal while first and foremost was the chance to witness Leonard in his hometown it was also the chance to see the place he grew up and places mentioned in his poetry, art and songs. We enjoyed trips to the area he spent his childhood, seeing Our Lady of the Harbour at Bon Secours which is immortalised in Suzanne with the line ”And the sun pours down like honey on our lady of the harbour”. We visited McGill University and were disappointed to see no reference to Leonard having studied there but it is a beautiful building well worth seeing. We also visited The Parc Du Portugal and were pleased to witness the first snow of winter there as Leonard has done a painting called “First Snow” at this location. We visited many other places too while in Montreal and it was very enjoyable experience and meeting friends who were kind enough to show us these places made it all the more special.

After almost a week in Montreal we departed to Toronto knowing we’d two more concerts and other special moments to look forward to. The day after arriving we fulfilled the dream of seeing The Niagara Falls which was wonderful and we were blessed with sunshine and warm weather on that day. The following day was a concert day but before the concert we had one last Leonard related place to visit. It was after we had booked our trip that I had the idea to try to get permission to view Leonard’s archives in The University of Toronto and we were delighted to receive that permission and so it was with much excitement we went to the University to view some of the items. There is too much to view on one day but we did spend 3 hours reading unpublished stories and letters. I loved all of it but especially the short stories. I won’t go into details because if Leonard wanted these in the public domain he’d publish them himself but suffice to say all the usual Leonard traits and subjects were covered and should I ever return to Toronto I’d seek permission to view these again and give myself more time!

After this it was time to get ready for the first Toronto concert at The Air Canada Centre. This concert was amazing for me and Leonard really changed the setlist from Montreal. The only one of these changes in the first half was the addition of Different Sides after A Thousand Kisses Deep. I was delighted to hear this song as it is my favourite from Old Ideas and indeed one of all time favourite Cohen songs. Other first half highlights included Leonard dancing during The Future during the line “White men dancing”. I love when Leonard is in a playful humour and he certainly was this night. I was pleased to note many smiles from the stage and seeing Leonard so relaxed.

Before the Toronto concerts I had named them the Hallelujah concerts in honour of my love of this song and the fact that the dates of the concerts were on the 4th and the 5th and fitted in nicely with the 4th line of the lyrics, “It goes like this the fourth the fifth”. I had a smile on my face as Leonard sang this line both nights. Of course this was before the usual tears as even if I don’t mention the song on every night in this review as I want to mention as many songs as possible it always has the same effect on me. This song introduced me to Leonard’s music which changed my life forever so I will always hold it dear.

There was many other highlights in the second half of this concert. This included my first Canadian time to hear I Can’t Forget and Anyhow, which I’d only heard once before in Dublin. If I’m completely honest I did prefer the Dublin rendition as Leonard sang it looking up whereas in Toronto he was looking down and I love when we see Leonard looking up when he is singing and seeing completely the expression on his face! It was great hearing yet another tour premiere on this night which was Feels So Good. This song has never appeared on an album and was premiered on the previous tour in 2009. However the version we heard in Toronto was very much different to the performances on the previous tour so much so that it was almost a completely different song.

Another highlight was during So Long Marianne when Leonard sang the words “God damn mountain side”. The last time I had heard him use those words was in Lissadell so it reminded me of a wonderful memory. There was a funny moment when Leonard thanked those who climbed to the high seats and then those of us who had emptied our pockets in the lower seats.

I haven’t mentioned it before as trying not to repeat myself but it must be noted the sublime performance of The Webb Sisters of If It Be Your Will at every concert and also the performance of Sharon Robinson during Alexandra Leaving. Both these performances every night is amazing and I never tire hearing them. Indeed there are many songs with the three ladies having solos and they always sound wonderful.

All too soon it was our final Canadian concert but the one where we had front row tickets which was a nice way to end our adventure and indeed our final Leonard concert this year.It would prove to be a great concert with some unique memories to take away with us.

During the intro to Ain’t No Cure For Love this time we got an intro with a difference. Leonard spoke about reading reviews of the previous night on the internet and he said he had seen a bad one and he couldn’t understand why he didn’t dislike the son of a bitch (his words!!) more and that he should hate him but then he realised there ain’t no cure for love. As someone who writes reviews I found this highly amusing and wondered who would write a bad review of a Leonard concert. Of course I know that not everyone shares the same opinions but bad Leonard reviews are very rare. It makes me wonder who was the reviewer. I have yet to read the review but I’d hazard a guess this person is not an admirer of Leonard’s. This does annoy me when people who are not admirers do reviews. It was once suggested to me to improve my writing I needed to start reviewing artists I don’t like. I disagreed with this as I feel for someone to write a proper review they need to at least like the genre of music they are reviewing. I can assure you all I have seen concerts of people I love and have been very disappointed and don’t review with rose-tinted glasses!

As with all the other nights there were many highlights and indeed for me every song is a highlight but of course some songs stand out for different reasons on different nights. On this night it was great to hear the tour premiere of Chelsea Hotel # 2. This was a solo with Leonard on his own with just his guitar. I have to say I felt blessed to have heard tour premieres on all four concerts I attended in Canada. Considering there had already been 44 previous concerts on this tour made it even more impressive.

As this was my final concert of the year I savoured every minute of it. It must be noted that songs I haven’t yet mentioned but love hearing every night include Famous Blue Raincoat, Anthem, Closing Time, First We Take Manhattan and Come Healing. I do indeed love all Leonard’s songs but these are extra special with the aforementioned songs for me. Famous Blue Raincoat has always been a favourite and I love the way Cohen now ends it with “Sincerely, a Friend”. Anthem is a song which literally changed my life when I was going through some difficulties. I’d only just discovered the song at the time and slowly the lyrics gave me strength when I needed it most. I always love the upbeat melodies and great lyrics of both Closing Time and First We Take Manhattan and the melody and The Webb Sisters singing Come Healing is beauty personified.

The final song was Leonard’s cover of Save The Last Dance for me. This was our first time hearing it in Canada and it was a nice way to end our adventure. We had a wonderful time in Canada and we met amazing people who are now friends and I hope someday to meet them again if not in Canada then hopefully somewhere else on the road.

Rufus Wainwright @ Vicar Street with Adam Cohen and Teddy Thompson.

When it was announced Rufus Wainwright was appearing in Vicar Street I didn’t pay much attention, that is until Adam Cohen was announced as supporting him. Never before in all my years going to concerts have I gone just to see a support artist but for Adam I most certainly was prepared to make the exception. Also supporting was Teddy Thompson. I confess besides the covers Rufus and Teddy have done of Leonard Cohen songs I know very little about their music, however this didn’t take away from a very enjoyable night and it was interesting being at a concert where I knew very little of the music performed.

After a delayed start Teddy Thompson opened the show with four songs. I was very impressed with his strong vocals and guitar playing on all four songs and indeed what was very rare for concerts was that last night both Teddy and Adam got an excellent response from the crowd. Due to the delay Adam’s set was for five songs only, four of his own songs and then as always his wonderful cover of his fathers song So Long Marianne. Adam was in great form making loads of jokes including that he didn’t know how Rufus had managed to inseminate his sister but that he did! I’m noticing every time I see Adam in concert he is getting better and better. As always Mai Bloomfield and Michael Chaves were excellent and their musicianship didn’t go unnoticed by those in the audience unfamiliar with Adam’s work. It was great to see a standing ovation for Adam, Mai and Michael as they took a bow. This is certainly something I never witnessed in concert before, a standing ovation for a support act.

Between Adam’s and Rufus’ sets I overheard many people discussing how impressed they were and not only with Adam and co but also I overheard a few people saying that they would like to see his father in concert now too. I told anyone near me that if they ever get the chance to see Leonard they have to take it! I spoke briefly to Adam during this time and I was pleased to hear that he will be back in Ireland next April. I told him I am going to see his father in Montreal and he told me his father is the best to which I agreed but told him he was next best. He also repeated this loudly to others gathered around how his father is the best. It gave me a warm feeling how proud Adam is of his father.

While I was talking to Adam we heard Rufus coming on stage so I went in through the doors and watched the first song at the side not wanting to interrupt anyone trying to find my seat and waited until the song was over to go back to my seat.  For the first song the only lights were from candles from the stage and I was impressed from the start with Rufus and his band which included Teddy Thompson. After the opening song the stage was lit up and we could see all the band including backing singers, a keyboard player, drummer and various guitar players. Rufus alternated without instrument to guitar and grand piano. As stated at the start of this review I confess I know very little about the music of Rufus with the exception of Leonard Cohen covers that he has done. I vaguely recognised a couple of songs but the only one I actually knew was his cover of Everybody Knows. For once not knowing the songs didn’t bother me. I enjoyed hearing them for the first time and the standard of performance was high from everyone on stage. Not knowing the songs gave me an opportunity to take in the audience reactions and it was plain to see there were many people there who knew every word of every song.

While the concert was very enjoyable the finale was amazing. As I had taken loads of photos and not wanting to be taking repeats of similar scenes I’d put my camera away for the encores. It was quickly retrieved when this guy came out on stage dressed as cupid and slowly various band members came out dressed up. Cupid and Rufus dressed as an emperor even took to walking amongst the crowd before being bringing a group of the audience back on stage. It was a wonderful end to the concert and completely to me unexpected. I left Vicar Street very impressed at what had been a very enjoyable evening from start to finish!

Túr Na nAmhrán: The Cohen Project

When it was announced that there would be a Leonard Cohen tribute with the songs being sung in Irish I was instantly intrigued and immediately booked a ticket. I’m not normally a fan of other people singing Cohen’s song, however I liked the originality of this and went with an open mind to watch and listen to what would unfold on stage. I was also interested to hear Liam Ó Maonlaí singing Cohen’s songs as he has a beautiful haunting voice.

Also on stage with Ó Maonlaí was Hilary Bow and The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra. There was a big screen at the back of the stage where the lyrics and images were projected to help us follow the songs in Irish. The images included photos of Cohen from his entire career and also artist impressions of the lyrics by Margaret Lonergan. The songs had been translated from English to Irish by Liam Ó Muirthile and Gabriel Rosenstock.

Opening with Suzanne and Ó Maonlaí singing I was immediately impressed by everyone on stage. There was a great camaraderie between all the musicians and singers and they were all very accomplished at what they were doing. The singing of the songs was shared between Ó Maonlaí, Bow and the members of the Blake family from The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra. James Blake was standout for me with an excellent rendition of So Long Marianne. Diane Daly on violin was also very impressive and I loved her playing on Bird On The Wire and Famous Blue Raincoat. Hallelujah was the 3rd song of the night with Hilary Bow singing lead vocals. It is well-known in my circle of Cohen friends that as a rule I do not like anyone other than Cohen and Jeff Buckley singing this song. Personally I saw Bow’s performance as blending in with all the other covers, although in the better half of these covers as she does have an incredible voice and did the song justice in not going over the top with her rendition. It was interesting hearing my favourite song sung in Irish!

Other songs performed in the first half included Bird on the Wire, Democracy and Diamonds In The Mine. I was especially impressed with the later which was like So Long Marianne performed by James Blake. During Everybody Knows one of the images used included a photo of the Costa Concordia and a photo of its captain which accompanied the line “Everybody knows the captain lied”. While some in the audience found this funny I personally thought it was in very bad taste and not a good idea in my opinion that it was included. I was also disappointed with Ó Maonlaí’s version of Darkness. He seemed to overdo it and I felt it didn’t fit in with how the song should be interpreted.

I had mixed feelings at the interval having not liked the joke and also the version of Darkness so I was apprehensive when the second half begun. However it was to prove unfounded as I enjoyed all the songs in the second half and there was no more jokes! I was initially surprised when Ó Maonlaí had only performed a couple of songs in the first half. However such was the talent of everyone on stage I was happy that there was balance between the singers and it made for many interesting styles of singing throughout.

My favourite moment of the night came during The Future when my rose photo I took of Cohen in Katowice was used as one of the images during that song. It was a great honour to see the photo on the screen for everyone to see and I made sure to tell the staff afterwards in the hope that Margaret Lonergan would hear that one of the photos she choose was taken by an audience member.

Musically I loved hearing The Partisan in Irish given it is already sung in English and French by Cohen. While I of course know all the words to Cohen’s songs, it wasn’t as easy as I thought to follow them in Irish so I was grateful for the lyrics on-screen to help me translate in my mind. The Tower of Song was one of the highlights with everyone of stage looking happy and even had the organiser of the show dancing in the aisles!

After taking a bow the band returned to position for one final song and indeed one of my favourites, Hey That’s No Way To Say Goodbye. This sounded great in Irish and I loved it as a final song.

Leaving aside the couple of niggles in the first half I have to say overall it was a very enjoyable night and I loved hearing Cohen’s songs performed in Irish. Everyone on stage did a great job of honoring his songs and the backdrop where there was often images of Cohen on-screen paid him a great honour. As my Irish is almost non-existent I can’t comment to how accurate the translations were. While leaving the venue I was impressed to hear numerous conversations about the night spoken in Irish and this was from many different groups of people! Heading back to my hotel I hope that this concert won’t be a once off and that Túr Na nAmhrán: The Cohen Project returns to stage in the future.

Setlist:

Suzanne
So Long Marianne
Hallelujah
Bird On The Wire
Democracy
Darkness
Diamonds In The Mine
Everybody Knows
Dance Me To The End Of Love

Anthem
First We Take Manhattan
The Future
Banjo
The Partisan
Famous Blue Raincoat
Tower Of Song

Hey That’s No Way To Say Goodbye.

Leonard Cohen Kilmainham Concerts Review

When it was announced that the legendary Leonard Cohen would be gracing the stage in Kilmainham once again I was very excited as I had missed his first series of concerts in the venue in 2008. It was those concerts which had convinced Leonard that there was still an audience for his songs, so for him to be returning there was something I was going to cherish, and it was an easy quick decision to go to all four concerts. I’d made a personal vow after having to miss the 2nd concert in Lissadell in 2010 that I would never miss a concert by Leonard in Ireland again.

I am often asked how can I go to multiple concerts of the same artist but for me each of Leonard’s concerts are unique and every Leonard concert is special so I just knew I’d enjoy each and every minute of these four concerts. A lot has happened on my Cohen journey since that night in Lissadell including meeting him in Las Vegas and Ghent, so to witness the magic in my own country again was something I really relished.

Heading into the first concert on Tuesday night I was very impressed with the organisers for having a an archway for us to walk through with the words “Everybody Knows That The Dice Are Loaded” written on it with Leonard’s name and unified hearts at either end. Only in Ireland would we get a welcome like that! In fact I was impressed with the layout of the venue with nice placements of coloured flags and two huge hangings either side of the stage welcoming Leonard, one with the immortal line from Anthem “There’s a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in” and the other a line from the Book of Longing, ” You go your way, I’ll go your way too”.

Every night has its own individual highlights and for me it kept getting better and better as the week went on. Tuesday was special for being the first night.  I don’t think any song would ever surpass Hallelujah as a personal favourite moment at a Leonard concert and I’ll never tire of watching Leonard sing this song live and every night last week it was as sublime as ever. On the first night my other personal highlights included Light As The Breeze which we also heard the following night. So Long Marianne is always a highlight as I love the sing-a-long and adoration from the audience for Leonard. It is plain to see everyone on the stage also enjoys this song live. Famous Blue Raincoat and Bird On The Wire are also personal favourites as in the afore-mentioned Anthem where Leonard introduces each band member in turn. It is something I never tire of hearing and I got amused looks from my neighbours on the final night when I was mouthing the words as Leonard spoke them.

A slight irritant during the first night was the constant flow of people walking up to the stage to try to take photos and while I do try to let nothing distract me from the magic on stage it was hard to block this out because my seat was beside the aisle, and it was blocking my line of vision. However I did find it funny when during Take This Waltz the stewards were trying to remove people and the then started waltzing with the stewards!

Night two had a different feel for me and my seats were now for the remaining concerts in the centre block so no flow of people constantly blocking the view! I was also further back the second night but this allowed me to witness a gorgeous sunset, and also see the stars while I listened to the magic on stage. The set list remained almost the same with the exception of the inclusion of The Webb Sisters singing If It Be Your Will and exclusion of I Can’t Forget. However as I stated no two Leonard concerts are ever the same for me, and he could sing the same songs every night and I’d still be happy. Of course it is great to hear different songs performed and I do have favourites I’ve never heard him sing, however when every song every night is performed to perfection I find that I am never in a position to complain about what songs are performed!

Before the concert at sound check I and some friends spoke with Leonard before he went in to do the sound check so I was feeling a lot more emotional on this night than I was on the first. Sisters of Mercy was the first song to bring the tears as I love the line “If your life is a leaf that the seasons tear off and condemn, they will bind you with love that is graceful and green as a stem.” Leonard sang this song every night in Dublin which pleased me as it isn’t one he always sings. It was a beautiful moment for me when during Night Comes On there were stars above us. This is another of my favourites and I am pleased to see that it is becoming a regular at the concerts now as it was only performed once on the previous tour.

While I mention many times how brilliant Leonard is I must state that compliment is extended to everyone on stage. I am loving the addition of Alexandru Bublitchi to the band. The violin is an instrument that really compliments Leonard’s songs. Mitch Watkins as lead guitarist is excellent and Javier Mas is always sublime on his solos on Who By Fire and the Gypsy’s Wife. I adore The Webb Sisters singing If It Be Your Will and it almost always has me in floods of tears and I am really enjoying hearing them perform Coming Back To You on this tour. It is a lovely touch having the bass player Roscoe Beck stand behind them with the upright bass for this song. As the musical director for Leonard’s concert he is normally positioned to the right of Leonard where Leonard will notify him of any song changes and he then spreads the word. Neil Larsen as always was amazing on his solos during Hallelujah and I love that on this tour Leonard brings the entire band to the centre of the stage for The Partisan and we see Neil playing the accordion.

As usual for the encores we all raced to the stage but we couldn’t enter the front row, because in attendance was our President Michael D Higgins. I’ve always being a huge admirer and had met him on the campaign trail for the presidency. I have to say I did find it amusing thinking of him watching and listening to Leonard perform Democracy and I’m Your Man in the main part of the show. For the encores I was initially standing at the end of that section of the front row but an over enthusiastic woman beside me was banging me against the side of the chair so I asked the person at the end of the second row if he wouldn’t mind could I stand in front of him and seeing my discomfort he kindly allowed me to do so. This made for a very memorable moment for me when after First We Take Manhattan those sitting stood and the President sat first and looked along the row of seats and on seeing me started waving and smiling. I was in complete shock that he actually remembered me from a previous brief meeting at a debate during the presidential campaign. I certainly wasn’t expecting that! At the end of the concert I went and shook his hand. This made for a very special ending to the second concert for me and I spent all of Famous Blue Raincoat and If It Be Your Will in tears!

After speaking with Leonard before the second sound check and wanting other people be able to have the precious memories of a moment with him I just shook his hand on Friday and then went to find a good spot to see and hear the sound check. While a friend and I were watching through a hole in the fence the wind came along and blew the fence on top of us. We found it highly amusing that the wind gave us a lovely clear view but alas the fence was soon repaired. Having missed the sound check through losing track of time the first day and having heard Leonard had sung The Guests I was delighted when he sang it again. This song has yet to be sung on the tour or indeed any concert I’ve attended. We also heard some tour favourites but special for me was hearing Hey That’s No Way To Say Goodbye. The last time I had heard Leonard sing this song was at the concert in Katowice in 2010. I was very happy when the song was then sung during the last two Kilmainham concerts! Also sung in the sound check on Friday was Anyhow, an interesting different version we’d never heard before.

The concert on Friday provided me with a great view of the stage in the 5th row so no more distractions from those who were there to wander around and I could concentrate fully on Leonard and the band. It was a happy occasion with many smiles coming from the stage and as always many wonderful performances. Sharon Robinson was sublime on Alexandra Leaving. The more I hear her singing this song the more I enjoy it. As Leonard always states in his band introductions Sharon has co-wrote many of his great songs including this one. She is an expert at crafting wonderful tunes to match the words of Leonard and I’ve always valued her contribution to his work. Different Sides made its first Kilmainham concert appearance as did Hey That’s No Way To Say Goodbye which pleased me no end. I was also pleased to hear the only performance of the week of I Tried To Leave You as in the song every band member has their own solo during this song and I love when Rafael Gayol throws his drumstick in the air before catching it. I have yet to see him drop it! He is often hidden from view from the audience behind his drums but his contribution is immense as it takes a special talent to be a drummer in a Leonard Cohen concert and I love Leonard’s description of him as the master of precision in the band introductions. We all loved when before Take This Waltz Leonard quoted something which included the line “Let my people dance” This was obviously a comment to the stewards to allow us dance in the aisles during this song as we made our way to the stage for the encores.  I’ve since discovered the origins of these words are from the song Go Down Moses which Leonard edited to suit the occasion changing the words “Let My People Go” to “Let My People Dance” It was a touching moment from Leonard to all of us which he repeated the following night.

All too soon it was the final day of Leonard’s Dublin concerts. Even though I consider every Leonard concert perfection last week each night got better and better and for me the final concert was the best but that is partly due to personal reasons. I had decided the day before I would present Leonard with two red roses before the sound check from me and my friend who was always with me when I met him but as she lives in Scotland she had to miss the final two concerts. After Leonard had spent time with other people I gave them to him thanking him for the memories of a wonderful week. During the sound check while taking photos over the fence I noticed them on the stage. I was so touched by this and was completely amazed on entering the venue that night that they were still there along with a gift of a statue of Cúchulainn from another fan. After taking a photo of it on entering the venue I went for a walk in a daze only to meet Charlie Bird, Ireland’s best known news reporter and one I’ve always had a huge respect for. I told him this mentioning documentaries he had made and he kindly posed for a photo. Other well known people in attendance during the week included Glen Hansard and Niall Stokes.

For the concert my seat was in the centre which was perfect as it allowed me get a lot of photos of Leonard performing my favourite songs with my roses in the background of them. It is hard for me to convey in words how special to me this is. My own personal delight aside this concert was amazing and for me it is a very close second favourite to that wonderful night in Lissadell. The crowd seemed a lot more respectful or maybe it was just my position but I noticed very little movement from the audience. The setlist was very similar to the previous night but given Leonard’s act of kindness I was an emotional wreck and spent most of the first half in tears. Songs like Who By Fire which I normally never shed tears for had them streaming down my face. Leonard and his band were in as usual top form and like he promises at the start of every concert he gave it everything he had.

After Leonard performs I’m Your Man he normally sings Hallelujah but on Saturday night he had a treat for us between these songs and we heard a wonderful playful version of Anyhow (different from the version sung in sound check the previous day). This was the tour premiere of this song and indeed first ever performance in concert as it is from his latest album Old Ideas. On the album one would never associate it as a song to be laughed at, but between the twinkle in Leonard’s eyes and the way he sang it we had to laugh. It made for a wonderful memory for the final concert in Ireland this year. Before singing Anyhow Leonard thanked those of us who had attended all four concerts, those who travelled long distances and the people of Dublin for their hospitality. Even though he is a world famous singer/songwriter and poet Leonard remains humble and always appreciates the applause and respect he receives.

Hallelujah following this was amazing as always and I savoured every second of hearing my favourite song live for the last time for a while. As I was in the middle of my row I had asked everyone beside me to allow me move out at the start of Take This Waltz so I could make my way to the front for the encores while we stood waiting we were told we could only stand if we were actually waltzing by one of the stewards to our amusement and of course we obliged. We then took the coveted barrier positions for the encores and for what was my favourite So Long Marianne of the week. Everyone on stage was smiling as we all were backing singers to Leonard. The final song on the night and of our magical four nights in Kilmainham was Closing Time and how special this was when Leonard invited members of his crew to join him and the band on stage at the end of the song. It was a wonderful gesture which to my knowledge hasn’t happened since the final concerts of the previous tour in Las Vegas.

And there the journey ends for now. As I reflect on what was a wonderful week I continue to remind myself how grateful I am to be on this planet at the same time as Leonard Cohen.

Review: Leonard Cohen Tour Premiere: Ghent, August 12th & 14th 2012

When Leonard Cohen announced in March he was going back on tour I could hardly contain my excitement. After the amazing memories of the previous tour and especially meeting and speaking with him in Las Vegas for another tour to be announced was incredible. After some discussion with my friend as to which European city we would go to we both decided that the idea of having the chance to be at the tour premiere was something neither of us could resist. So it was off to Belgium last Saturday morning for the first two concerts of the tour which were happening on August 12th and 14th. Since the last tour Cohen has released a new album, Old Ideas and also some of the band members have changed so we were very excited to hear the new sound on old favourites and also to hear some of the new songs performed live.

As the concerts were outdoors we were able to take the opportunity to listen to both sound checks and while I am not sure if we heard all of it for the opening concert we certainly did for the second concert. It was an awesome feeling to listen knowing in a few hours we would also witness the magic. Songs we heard on the first sound check included Avalanche (which wasn’t sung live at either concert but both sound checks), The Future, Bird On The Wire and Light As The Breeze.

After sound check my excitement levels were off the scale as we waited the few hours for show time and it was so worth the wait. Cohen and his wonderful band were in fine form and they were as good if not better than in the previous tour. As is traditional with Leonard Cohen in concert he began with Dance Me to the End of Love and the addition of Alexandru Bublitchi on violin really added to the magic on this song and indeed on many songs. After listening to the 1988 tour I was looking forward to the addition of the violin since the announcement was made. I also enjoyed the addition of Mitch Watkins on lead guitar. There was a whole new dimension to the band and while I loved the line-up on the previous tour I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the new sound. After the first song Cohen thanked us for coming and then said “I think that we’re going to, with the help of G-d and two policemen, we’re going to keep on going to the wheelchair’s rust.” This sounded good to us as thankfully Cohen is still at the top of his game!

Trying to pick individual highlights in a Cohen concert for me is extremely hard as he and the band perform everything to perfection and always give 100% to the audience. However stand out moments of the first half of the concert included when Mike Scoble, Cohen’s tour manager played harmonica during Darkness. I joked to my friend that with his hat and glasses he looked like Van Morrison! Bird On The Wire is always a highlight for me as it is one of my favourite Cohen songs. I Can’t Forget was also stand out as I had never heard it live personally before. It was very special the first night wondering what song was going to be next. There will always be a core set of songs Cohen will perform at nearly all, if not all concerts and I was waiting to see if any of my favourites had got removed after the last tour and I was pleased to hear they hadn’t! Of course if they had I would never complain as Cohen gives us so much each night and since both concerts I attended this week were just under the 4 hour mark I don’t think anyone is in a position to complain about song choice. In fact each night there was 33 songs sung which from a man of 77 that is incredible.

Following on from the previous tour we had the traditional ending to the first half where Cohen performed Anthem with those wonderful lines “Ring the bells that still can ring, forget your perfect offering, there is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in” before introducing the band.

After a discussion between friends about what we all thought of the first half where we all agreed it was brilliant it was time to sit back and enjoy the second half of the concert. Also in keeping with tradition Cohen opened the second half with Tower of Song. Featuring Cohen on keyboards it is always such a fun song.

There are many more highlights to take from this; again all songs were performed to perfection. My personal highlight at a Leonard Cohen concert is always going to be Hallelujah. As I have stated many times for me this is the greatest song ever written and I can never get through a Cohen concert without this song reducing me to tears. Sitting watching Cohen sing this live while I watch is something I will never get enough of and I love the added magic by Neil Larson on keyboards. The Partisan was a special moment as Cohen brought the entire band as close as possible to each other and it was good to see Larson down from behind his keyboard with the accordion. Other stand out moments for me included The Webb Sister’s singing If It Be Your Will and Coming Back To You where Roscoe Beck stood behind them with the stand-up bass guitar. The musical director, Roscoe Beck is one of my favourite members of the band. I also loved when during Democracy Cohen played the jew harp which I confess I had never heard of before!

The magical first night was closed with Waiting For The Miracle. It is indeed a miracle that someone of Cohen’s age can deliver such an amazing concert and he puts nearly everyone else on the concert circuit to shame, the only exception I can think of to this rule is Bruce Springsteen who is also legendary at giving long concerts.

After a day of rest it was time for take two and first up was the second sound check. Cohen was on stage for an hour and a half and sang eight songs; going over some a few times making sure they were perfect. The songs included Night Comes On which is one of my favourite Cohen songs but one which he only sang in concert once on the last tour and he didn’t perform it in the concert this time either. He also sang Chelsea Hotel # 2 and Field Commander Cohen during the sound check and at my time of writing he has still to perform these songs in concert. An added dimension to this sound check was that it started raining and the owner of a shop invited us to go to the second floor of his shop where it was dry and more importantly to us we could see the stage from up there. Cohen had left the stage at this point but we were able to witness The “sublime” Webb Sisters singing Coming Back To You and If It Be Your Will. When the offer was made to go upstairs I didn’t even notice what shop we were in until my friend pointed out it was a DVD porn shop. I thought it both genius and hilarious when during the concert she dubbed the shop Tower of Porn after the song by Cohen Tower of Song.

After such a long sound check we were really excited for the concert and what treats awaited us and there were plenty. Once again we were spellbound by a wonderful almost four hours of show time and again nearly every song was a highlight. However Hallelujah aside (of course) I have to say the stand out song was Light As The Breeze. This is a beautiful song from the album The Future and before this tour Cohen has never performed it live so to hear the first ever live in concert version of this song and probably the first ever sound check of it too was amazing. This was sung in the first half and we also heard the only other new song change from the first night, Banjo which Cohen dedicated to the people of New Orleans.

Other first half highlights included and indeed this counts for these songs on the first night too, Javier Mas’ wonderful as always solo on Who By Fire and also hearing Different Sides, my favourite song from the new album Old Ideas. I love the two lines “We come from different sides of a line that nobody drew” and “Frankly I don’t like your tone”. I also loved hearing Bird On The Wire, The Future and Come Healing.

While we didn’t hear any songs not performed the night before in the second half it was still outstanding and when I saw the first concert I wondered how it could possibly improve but it actually did for me. I felt that Sharon Robinson singing Alexandra Leaving was better the second night and I also felt Mitch Watkins was more at ease the second night. This is of course understandable! I was delighted to hear Heart With No Companion sang on both nights and also Crazy To Love You. So Long Marianne is a close second for me to Hallelujah and it is always a highlight at any concert of Cohen’s. Another guaranteed highlight for me is Famous Blue Raincoat. I Tried To Leave You is always special as we get a solo from every musician in this song and Rafael Gayol demonstrates he is an excellent drummer here. Drumming to Cohen’s songs take a special kind of magic as it could easily be overdone but he has it perfected. Cohen rarely sings songs in concert by other artists but a new addition this tour is The Drifters song, Save The Last Dance For Me. This proved to be a popular song to the audience.

I could name every song sung as being brilliant as I love them all and Cohen and his band perform to perfection. It should also be noted the wonderful crew Cohen has as I have never witnessed such perfect lighting and sound as I have at his concerts and I was pleased to see this continued from the previous tour.

Music aside we also have other memorable moments from the first two concerts of the tour. On the first night it was arranged via Facebook that there would be a message for Cohen held up by the front row at the start of the concert and then as many of us as possible would be holding up the Unified Heart symbol in red printed on A4 sheets of paper. The message read “Dear Leonard Thank You For Touching Our Souls With Your Music”. There was another huge sign made by a fan for the encores which we held up when we moved to the barriers that read “Europe Is crazy For You Welcome Back”. Cohen was delighted with this and while thanking us at the end of the night he acknowledged it. On the second night there was much excitement at the front of the audience when just before show time Adam Cohen, Leonard Cohen’s son arrived for the show. Also I loved when during First We Take Manhattan the audience yelled “Then We Take Berlin” for every chorus to the amusement of everyone on stage.

As I reflect back on a wonderful two concerts and write this “War and Peace” report I am so grateful I had the opportunity to attend these concerts. It was a wonderful experience where as usual I went from one emotion to the next in the space of a few seconds. Cohen’s lyric in So Long Marianne is appropriate to me at his concerts “We laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again”, sometimes both at once. Next concerts for me are when the tour comes to Dublin in September and after the magic of Ghent I know we are all in for a memorable time and I await that with much anticipation.

Review: Adam Cohen @ The Summer Music Festival Brussels

When it was announced that Adam Cohen would be playing in concert in Brussels on August 13th on the free day for us between his father Leonard Cohen’s concerts that we were attending in Ghent we couldn’t resist the chance to be there as it was only an hour on the train between the two cities. Cohen was playing as part of the Brussels Summer Festival in a tent called Magic Mirrors.

After arriving good and early so I would be at the front everyone was sitting relaxing when Cohen and his two band members Michael Chaves and Mai Bloomfield came on stage. I was very surprised when everyone remained sitting and initially that annoyed me as sitting on the floor isn’t very comfortable for me. However after a while I came to enjoy this as it added a very intimate feel to the concert and I was pleased to see Cohen had attracted a decent crowd as the act before his hadn’t!

Cohen was on stage for an hour and we got to hear songs from his album Like A Man including Lie Alone, Sweet Dominique and Beautiful which he wrote for his son. I hadn’t listened to this album in a while so it was like revisiting an old friend and I really enjoyed it.

For anyone who had been at his father’s concert the previous night there were two very special treats awaiting us. After the first song Cohen asked us would we prefer he spoke in English or French and when there seemed to be an equal number if shouts he decided to speak in French so I didn’t really understand what he was saying when he mentioned his father but when I heard him say the words Mike Scoble I was delighted as he is both Cohen’s tour managers and the previous night he had joined Leonard Cohen on stage for Darkness where he played harmonica. This time he joined Adam Cohen, again on harmonica but this time to perform Leonard Cohen’s song Tower Of Song. As a rule I am not a fan of people singing Leonard’s songs, however for Adam I make an exception as I love him as a singer too and feel that he gets how his father’s songs should be treated!

As special as this moment was it was nothing to what our next treat was. Again Cohen was speaking French but when I heard the words Javier Mas I could hardly contain my excitement. Mas is a full time member of Leonard Cohen’s band and is the master of stringed instruments and is famous in concert at playing amazing solos especially during Who By Fire. He joined Adam Cohen on stage to perform another of his father’s songs and indeed one of my favourites, So Long Marianne. It sounded amazing and watching from such a close location was a very special moment for me. I had spoken to Javier Mas earlier in the day and that added to the magic of the moment.

These moments and once again seeing Adam Cohen in concert made for a memorable evening which was topped off after with as he often does a meet and greet with anyone who wished to speak with him. I was very touched when he remembered me from our last meeting. I also spoke briefly to Michael Chaves, a gentleman. It always impresses me how the Cohen’s musicians and crews are as amazing as they are. The whole evening was very enjoyable and we left Brussels to go back to Ghent with great memories to take with us.