Leonard in Dublin

Recollections from Leonard Cohen's pre-2008 tours, YouTube clips
Dee28
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun May 11, 2008 1:22 am

Leonard in Dublin

Post by Dee28 »

Hi All

Was anyone else at Mr Cohen's concert in Dublin? He was so wonderful - the man with the golden voice!!
farrelly
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Joined: Tue Jun 17, 2008 5:54 pm

Re: Leonard in Dublin

Post by farrelly »

I was there on Sunday night... there has never been a concert that I looked forward to more, and boy did this man deliver ..he more than delivered...it may have been wet, it may have been cold .. but this was an event of Bibical dimentions ...it was like being covered in warm treacle ...I could go on and on but .. for me it has to be the best performance I have evere seen and heard .. what a Gent . Totally spellbinding..Thank you Mr Cohen, you certainly are My Man !!!!
Marie Farrelly
comet
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Joined: Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:13 am

Re: Leonard in Dublin

Post by comet »

Hi Folks,

Leonard Cohen is a man in his prime

Leonard performed 3 concerts in Dublin over the weekend at the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham.



Friday 13th

Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th June 2008
The original plan was for just one concert on the Saturday night , But the tickets went in a flash, they added the Sunday and sold out again,
Then the Friday was added as well and it also sold out completely.

I booked early and had a ticket for Saturday night ,
All the reports about Fridays gig were of high praise for this man in his early seventies,
A man whose voice is warmer and better than it has ever been.

Leonard Cohen
Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin.

Saturday 14th June 2008

Song list as played: in brackets are the albums the original songs are on.

Leonard speaks:

" What a glorious welcome, Thank you so much, Please sit down. "

1 Dance me to the end of love ( Various Positions 1984 )
2 The Future ( The Future 1992 )
3 Ain't no cure for love ( I'm your man 1988 )
4 Bird on the wire (Songs from a room 1969 )
5 Everybody knows ( I'm your man 1988 )
6 In my Secret Life ( Ten New Songs 2001 )

Leonard speaks :

It's a great Honor to be in this great city of poets and writers,
It's been fifteen years since I was last on stage, I was 60 years old then,
Just a kid with a crazy dream......

7 Who by fire ( New skin for the old ceremony 1974 )
8 Anthem... Ring the Bells ( The Future 1992 )

Part One was about . 53 minutes long

Interval for 15 minutes or so...

9 Tower of song ( I'm your man 1988 )
10 Suzanne ( Songs of Leonard Cohen 1968 )
11 The Gypsy's Wife (Recent Songs 1979 )
12 Boogie Street with Sharon Robinson ( Ten new songs 2001 )
13 Hallelujah (Various Positions 1984 )
14 Democracy ( The Future 1992 )
15 I'm your Man (I'm your man 1988 )
16 A thousand kisses deep. Recited. ( Ten new songs 2001 )
17 Take this waltz (I'm your man 1988 )
18 Waiting for the miracle ( The Future 1992 )
19 First we take Manhattan (I'm your Man 1988 )
20 That don't make it Junk ( Ten new songs 2001 )
21 If it be your will. Recited / Webb sisters.( Various Positions 1984 )
22 Closing Time ( The Future 1992 )
23 I Tried to Leave you ( New skin for the old ceremony 1974 )
24 Finale - Whither thou Goest


Part Two was about an hour and forty minutes long, finishing just before 11 pm.

The concert was so good on Saturday Night that I found the venue on Google Earth
and located a place where we could hear the concert on the Sunday night,
We located a lane in the built up area on a hill opposite the venue
which had line of sight to the columns of 30 or so speakers that were hoisted
up on two cranes, We could hear the whole concert clearly but at a reduced sound level.
On the Sunday night the Song " So long Marianne " was added to the play list.

Song 21 IF IT BE YOUR WILL deserves a special mention for its amazing beauty and delivery,
Leonard recites the first verse and the Webb sisters Patti and Charlie take over with
just a harp to accompany them as the sky darkened over Dublin
you would swear you were listening to Angels descending from the clouds.

Contrary to the unjustified reputation of being depressing
Leonard has a wicked sense of humor and there was much laughter in the audience
of people ranging from their early teens to people in their nineties.
Sharon Robinson was his main backing singer on this concert along with the Webb sisters.

He referred to our voting on the Lisbon treaty laughingly and said

"Ireland continues to bewilder the world "


and his last words before he left the stage

"At the risk of offending any atheists, God bless ye ! "

I have loved Leonard's music since the sixties,
since the first time I heard Judy Collins sing Suzanne in 1966
deda
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:05 am

Re: Leonard in Dublin

Post by deda »

Thanks for the set list, brings it all back. I was there on the Saturday night and despite having a seat that was way back and the cold and rain, the minute Leonard came on stage I was spellbound. The atmosphere was like one big love in. I have been a fan for almost 20 years but this concert was definitely the highlight. I could have stayed and listened for ever. I am now desperately trying to get tickets to one of the other gigs.
By the way, does anyone know where I can find the words to the poem Leonard recited, A thousand kisses deep? They are not the same words as in the song.
Sonichic
Posts: 27
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 1:48 am

Re: Leonard in Dublin

Post by Sonichic »

Hi all
At 74 to execute a world tour, amazing! I hope he will be around for a few decades more, and, that this tour will whet his appetite to bring us more majestic songs. Long live LC
Last edited by Sonichic on Wed Apr 01, 2009 8:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Sonichic
Posts: 27
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 1:48 am

Re: Leonard in Dublin

Post by Sonichic »

Deda
By the way, does anyone know where I can find the words to the poem Leonard recited, A thousand kisses deep? They are not the same words as in the song.
I did a quick search for you, as yes you a right his recital of a thousand kisses deep was different to the song. Did you notice the changes he made to Hallelujah and I'm your man. lol.
Anyhow i didn't find the words you search but I did found this great site, I thought you might all enjoy

http://www.webheights.net/speakingcohen/tourrev2.html

sorry can't link it...
deda
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Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:05 am

Re: Leonard in Dublin

Post by deda »

Hi Sonichic,

Thanks for the link, have you seen the clips from interviews on the LeonardCohen.com site? Like you, I feel as though I had a religious experience on Saturday and I have been on a high ever since. There are no words to describe how honoured and privilaged I felt to be in the same space as Leonard. Critics say his music is depressing but I find his songs and lyrics uplifting inspiring and beautiful. The concert was everything I dreamt of and much much more.

Deda
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sceachgeal
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Re: Leonard in Dublin

Post by sceachgeal »

When I looked here the other day, there were no set lists for Dublin. Today being my first opportunity, I listened back on my voice recorder and compiled a list for the Saturday 14 June concert at the Royal Hospital grounds. I see, however, that comet has done a set list in the meantime and, wonder of wonders, it concurs exactly with what I came up with. If I weren’t looking after a mother with Alzheimer’s I would say it is a gig I will never forget!
when she came back she was nobody's wife . . .
Sonichic
Posts: 27
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 1:48 am

Re: Leonard in Dublin

Post by Sonichic »

Hi Deda
Yes I've managed to view some of them. 30 verses in the original "A thousand kisses deep" lol.
I'm going to catch up on the rest of the video snippets at the week-end.
I see he has been a success in Manchester too
from the financial Times:-

Code: Select all

Frail but dapper in a dark pinstripe suit and fedora, he resembled a boulevardier who had spent an afternoon watching pretty girls from a café.
he Montreal-born Cohen, once a notorious ladies’ man, looked like an elegant relic of the French chanson tradition. Clutching his hat modestly to his chest at each explosion of applause and truncating standing ovations with the claim that such displays made him nervous (“It makes me think you’re going to leave”), he exuded a beguiling, ironic courtliness.
and here from - the times on line:
Leonard Cohen is the Samuel Beckett of pop

sonichic
nod
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Location: wexford ireland

Re: Leonard in Dublin

Post by nod »

Was also there sat night and have not come down to earth yet, wake up every morning singing one or the other of leonards songs. I have to say it was one of the most amazing nights mywife and I have ever experienced. Looking forward to trying to get to another concert later in the year as I think he will announce more gigs for later in the year. Spiritual without doubt !!!!
comet
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:13 am

Re: Leonard in Dublin

Post by comet »

sceachgeal wrote:When I looked here the other day, there were no set lists for Dublin. Today being my first opportunity, I listened back on my voice recorder and compiled a list for the Saturday 14 June concert at the Royal Hospital grounds. I see, however, that comet has done a set list in the meantime and, wonder of wonders, it concurs exactly with what I came up with. If I weren’t looking after a mother with Alzheimer’s I would say it is a gig I will never forget!

:lol: Ha ! good on you , hope you have preserved the recording for posterity, I was afraid to bring a camera because of the small print on the tickets,
I didn't want to risk being refused entry to the concert, I may not get to see Lenny again and it has been some 24 years or so since I last saw him in the Boxing Stadium.

But lo and behold a guy in front of me pulls out a yoke with a telephoto lens about a foot long, lucky there was a delay at the sound check and every one was let in without being frisked.. Enjoy the recording.....
Grecian man
Posts: 156
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2007 11:30 pm
Location: Dublin

Re: Leonard in Dublin

Post by Grecian man »

Hi Dee28 , I was there on sat and sunday nights , unbelievable .
I know some people were giving out about people talking or a few drunk people
( not even 1 % I'm sure ) I think its more to do with our age than a reflection on the crowd
in general , at the end of the day its an outdoor concert on a weekend ( is the glass half full ? )
Couldn't have met a nicer crowd of like minded people than i did last weekend ,
what a relaxed atmosphere ( what a smell of hash wafting through the crowd )
maybe that helped the relaxing 8)

To those moaning few, take your blood pressure and smell the atmosphere 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)
Most of the people who want to live forever don't know what to do
with themselves on a wet sunday afternoon ...........
Sonichic
Posts: 27
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 1:48 am

Re: Leonard in Dublin

Post by Sonichic »

By the way, does anyone know where I can find the words to the poem Leonard recited, A thousand kisses deep? They are not the same words as in the song.
Deda, here you go, I got these from the Leonard Cohen Files

For Those Who Greeted Me *)

1. 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.
My mirror twin, my next of kin,
I´d know you in my sleep.
And who but you would take me in
A thousand kisses deep?

2. I loved you when you opened
Like a lily to the heat.
I´m just another snowman
Standing in the rain and sleet,
Who loved you with his frozen love
His second-hand physique -
With all he is, and all he was
A thousand kisses deep.

3. All soaked in sex, and pressed against
The limits of the sea:
I saw there were no oceans left
For scavengers like me.
We made it to the forward deck
I blessed our remnant fleet -
And then consented to be wrecked
A thousand kisses deep.

4. I know you had to lie to me,
I know you had to cheat.
But the Means no longer guarantee
The Virtue in Deceit.
That truth is bent, that beauty spent,
That style is obsolete -
Ever since the Holy Spirit went
A thousand kisses deep.

5. (So what about this Inner Light
That´s boundless and unique?
I´m slouching through another night
A thousand kisses deep.)

6. I´m turning tricks; I´m getting fixed,
I´m back on Boogie Street.
I tried to quit the business -
Hey, I´m lazy and I´m weak.
But sometimes when the night is slow,
The wretched and the meek,
We gather up our hearts and go
A thousand kisses deep.

7. (And fragrant is the thought of you,
The file on you complete -
Except what we forgot to do
A thousand kisses deep.)

8. The ponies run, the girls are young,
The odds are there to beat.
You win a while, and then it´s done -
Your little winning streak.
And summoned now to deal
With your invincible defeat,
You live your life as if it´s real
A thousand kisses deep.

9. (I jammed with Diz and Dante -
I did not have their sweep -
But once or twice, they let me play
A thousand kisses deep.)

10. And I´m still working with the wine,
Still dancing cheek to cheek.
The band is playing "Auld Lang Syne" -
The heart will not retreat.
And maybe I had miles to drive,
And promises to keep -
You ditch it all to stay alive
A thousand kisses deep.

11. And now you are the Angel Death
And now the Paraclete;
And now you are the Savior's Breath
And now the Belsen heap.
No turning from the threat of love,
No transcendental leap -
As witnessed here in time and blood
A thousand kisses deep.


September 21, 1998
http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/kisses.html
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margaret
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Location: UK

Re: Leonard in Dublin

Post by margaret »

A closer version of the poem recited is over pages 56 and 57 (in the paperback edition) of Book of Longing. This was changed and added to since what was available on the files a few years ago.

I would recommend buying the book anyway :) . I didn't notice it on sale with tour merchandise, a pity for those who are a bit out of touch with Leonard's recent work.

Margaret
comet
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Joined: Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:13 am

Re: Leonard in Dublin

Post by comet »

margaret wrote:A closer version of the poem recited is over pages 56 and 57 (in the paperback edition) of Book of Longing. This was changed and added to since what was available on the files a few years ago.

I would recommend buying the book anyway :) . I didn't notice it on sale with tour merchandise, a pity for those who are a bit out of touch with Leonard's recent work.

Margaret

They had the book at the Dublin show Saturday in paperback, they were in boxes on the ground under the tables, You had to know what you were looking for or ask the sales people, I picked up "stranger music " and a couple of t shirts.
I asked if they had a copy of "Beautiful losers " but guess what ? They had none :lol:
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