CONCERT REPORT: Fredericton, NB (May 11)

[langmaid]

This is my review from today's edition of The Daily Gleaner. The show did not end untuil after press time on Subsday, but we gave the world that first great photo taken by Ray Bourgeois in yesterday's edition.



http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/live ... cle/294101


Leonard Cohen wows Fredericton




C3

By WILFRED LANGMAID
For The Daily Gleaner

Tuesday, May 13, 2008







It was the most unlikely of scenarios.

Sony BMG artist Leonard Cohen had not been on tour in a decade-and-a-half, and he is almost 74. He announced a world tour in March, and that got worldwide attention. News that the tour would begin in small venues - and that the first stop would be Fredericton - was a minor miracle. The show sold out in minutes.

Most people expected quite a few hiccups on opening night. Many people expected a relatively short show, all things considered. Some people thought that the show would be rather weak, but it would still be a chance to see a legend.

These people were all wrong.

Leonard Cohen came to the stage at The Playhouse at 8:05 p.m. on Sunday night. Six male musicians and three female vocalists preceded him, and the place burst into two minutes of standing applause. After some comments of warmth toward the city that has taken him to heart these last few days despite "all the troubles of the swollen river," declaring "the hospitality has been impeccable," he kicked into the 1984 track Dance Me To The End Of Love.

He left the stage almost three hours later as his band played the final strains of Closing Time from his 1992 album The Future.

The energy and strength of Cohen was really the evening's most pleasant surprise. He was in fine voice all night long, and his enthusiasm never flagged over a 20-song performance.

He admitted some nervousness after the warm response to his second track, quipping "I was kind of nervous. It's the first time I've done this in 14 years. I was 60 years old the last time - just a kid with a crazy dream."

However, he loosened up quickly, and was fully engaged by the fourth track, a stretched out version of 1969's Bird On The Wire.

He dabbled in guitar on some songs, such as 1967's Suzanne early in set two, and had some fun with a keyboard on the second set opener Tower Of Song from 1988.

It is said that The Playhouse has never seen a more extensive arsenal of equipment, and the sound was impeccable. Roscoe Beck (bass & vocals, music director), Neil Larsen (keyboard, accordion, brass instruments), Bob Metzger (guitar, steel guitar & vocals), Javier Mas (acoustic guitar, oud &. string instruments), Rafael Gayol (drums & percussion) and Dino Soldo (keyboard, saxophone, wind instruments & vocals) were all master musicians who delivered nary a wasted note.

Beck's arrangements were sometimes jarringly inventive - such as the move of So Long Marianne from his 1967 debut album Songs Of Leonard Cohen from ¾ time to a 4/4 with some cadence shifts - but everything worked like a charm.

Mas and Larsen were bedrock musicians in the team. Mas' skills with 12-string guitar, oud, and other stringed instruments were intense beyond description, while the Hammond B3 work of Larsen on some songs was especially key.

Of the backing vocalists, the shining star was Sharon Robinson. She has sung with him off and on through the years, and was co-credited with him on his 2001 album Ten New Songs.

Speculation as to the set list was rampant amongst fans worldwide before the show. The answer was given in a concert of two eight-song sets and four encores.

The concert was heavy on his material from three consecutive albums - three songs from 1984's Various Positions, six songs from 1988's I'm Your Man, and four songs from 1992's The Future.

Besides the three songs from the 1960s, there were two from the 2001 album Ten New Songs and none from 2004's Dear Heather.

There were only two songs in total from his four albums of the 1970s. However, they were showstoppers - a late first set version of 1974's Who By Fire and an early second set version of 1979's The Gypsy's Wife.

Cohen played the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium in Halifax last night. His tour continues there tonight. Before it is all said and done, he will headline at the United Kingdom's Glastonbury Festival on June 29 for 150,000 fans. The Montreux Jazz Festival and Spain's Bennicasim are also on the schedule.

However, it all started here Sunday night.

Set list from Cohen's Sunday night concert at The Playhouse
Set one

Dance Me To The End Of Love

The Future

Ain't No Cure For Love

Bird On The Wire

Everybody Knows

In My Secret Life

Who By Fire

Anthem

Set two

Tower Of Song

Suzanne

Gypsy Wife

Boogie Street

Hallelujah

Democracy

I'm Your Man

Take This Waltz

Encores

Heart With No Companion

So Long, Marianne

First We Take Manhattan

Closing Time

[Yaanon]

I would like to echo Tom Sakic's question: Which version of Hallelujah did Leonard sing? The album version, the Cohen Live version, combination?

[libraryref]

One surprise of the Fredericton show was that there was no "official merchandise" for sale. At least, I didn't see any.

There is merchandise coming - but it may take some time until the items are available (until the European leg of the tour begins????)

what??


nooooooooooo

I think perhaps it was a good thing that there was no stuff for sale in Fredericton. The lobby is VERY small. It would have been a difficult scene for everyone had there been merchandise. I wanted to buy some, of course. Perhaps I can when I see the show in Toronto on June 6.

[Darling]

I wish I'd had a better attitude towards studying French in school. Of the 20 songs he played I think he introduced up to 18 of them in French.

Je t'aime Leonard! Toi aussi, Steve!

[bruinsy19]

I don't know how Leonard could choose to play Boogie Street over A Thousand Kisses Deep and I would love to hear The Land of Plenty but not much one can do.I don't particularly care for Ain't No Cure for Love,Who By Fire,First We Take Manhattan and would prefer say Famous Blue Raincoat,Last Year's Man and Waiting For The Miracle but that's life I guess.

[Joe Way]

Hi Tom,
You are certainly right about the influence of the band on the set list. I can guarantee you that "Gypsy Wife" was added because of the beautiful fretless bass that Roscoe Beck contributes. Same way for "Who By Fire"-Javier Mas and his oud. I suspect that Bob Metzger's guitar work and in particular his pedal steel guitar work is featured in a number of songs. In 2002, when we went to Hydra, we stopped in Turkey and fortunately met a great Cohen fan there. I sent her a copy of the Austin City Limits show and she told me that she focused entirely on Bob Metzger's guitar work. I had the opportunity to tell him this story in New York, and he told me that he had given his copy of Austin City Limits to his car mechanic.

In part of the discussion (in which he said that Leonard wanted to play some small venues in the Maritimes)-he said that the he had encouraged Leonard to do a different version of
"Suzanne" in which a few other instruments were allowed. Leonard apparently said, "Look, two generations have lost their virginity to this song and it has to be done right." So we still have Leonard with his classical guitar and sparse accompaniment (and, perhaps, virgins are falling everywhere!).

What a wonderful time!

Joe

[tomsakic]

Hallellujah is on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZWCgwzQ_4g

Complete accound, diretc acces to all Fredericton clips: http://www.youtube.com/user/RansomNoteMusic

(Thank you, man)

[Tri-me2]

He sang his version I think Tom, definetly not the version they sing at the Unitarian Fellowship you can see it here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9FpJ-xq7-g

I did see a camera for photos but not a film camera. I was suprised that the historic tour is not being filmed. Do you know if there are plans to film at any time?

I was told when I bought my tickets that the first three rows were reserved. I did not say anything in the forum because it did not make sense to say anything. I spotted a friend of mine in the second row so I asked her how she got her seats. She told me she waited in line. Nice, I was so happy to hear that the rows were reserved for the people who did not get front of line priveledges. The people who lined up had crappy weather to deal with.

People are ssaying that there were people from Europe in the audience, it would be nice to hear from them in this thread to see where you all came from

[Mollydog]

The June 23rd concert in Montreal is going to be recorded. It's printed on my precious ticket. I haven't heard about any other concerts.

[William]

Langmaid wrote:
"The show did not end untuil after press time on Subsday, but we gave the world that first great photo taken by Ray Bourgeois in yesterday's edition"

Two questions - (1) do you have a local calendar over there that has Subsday on it? (2) Is your photographer middle-class?

Molly-dog wrote:
"The June 23rd concert in Montreal is going to be recorded. It's printed on my precious ticket. I haven't heard about any other concerts."
Molly,old girl, there are dozens of other concerts, right across Canada and Europe - have a look at the list elsewhere on this site. Did you think Montreal was the only one Leonard was doing? You lead a sheltered life.

God bless,
William

[ForYourSmile]

I do not know what I can write without repeat and repeat again the said: thank you. To those who write these reports, to whoever that upload the videos to YouTube, to YouTube, to who recorded it in the concert (it is not allowed but I love them), to who takes photos. To this site where I can read all this, to Leonard because he looks happy, to the band for its fantastic sound, to....

[tomsakic]

I am listening to Hallellujah right now. It's mesmerizing. He sings FIRST VERSION plus then new (1988/1993)verses!!! I have to compare it to Cale/Buckley full version yet, but he's finally doing it! Unfortunately the clip stops before the end.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZWCgwzQ_4g

[upsofloating]

Langmaid wrote:
"The show did not end untuil after press time on Subsday, but we gave the world that first great photo taken by Ray Bourgeois in yesterday's edition"

Two questions - (1) do you have a local calendar over there that has Subsday on it? (2) Is your photographer middle-class?

Molly-dog wrote:
"The June 23rd concert in Montreal is going to be recorded. It's printed on my precious ticket. I haven't heard about any other concerts."
Molly,old girl, there are dozens of other concerts, right across Canada and Europe - have a look at the list elsewhere on this site. Did you think Montreal was the only one Leonard was doing? You lead a sheltered life.

God bless,
William

It's pretty obvious that she meant other concerts being RECORDED. Look before you attempt to patronize.

[Mollydog]

Langmaid wrote:
"The show did not end untuil after press time on Subsday, but we gave the world that first great photo taken by Ray Bourgeois in yesterday's edition"

Two questions - (1) do you have a local calendar over there that has Subsday on it? (2) Is your photographer middle-class?

Molly-dog wrote:
"The June 23rd concert in Montreal is going to be recorded. It's printed on my precious ticket. I haven't heard about any other concerts."
Molly,old girl, there are dozens of other concerts, right across Canada and Europe - have a look at the list elsewhere on this site. Did you think Montreal was the only one Leonard was doing? You lead a sheltered life.

God bless,
William

It's pretty obvious that she meant other concerts being RECORDED. Look before you attempt to patronize.

Thanks very much for this. You're right, that's exactly what I meant. I must admit I was pretty taken aback by William's reply. I'm new to the forum and up to now had thought people were very civil.

[Rabbit]

Thanks very much for this. You're right, that's exactly what I meant. I must admit I was pretty taken aback by William's reply. I'm new to the forum and up to now had thought people were very civil.

Mollydog, never mind William. He's in a minority. Most people here are very civil, and united in our love of Leonard.

Maybe William, too, is civil, but he was just having a bad day.