On saturday night, I experienced, the man.
I discovered Leonard Cohen when I was a teenager. I heard his voice and was blown away. I found his arrangements strange, almost archaic. Here was a man who sang in his distinctive deep voice, surrounded by cheap sounding synths, cooing women. It was all so idiosyncratic. I didn't always get it, but I knew I had found something special.
As I got older, I discovered his earlier work, I learned to understand the subtleties of his prose, of his delivery. I was fascinated how a jew was obsessed with distinctively christian icons and had become a buddhist monk. The man was obviously on a journey and wanted to understand it. He told us about, so that when he spoke, he would understand it himself.
When news hit that Cohen was coming to town, I knew I had to get tickets. Two shows were announced with gold seating at $125.00 (which I would have paid in a heartbeat) and regular seating at $87.00. When the tickets went on sale, the first two shows sold out in less than an hour. They soon added a third, then a fourth and even a fifth show, the latter being the one I attended.
I was in the tenth row. He came out, bowed to the audience. He was thinner than I expected, in a well tailored double breasted suit. He smiled to the audience, an air of beneficence on his face. He opened with Dance Me To The End Of Love. His voice was still there. Deep, sandy, frighteningly soft.
He sang most of his well known songs from the 80's and 90's ("Anthem", "Democracy", "Everbody Knows") and the 60's ("Suzanne", "Bird on a Wire", the latter which was wonderfully arranged). He also sang a few new songs, and recited a poem or two.
In the 2nd part of the show, he came out on stage, pressed a button on an old Yamaha keyboard and began to sing this. When he played the small flourishes on the keys between the verses, the audience applauded and cheered. He smiled, embarassed, moved and humbled. It spoke of the reverence the audience had for him, for his voice, his songs, his craft.
He was gracious. He was tremendous. He did three encores.
And I am glad I was able to see him.
Note: I only have a small caveat. When he sang "Anthem", he changed the lyric of "Give me crack and anal sex" to "Give me crack and dangerous sex". I was a bit shocked. I wanted to hear the man sing about anal sex.
In honour of Cohen's coming to Hali, I played a bunch of his songs on the May 13th episode of Moody Morning Music. I hope you enjoy it
Gonzales, "Overnight", Solo Piano
Jose Gonzales, "Killing for love", In Our Nature
Old Man Luedecke, "Just like a river", Proof Of Love
Leonard Cohen, "Suzanne", Song of
Rufus Wainwright, "Chelsea Hotel No.2", I'm your man
Leonard Cohen, "If it be your will", Various Positions
Antony, "If it be your will", I'm your man
John Cale, "Hallelujah"
Leonard Cohen, "Tower of Song", I'm your man
Grizzly Bear, "Knife", Yellow House
Wolf Parade, "The Grey estates", At Mount Zoomer
The Long Blondes, "Erin O'Connor", Couples
Heloise & Savoir Faire, "Illusions", Trash, Rats &Microphones
Radiohead, "15 Steps", In Rainbows
Gnarls Barkley, "Who's gonna save my soul", The Odd Couple
Modeselektor, "The Dark Side of the sun (feat. Puppetmastaz)", Happy Birthday
Crystal Castles, "Untrust Us", S/T
Hot Chip, "One Pure Thought", Made IN The Dark
Hercules & Love Affair, ""Raise Me Up", S/T
Holy Fuck, "Super Intuit", LP
MSTRKRFT, 'VuuVuu", Bounce EP
BoysNoize, "Lava Lava", Oi Oi Oi Remixed
Moody Morning Music for May 20th, 2008.
Enjoy
Gonzales, "Overnight", Solo Piano
Jose Gonzales, "Time to send someone away", In Our Nature
Sun Kill Moon, "Moorestown, April
Old Man Luedecke, "Wake up Hill", Proof Of Love
Islands, "The Arm", Arm's Way
Wolf Parade, "The grey estates", At Mount Zoomer
Superfantastics, "Lullaby Punches", Choose Your Destination
Portishead, "Machine Gun", Third
Thom Yorke, "Harrowdown Hill", The Eraser
Jamie Lidell, "Where'd You Go", Jim
Gnarls Barkley, "Going On", THe Odd Couple
Hercules & Love Affair, "Time Will", S/T
Matmos, "Rainbow Flag", Supreme Balloon
Zapp, "Dance Floor"
Kano, "Now Baby Now (Kotey Edit)", Disco Italia: Essential Italo Disco Classics 1977-1985
Crystal Castles vs Health, "Crimewave", S/T
Thunderheist, "Bubblegum (Hatchmatik Birdflu In June Remix)"
Windom Earle, "Kitten Vs Pegasus", GoldWave
Duchess Says, "Rabies (Baby's got the)", Anthologie des 3 Perchoirs
My favorite Leonard Cohen song, performed by one of my favorite artists, Antony Hegarty
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