CONCERT REPORT: Tampa, FL, October 19th

October 17 - November 13, 2009. Concert reports, set lists, photos, media coverage, multimedia links, recollections...
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sturgess66
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CONCERT REPORT: Tampa, FL, October 19th

Post by sturgess66 »

All right - here we go. :lol: :lol: :lol:

From Twitter -
Seeing Leonard Cohen todayabout 10 hours ago from Echofon
Joeygigglepants About walk on into Leonard Cohen. My list of things to do before I die is quickly shrinking. Which, in turn has me worried. I'm I closer? about 1 hour ago from TwitterBerry
TMacPR waiting for the Leonard Cohen concert to start @TBPAC about 1 hour ago from web
meyergirl Parked my car and on my way in to see leonard cohen. Yay! about 1 hour ago from twidroid
Rachelinezlane Leonard Cohen fans: a pretty klass order bunch. 31 minutes ago from Echofon
Holy Leonard Cohen traffic clusterfuck, Batman!about 1 hour ago from Tweetie
:lol: :lol:
jrgts At Leonard Cohen concert at TBPAC. Heard it's sold out! 37 minutes ago from Twitterrific
dariusj18 At very top right at Leonard Cohen concert. 2 minutes ago from Tweed
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sturgess66
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Re: Tampa Bay PAC - October 19th

Post by sturgess66 »

Finally - a picture
aoibhinn At Leonard Cohen http://twitpic.com/m71y2 11 minutes ago from Echofon
http://twitpic.com/m71y2

We need a little video. :lol: :lol:

Not much from Twitter. I hope they aren't being horrible about camera phones, cameras/pictures & video at the venue. :(

Lots of tweets about Leonard Cohen - but not from or about the Tampa show.
sue7
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Re: Tampa Bay PAC - October 19th

Post by sue7 »

An article from Tampa Bay Online

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/oct/20 ... -breaking/

"Leonard Cohen commands stage

The 75-year-old Leonard Cohen performed at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center's Carol Morsani Hall before a sold-out crowd of 2,590.

By CURTIS ROSS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 20, 2009

TAMPA - With his trim dark suit and a fedora pulled low over his eyes, Leonard Cohen looked less like a poet and singer-songwriter Monday night, more like a veteran song-and-dance man working the boards.

But what song-and-dance man ever entertained us with such terrible truths: "Everybody knows the war is over/Everybody knows the good guys lost." "I've seen the future, brother, it is murder."

Maybe it was for Cohen, whose literary and recording careers scream Art with a capital "A," to acknowledge that the poet is an entertainer, too.

The 75-year-old Cohen fulfilled both roles admirably Monday night at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center's Carol Morsani Hall before a sold-out crowd of 2,590.

(The show, originally scheduled for the St. Pete Times Forum, began while several long lines of patrons still were waiting to get their tickets at Will Call windows.)

The show closely followed the one captured on this year's "Live in London" album, even down to the stage patter, with some changes.

But the similarities made sense given the subtle theatrics of the show, particularly the way the recitation of "A Thousand Kisses Deep" served as the pre-encore climax.

For a performer who has never troubled the Top 40, it was amazing to recall how many of his tunes are familiar to even the casual fan, either through his own versions, remakes by other artists, or their use in films and television.

"Hallelujah" is the most obvious of these, remade by Jeff Buckley, appearing on the "Shrek" soundtrack, even turning up in the repertoire of an "American Idol" hopeful. Cohen and his excellent band played the song as gospel-soul, stripping away the hymnal qualities of Buckley's version.

"The Future" and "Everybody Knows" formed a dystopian tag-team early in the first set, leavened by Cohen's mordant humor. He began "Bird on a Wire" on his knees, possibly to emphasize the song's prayer-like quality, or possibly just to show that his 75-year-old joints still are limber.

The second set began with "Tower of Song," one of Cohen's funniest numbers. The line "I was born with the gift of a golden voice" never fails to get a laugh.

Cohen always has used his limited voice to his advantage, and it's attained even more gravity over the years. His low notes Monday night ventured into didgeridoo territory.

A lengthy set of encores covered most of the remaining bases, including "Famous Blue Raincoat" and "First We Take Manhattan," finally closing with "Whither Thou Goest."

Cohen's excellent band featured his sometimes songwriting partner Sharon Robinson, along with the Webb Sisters, on background vocals; Roscoe Beck on bass; Neil Larsen on keyboards; Bob Metzger on guitar; Javier Mas on a variety of stringed instruments including badurria and laud; Rafael Gayol on drums; and Dino Soldo on woodwinds."
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Tampa, FL, October 19th

Post by sturgess66 »

Thanks Sue. "His low notes Monday night ventured into didgeridoo territory." :lol:

More tweets -
joranslane Just got home from a completely religious and exhausting evening with @leilani79, Jen and Mr. Leonard Cohen. about 7 hours ago from TweetDeck
BIF A playful Leonard Cohen lyric variation tonight in Tampa: "If you want another kind of love, I'll wear this old man mask for you." about 7 hours ago from UberTwitter
LoreaH Just back from Leonard Cohen concert. Amazing man, amazing music- best concert of my life. He played for almost 3 hours. I still wanted more about 8 hours ago from web
mjk1 Absolutely thrilled to see Leonard Cohen Mon @tbpac. The man knows how to work a hat: He used it to signal humility, humor, homage. #Cohen about 8 hours ago from web
BIF RT @nerdland: Seeing Leonard Cohen play "Hallelujah" tonight (and the crowd go insane) was one of my top 5 concert moments ever. about 8 hours ago from UberTwitter
ashleyescott Leonard Cohen show in Tampa was amazing. 100 rows back we prayed in the Tower of Song. about 8 hours ago from Twitterrific
jhwhite Just saw a fabulous Leonard Cohen concert! about 9 hours ago from twidroid
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Tampa, FL, October 19th

Post by sturgess66 »

robertstolpe Leonard Cohen is back in America. His performance in Fort Lauderdale on October 17 was a highlight for my 40 plus years of shows. WOW! GO! 13 minutes ago from web
kafkasaxe Saw Leonard Cohen last night live in Tampa - wow . . . . . . . . . . just . . . . . . . . wow . . . 13 minutes ago from web
heathscove Leonard Cohen playing in town. Blast from the past. Pure poetry. about 6 hours ago from mobile web
And there are a gazillion spam tweets of this one -
IsabellaBlog New & Improved Leonard Cohen Merchandise – Venue-appropriate Headgear: The Venue-Fedora MismatchThe current ser.. http://bit.ly/2R6GhK 29 minutes ago from twitterfeed
I think people were thoroughly frisked before going into this venue last night and all cameras and electric devices were confiscated. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Inspector Javert
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Tampa, FL, October 19th

Post by Inspector Javert »

It was everything I had hoped. I was 4th row dead center and he was in front of me virtually the entire time.
My only disappointment was no Democracy, but virtually everything else I wanted was there.
3+ hours and the audience could have sat for another three.

A few things are really brought home seeing him live, the quality, the length, the gravitas of his songs. It really reinforced how much of his catalog are masterpieces. These aren't 2 minute 50 second pop songs, they are long and lyrically complex and hard-hitting, and there are so many of them, how can one man write that much with meaning? Even though the concert was lengthy there were still incredible songs from his body of work that he hadn't performed. The band was just as incredible as everyone who has seen them had said. It was actually embarrassing in a way, to have that many great songs to perform with that kind of talent, an embarrassment of riches.

Logistical Problems:

My ticket arrived in the mail the day of the concert, I was expecting it at will-call since it was a pre-order. I'm lucky I went home and checked mail, and it even looked like junk-mail, I almost didn't open it. Two of the normal parking lots weren't open resulting in traffic gridlock, and will-call was a nightmare.

Once inside however it was a sublime world of art, musicianship and lyricism. An incredibly diverse and well-behaved respectful audience. Well worth the amount of money spent on the ticket. Maybe in another 15 years I'll get to see him again!
Liamberney
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Tampa, FL, October 19th

Post by Liamberney »

Sturgess....get some rest
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SuzanneT
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Tampa, FL, October 19th

Post by SuzanneT »

For:Inspector Javert
..I waited for news from this part of the Tour and I am pleased that Lenny is in order, in the same form as that in Europe!
His concert I have exactly the same impression, I just did not solve the logistical problem. nejezdím such concerts own car, because then I need some time to absorb the experience and I could not have the concert to sit behind the wheel.
Much greetings send through the sea! ;-)
SuzanneT
P.S. Forgive me my bad English, pleas 8)
What you have now is what you were, and what you will is what you do now...Buddha
Above the graves of those painful sheds tears for the unspoken words and deeds missed...Elizabeth Harriet Beecher Stowe
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Tampa, FL, October 19th

Post by sturgess66 »

Liamberney wrote:Sturgess....get some rest
Thank you. :lol: :lol: :lol:

I actually went to bed early last night. Feeling quite rested today. :D :D

I am working on my computer most of the day - but am about to abandon it now. "Other things" are calling.
ssan
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Tampa, FL, October 19th

Post by ssan »

what a day!

it seemed to me that leonard was enjoying himself more last night. there was a certain playfulness in his delivery of the words, one that made for added intensity. it's not easy to describe the impact of these shows, you know... cordially invited to look at things from the vantage point of the roof garden at the tower of song where mr. leonard cohen is the landscape architect.

unfortunately i have no decent pictures to share with you this time. the guy next to me preferred not to be disturbed by the light from the camera screen and in the spirit of l. cohen i put it back in my pocket for the duration of the show. there's audio from 'closing time' and 'i tried to leave you' which will be up one of these days.
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Tampa, FL, October 19th

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From TampaBay.com - Leonard Cohen "the lithe French Canadian." LOL

http://blogs.tampabay.com/tbt/2009/10/r ... ncert.html
October 20

Review: Crowds Pack In For Leonard Cohen's Majestic Tampa Debut
LC-Tampa.jpg
Leonard Cohen performed his first concert in Tampa Monday night at the prim-and-proper Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. What a surreal night.
The historic sold-out event started with a weird box office ruckus and ended with a five-song encore, affirming Cohen as a living legend. The ruckus: Concert-goers arriving up to 45 minutes before show time were forced to wait in agonizingly slow will call lines 50 people deep and missed the beginning of the concert, which started on time. Only a few employees were on hand to accommodate hundreds of attendees picking up their tickets. People shouted in complaint, occasionally at each other. One man joked, "It’s the St. Pete City Council meeting all over again," referring to a recent tussle between senior citizens at a public meeting in St. Petersburg. Cohen’s three-hour performance more than made up for any initial stress, making the 2,590 oldsters and hipsters in the audience happy. At 75, the lithe French Canadian tuckered out 25- and 35-year-old working stiffs in the audience, practically threatening Springsteen's position as the Boss of epic concert endurance. Wearing his signature suit and fedora – everyone on stage was dressed in smart, quasi-ragtime attire, even the stagehands – Cohen’s performance style went from understated to regal to childlike and animated, swaying back and forth, buckling and kneeling as if overwhelmed by the weight of his words (or conserving energy). Cohen intensely expressed the aching and tender emotion of his lyrics, words about love, loss and redemption. During his encores, he skipped off the stage like a mischievous gypsy. He recited poignant words from his poetry, such as A Thousand Kisses Deep. The concert, split by a 15-minute intermission, offered Cohen classics during both acts. He sang Bird on the Wire during the first half and strapped on a black acoustic for the second half, performing a lovely stripped-down version of Suzanne. For Hallelujah, silver lights bathed the backdrop in a silver heavenly glow – the lighting was indeed a star of the show, as was the crisp and perfect sound.

Cohen’s band featured his "collaborator" of later hits and vocalist extraordinaire, Sharon Robinson and the Webb Sisters (background vocals), Roscoe Beck (musical director and bass), Rafael Gayol (drums, percussion), and Dino Soldo (sax, clarinet, dobro, keys), Sarasota-area homeboy Neil Larsen (keyboards, accordion and Hammond B3 accordion), Bob Metzger (electric, acoustic and pedal steel guitar) and Javier Mas (bandurria, laud, archilaud, 12-string acoustic guitar). The supporting players got more than average due attention from the headliner, with each getting not one but two introductions and several long solos in the spotlight. Cohen reverently tipped his fedora and bowed to each player and singer throughout the show. Guitarist Mas added mandolin-style arpeggios with a 12-string acoustic, and, heck, he even played the mandolin, accenting Cohen’s European folk influences. Mas played a handful of engaging solos, one during Famous Blue Raincoat, which brilliantly enhanced and didn’t overpower the fragile beauty of the song. Sometimes all that talent was almost too much of a good thing – high-gloss meets high class, like we weren’t watching Leonard Cohen in concert but Leonard Cohen in Concert: the Musical! (or some similar Broadway-ish title with an exclamation point). Cohen’s earnest grovel-voiced delivery and modest affections brought it all down to earth. Hallelujah. --

Julie Garisto, tbt*. Photo: Associated Press (not from Monday's show).
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Tampa, FL, October 19th

Post by sturgess66 »

This one from CreativeLoafing.com - and includes a set list. :lol:

http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyl ... ts-center/
Concert review: Leonard Cohen at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center

October 20, 2009 at 5:35 pm by Leilani Polk

Will she cry, or won’t she? Will she cry, or won’t she?
Cohenweb1.jpg
That was the third-person sentence running ’round and ’round my head, referencing myself, as I made my way through the hefty crowd of Leonard Cohen fans who’d come to see the grandmaster of songwriting play Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center this past Monday, October 19. [All photos by Sam Goresh.]

I tend to get sentimental when it comes to music anyway, and my husband had just left town for a month-long journey across America to shoot his Routes Music documentary, so I was feeling rather blue. This was one of the few concerts I’d attended without my other half since we met more than eight years ago, and considering that he was the one who turned me onto Leonard, I wasn’t sure how the music would hit me.

But the longtime troubadour allowed me no opportunity to dwell on my loneliness and managed to lift me up from the gloom in my heart, even making me laugh at various points in the evening.

Debonair as always in his grey pinstripe suit and matching fedora, the 75-year-old held the audience mesmerized with his deep breathy baritone and occasional witty stage banter. He sang against his rootsy, jazz-flavored, gospel-tinged folk rock with his hand alternately cupped around his face or around his mic, at times bending into a crouch to deliver his lyrics from the floor with his trademark self-possessed passion.

But the show wasn’t all about Leonard and it was the man himself who made it that way. He paid much due to his talented bunch of instrumentalists and vocalists all throughout the show, and made it abundantly clear that they were more than simply hired hands, removing his hat and formally bowing to one or a few of them at the end of each number in respectful acknowledgment of their talents, and offering a unique introduction to every one at the end of both sets: musical director/producer/bassist Roscoe Beck (“the shepherd of our ensemble”) on his signature Fender and upright bass, “legendary innovator” Neil Larsen on keys and B3 organ, the “irreplaceable” Bob Metzger on lapsteel, acoustic and electric guitars, multi-string player Javier Mas on badurria, laúd, archilaud and 12-string guitar, “maestro of breath” Dino Soldo on keys and various wind instruments (clarinet, saxophone, harmonica), drummer/percussionist Rafael Gayol “timekeeper and Prince of Precision,” and the backup singers – vocal and composition collaborator Sharon Robinson, and vocalist/string-playing sisters, Hatty and Charlotte Webb.

The trio’s lovely soprano harmonies complemented Leonard’s low tone well and at a few points during the show, Leonard stepped completely out of the spotlight to give them the stage on two of his numbers – Robinson riding solo with her shredded velvet vox, and the Webb sisters doing a dulcet-toned duet with harp and acoustic guitar that was so pure and sweet it hurt my heart. My friend described them as Cohencrouch“pixies from a music box” afterwards and he was dead on.
Cohencrouch.jpg
Along with his band-leading capabilities, I gained a new appreciation for Leonard’s way with words. Yeah, I know – he’s known for it. But I always took his keen literary sense for granted and certain lyrics jumped out at me at various points and begged to be recognized: “You came to me this morning / And you handled me like meat / You’d have to live alone to know / How good that feels, how sweet” (from “A Thousand Kisses”); “I don’t mean to suggest that I loved you the best / I can’t keep track of each fallen robin / I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel — that’s all, I don’t even think of you that often” (“Chelsea Hotel”); “The Maestro says it’s Mozart but it sounds like bubble gum / when you’re waiting for the miracle, for the miracle to come” (“Waiting for the Miracle); “I ache in places I used to play” and “I was born with the gift of a golden voice” (both from “Tower of Song,” the latter verse earning cheers from the audience); and “I’ll wear an old man’s mask” (the now-ironic lyric from “I’ll Be Your Man”).

Leonard culled numbers from 1967’s Songs of Leonard Cohen through 2001’s Ten New Songs, frolicking on and off the stage with boyish energy before and after each set, and generally seeming to have a fabulous time. “I don’t know when we’ll pass this way again, so our intention is to bring you everything we got tonight,” Leonard promised when he opened the show, and he most definitely lived up to his word. By the end of the nearly three-hour concert — which featured a drawn-out encore complete with its own breaks — I was exhausted and content.

Here’s the setlist as far as I can tell from my notes:

I.
Dance Me To The End of Love
The Future
Aint No Cure For Love
Bird on a Wire
Everybody Knows
In My Secret Life
Who By Fire
Chelsea Hotel
Waiting for the Miracle
Anthem

II.
Tower Song
Suzanne
Sisters of Mercy
The Gypsy’s Wife
The Partisan
Boogie Street
Hallelujah
I’m Your Man
A Thousand Kisses Deep
Take This Waltz

E.
So Long Marianne
First We Take Manhattan

Famous Blue Raincoat
If It Be Your Will (Webb sisters)

Closing Time
Whither Thou Goest
jglBB
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Tampa, FL, October 19th

Post by jglBB »

Caution for an eventual setlist wizard. The text in the previous article does mention "A Thousand Kisses Deep" but does'nt list it in the setlist. Hope it helps.
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MarieM
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Tampa, FL, October 19th

Post by MarieM »

The set list in Creative Loafing doesn't mention I Tried to Leave You. Anyone remember if it was performed? Thanks.
Marie
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lizzytysh
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Tampa, FL, October 19th

Post by lizzytysh »

Yes, it definitely was, Marie... with the same appreciative laughter from the audience.

It's such a wonderful way to transition into 'this really is it, folks' with "Whither Thou Goest."


~ Lizzy
"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken."
~ Oscar Wilde
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