CONCERT REPORT: Memphis, TN - March 24, 2013

Everything about the first leg of Leonard Cohen's World Tour 2013
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tiffanyknox
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Memphis, TN - March 24, 2013

Post by tiffanyknox »

3 more pictures from the show in Memphis. the view is from my seats in the front row.

if you use these photos for any reason, please credit me as the source.
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LC 6.jpg
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STLCOHENFAN
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Memphis, TN - March 24, 2013

Post by STLCOHENFAN »

Great concert, great setting. Leonard is the best performer out there. Having said that, whoever spent most of the concert holding their iPad in the air so they could record the whole concert, it was VERY distracting. Was happy to see when the management finally told her to stop.
holydove
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Memphis, TN - March 24, 2013

Post by holydove »

I feel the same as Joy, that this was one of the best concerts I've been at - it was absolutely incredible. I was totally mesmerized every moment throughout the entire concert. Leonard & the band were so energized & vibrant, & it was the sweetest joy to see Leonard smiling so much.

This was the first time I saw Anyhow live & wow, the song has really evolved - it was very smokey & sultry & fluid & funny & touching & oh so beautiful. Speaking of smokey, Leonard introduced the song with his recently expanded story of how he will experience his first cigarette when he turns 80 - I won't give away all the details, but it will happen on stage, at that moment of the concert, right before the performance of Anyhow (lol!). (I hope that I will be there for that historic moment!). I must thank all the forces that be & especially Leonard Cohen, that Show Me The Place was in the setlist - it was incredibly moving & intense, as always, & I really need to hear that song performed as much as possible. I love this new version of Lover Lover Lover; I remember Leonard saying, some years ago, that he was having difficulty finding the proper way to perform that song (Lover. . .) - well, I'd say he has found it!! (Not that I didn't love it before, but I find the current version carrying me to ever new depths & layers. . .). I'd say the same for the new version of Darkness - more moving & intense & mesmerizing than ever - & Leonard's chanting at the end with Raphael's drumming is totally sublime. Every single song was absolutely transcendent & the experience was continuous ecstasy from beginning to end. Every member of the band performed superbly, they were completely present & unified at every moment, & I want to thank Leonard Cohen & the UHTC for these precious gifts of incomparable beauty & brilliance which they continue to deliver to us, time & again, & which continue to uplift & transform my life.
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Memphis, TN - March 24, 2013

Post by sturgess66 »

The set list from Setlist.fm - provided by "SeldomSeen" (who posted earlier in this thread) - Thanks!
http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/leonard-c ... 8983f.html
First Set
Dance Me to the End of Love
The Future
Bird on the Wire
Everybody Knows
Who by Fire
Darkness
Ain't No Cure for Love
Amen
Come Healing
Democracy
A Thousand Kisses Deep (recitation)
Anthem
Second Set
Tower of Song
Suzanne
Heart with No Companion
Waiting for the Miracle
Show Me the Place
Anyhow
Lover Lover Lover
Alexandra Leaving (performed by Sharon Robinson)
I'm Your Man
Hallelujah
Take This Waltz
Encore:
So Long, Marianne
Going Home
First We Take Manhattan
Encore 2:
Famous Blue Raincoat
If It Be Your Will (performed by the Webb Sisters)
Closing Time
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joyezekiel
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Memphis, TN - March 24, 2013

Post by joyezekiel »

Thank you, Rachel, for your beautiful and heartfelt review! There really was something magical about this concert, and this was echoed in the comments of the people sitting around us. For two ladies in particular, this was their first Leonard Cohen concert, and it was pronounced "the most amazing experience I've ever had" by one of them.

The venue was gorgeous, which always adds to the overall atmosphere. Security was also fairly low-key, and no-one was fussing about cameras. I have no particular problem with people taking photos, but I have to say that I did find the constant use of flash somewhat irritating and I would rather that had been curtailed. However, the enthusiasm of the audience was phenomenal and Leonard too responded enthusiastically. When someone called out the usual "We love you Leonard", he thanked them for the display of affection, and of course he thanked us all at regular intervals throughout the evening. At the beginning of the second set, he thanked us for not going home where we could have been "cherishing our despair about the beginning of a new week."

The smiles were everywhere. Throughout "Dance me" everyone on stage looked really happy to be there. Alex was phenomenal, and the interaction between him and Javier in "Future" was a joy to behold. "Bird on a wire" seemed to be more tender and more emotional than before.... and Leonard's voice seemed even lower to me. We enjoyed an energetic "Everybody knows" and the band was itself on fire for "Who by fire". "Darkness" was extra bluesy, and as Rachel mentioned, Leonard performed the spine-tingling chant with Rafael. We were then treated to some banter and chat ("lighten up Leonard", etc.) and all too quickly the first set was drawing to a relaxed close.

In "Tower of song" Leonard performed the now familiar antics with the keyboard to the delight of the audience. Suzanne was soft and warm, and "Heart with no companion" was very honky tonk! Again as Rachel has mentioned, Leonard talked about taking up smoking again and treated us to a delightful fantasy about a nurse in a white uniform handing him a pack of opened cigarettes "lined up like Parthenon pillars" as Leonard chastised her about the bubble in his IV. All good stuff.

This was my first "Anyhow" too. I have been longing to hear this live and I wasn't disappointed. The audience was in stitches! Then "Lover lover lover" with an almost Caribbean twist at the beginning - beautiful and very different - I almost didn't recognize it when it began. Leonard fluffed his lines a bit in "I'm your man", but no-one cared and it caused a few more smiles. When the band moved onto "Take this waltz", a group of people moved towards the stage and started waltzing in the aisles. It was a little disconcerting at first, but I guess I hadn't realized that we were almost at the end of the concert - it had all flown by so quickly. The entire audience was on it's feet for the encores, and I don't think I've ever heard a more lusty version of "So long marianne".

A truly fabulous night..... just hoping for a repeat performance on Thursday in New Orleans!

Joy
1976 Leicester 2008 London O2/Cardiff 2009 NYC/Austin/Weybridge/Nashville 2010 Ghent x 2/Las Vegas x 2 2012 Ghent x 2/Austin/Montreal/Quebec City/Boston x 2 2013 Memphis/New Orleans/Winnipeg/Birmingham/London O2/Amsterdam/Auckland
whiskeybottoms
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Memphis, TN - March 24, 2013

Post by whiskeybottoms »

What a glorious show...I'm pleased to see others felt the same. This was my 6th show and I am truly lucky to have been able to go to each of the 6 shows with my father. We share this love and hold these concerts very closely to our hearts. We both thought that the Memphis show had a spirit that had not been present in past shows. There was just something in the air Sunday night. The overall looseness of it all and the enthusiasm of the audience was so endearing. We met many kind folks and made some new friends...I'm hoping to stay more connected to the forum and our new friends, especially members "catslaw" (not sure this is a correct name, but I think it's close). It is always so nice to meet fellow fans, but you two were so kind and I honestly could have visited with you all night if allowed. Loved my visit to Memphis, it was such a joy to see the Stax Museum and to learn about the programs they are supporting, the food was amazing, the people were fantastic, and we even saw this concert of a young man named Lenny, he was pretty good, y'all ought to check him out if he's ever in your neck of the woods, if not seek him out (haha!)......overall a fantastic little trip to Memphis from Oklahoma.
Last edited by whiskeybottoms on Wed Mar 27, 2013 8:01 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Grand Prarie, Morrison, St. Louis, Kansas City, 2009. Austin, 2012. Memphis, 2013.

"Children show scars like medals. Lovers use them as secrets to reveal. A scar is what happens when the word is made flesh. It is easy to display a wound, the proud scars of combat. It is hard to show a pimple." - from The Favorite Game
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Memphis, TN - March 24, 2013

Post by sturgess66 »

A nice video - uploaded by Jack Wagoner - Thanks!

Suzanne
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asK2jqHqfak
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SeldomSeen
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Memphis, TN - March 24, 2013

Post by SeldomSeen »

whiskeybottoms wrote:What a glorious show...I'm pleased to see others felt the same. This was my 6th show and I am truly lucky to have been able to go to each of the 6 shows with my father. We share this love and hold these concerts very closely to hearts. We both thought that the Memphis show had a spirit that had not been present in past shows. There was just something in the air Sunday night. The overall looseness of it all and the enthusiasm of the audience was so endearing. We met many kind folks and made some new friends...I'm hoping to stay more connected to the forum and our new friends, especially members "catslaw" (not sure this is a correct name, but I think it's close). It is always so nice to meet fellow fans, but you two were so so kind and I honestly could have visited with you all night if allowed. Loved my visit to Memphis, it was such a joy to see the Stax Museum and to learn about the programs they are supporting, the food was amazing, the people were fantastic, and we even saw this concert of a young man named Lenny, he was pretty good, y'all ought to check him out if he's ever in your neck of the woods, if not seek him out (haha!)......overall a fantastic little trip to Memphis and from Oklahoma.
Hey, whiskeybottoms: I'm pretty sure my wife and I sat next to you and your father the other night. We enjoyed sharing that experience with such dedicated Leonard Cohen fans, we are thrilled you had a great visit to Memphis and we hope you had safe travels back to Oklahoma.
March 24, 2013: Memphis
March 30, 2013: Louisville
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SeldomSeen
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Memphis, TN - March 24, 2013

Post by SeldomSeen »

I've enjoyed reading the other concertgoers' reviews. Here's The Commercial Appeal's take on the show. I won't share the link because the paper has a paywall.
______

Leonard Cohen delivers heavenly performance in first Memphis show
By Mark Jordan

Monday, March 25, 2013

Toward the close of his first-ever Memphis performance at the Orpheum Theater Sunday night, the Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen at last pulled out easily his best known work.

When it released in 1984, “Hallelujah,” an epic meditation on God and sex, was not, not surprisingly, a hit. And in fact that it is known at all today is the result of the admiration of a succession of artists — John Cale, the late Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright, and more than 300 in all as detailed in the Alan Light’s extraordinary 2012 book “The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley & the Unlikely Ascent of “Hallelujah’ ” — that have covered the song over the years.

Judging by those in the audience singing along and, in defiance of the theater’s ushers, dancing in the aisles, it was the song many in the crowd of approximately 2,000 came to hear.

“And even though/It all went wrong/I’ll stand before the Lord of Song,” Cohen moaned in the final verse, “With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah.”

Cohen, of course, had much more than “Hallelujah” on his tongue in the three-hour concert, which was split into two halves with a 25-minute intermission. Despite his frequent jokes about his age (“I ache in the place where I used to play,” he quipped in the seconds set opener “Tower of Song”), Cohen, 78 and decked out, like most of the band and stage crew, in dark suit and tie, delivered a vigorous, tour de force performance full of wit and dance and the unquenchable passion of a Byronic poet.

Cohen, of course, had been a published poet for more than a decade before he moved to New York in the mid-1960s to become a folk singer, staking out territory as a more worldly and sophisticated Bob Dylan. He revisited this early part of his career throughout this night, turning “Bird on the Wire” into a slow blues jam and playing up the Latin-flourishes of “Who By Fire” while playing “Suzanne” (probably his second most-loved song) and an encore rendition of “So Long, Marianne” straight. Ultimately, he hit most of the highlights from his early catalog, including “Famous Blue Raincoat,” but the omission of “Chelsea Hotel #2,” for one, seemed glaring.

Such favorites were pushed aside to make room for more recent (in terms of a nearly 50-year career) Cohen compositions, songs that distinguish themselves from his earlier folk work by their musical variety and relative high, even danceable energy. He performed a generous half-dozen songs from his latest record, last year’s Old Ideas, including evening highlights “Darkness,” with its creeping R&B groove, and “Anyhow,” pepped-up considerably from the spoken-word lope of its recorded version.

Cohen further tapped 1988’s I’m Your Man and 1992’s The Future for much of the set’s backbone. Selections like “First We Take Manhattan,” the disarmingly earnest “Democracy,” and the night’s final number, the country-tinged “Closing Time,” more fully showcased the master musicianship of the frontman’s international nine-piece band.

The centerpiece of that unit, and indeed seemingly the foundation of Cohen’s vaguely cabaret pop sound in recent years, is his trio of backup singers, which includes his songwriting partner Sharon Robinson. The composer of the Patti LaBelle hit “New Attitude,” Robinson has worked with Cohen for more than 25 years and got her chance to shine this night with a exquisite lead vocal performance of the 2001 ballad “Alexandra Leaving.”

The other two-thirds of the trio, British sisters Charley and Hattie Webb, billed as the Webb Sisters, got their own spotlight — as indeed did all members of the band and even the technical crew, whom the gentlemanly Cohen thanked individually by name from the stage — when they took up acoustic guitar and harp to perform the encore Cohen number “If It Be Your Will.”

“I don’t know when we’ll see each other again,” Cohen told the audience early in his Memphis debut, “but I want to promise you tonight we’ll give it everything we’ve got.”
March 24, 2013: Memphis
March 30, 2013: Louisville
holydove
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Memphis, TN - March 24, 2013

Post by holydove »

joyezekiel wrote: and I don't think I've ever heard a more lusty version of "So long marianne".

Joy
YES, that was one of the most passionate, intense, heart-wrenching, mind-blowing versions of So Long Marianne that I've ever experienced! Glad you mentioned it.

Thank you for the great review, Joy, & enjoy New Orleans - I know you will & I am there with you in spirit.
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Memphis, TN - March 24, 2013

Post by sturgess66 »

http://www.dailyrecord.us/Story.aspx?id ... F29%2F2013
Leonard Cohen at the Orpheum

Molly Rector

Tom Robbins once wrote this of Leonard Cohen’s voice: It is a voice raked by the claws of Cupid, a voice rubbed raw by the philosopher´s stone. A voice marinated in kirschwasser, sulfur, deer musk and snow; bandaged with sackcloth from a ruined monastery; warmed by the embers left down near the river after the gypsies have gone.”

I first heard this “voice like a carpet in an old hotel, like a bad itch on the hunchback of love” (as Robbins put it) as a young teenager, borrowing CDs from my dad’s collection with no intent to return them. I happened upon a “best of Leonard Cohen” compilation, and fell headfirst into the unusual intimacy of the songs. Cohen’s music was, for me, an early call to understanding lyricism and the poetry that can exist within the context of a song. And his voice was, indeed, mesmerizing and lovely – a perfect vessel for the messages he had to share about the joys and difficulties of being human.

I had the chance, this past weekend, to hear this voice in person, emanating from the actual source. Leonard Cohen and his incredible band mesmerized their audience at Memphis’ velvety Orpheum Theater for more than three hours last Sunday night. The show was quiet, which gave it a feeling of intimacy, like Cohen was having a private conversation with each and every member of the audience.

Before beginning a song he would kneel, as if offering up a kind of prayer, which felt so appropriate in this cathedral-like theater, fittingly named after Orpheus: the musician, poet, and prophet of Greek legend. If Tom Robbins is to be believed, it was actually Orpheus himself who strung Leonard Cohen’s guitar. After seeing him perform, I would believe that Cohen, like Orpheus, could charm any living thing with his music (as the legend goes, Orpheus’ music was powerful enough to soften the heart of Hades, who granted him conditional permission to retrieve his wife’s soul from the underworld).

As for the performance itself – it was clear that the people on stage knew each other, and appreciated one another for their musical talents, so there was nothing competitive, no pressure. Several times, Cohen yielded the microphone to the women accompanying him. Whenever another musician had the floor, Cohen would remove his hat and stand with it over his heart, facing that musician. The synchronicity of the band was especially evident in their performance of the hypnotic “Who By Fire” – with a captivating instrumental introduction led by Javier Mas on the archilaud (an instrument I had never seen before), which then just sort of melted into the song.

For Cohen, an elemental part of making music seems to be the fluidity of sound and language – throughout the show he made slight alterations to the lyrics of his songs, so that despite having written them many years ago, the songs seem to remain new and vital, living and changing as Cohen himself does. v
MaryB
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Memphis, TN - March 24, 2013

Post by MaryB »

My gosh, aside from the lovely review, Tom Robbins description of LC's voice is out of this world!!!

Thanks for posting this Linda!
1993 Detroit 2008 Kitchener June 2-Hamilton June 3 & 4-Vienna Sept 24 & 25-London RAH Nov 17 2009 NYC Feb 19-Grand Prairie Apr 3-Phoenix Apr 5-Columbia May 11-Red Rocks Jun 4-Barcelona Sept 21-Columbus Oct 27-Las Vegas Nov 12-San Jose Nov 13 2010 Sligo Jul 31 & Aug 1-LV Dec 10 & 11 2012 Paris Sept 30-London Dec 11-Boston Dec 16 2013 Louisville Mar 30-Amsterdam Sept 20
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B4real
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Memphis, TN - March 24, 2013

Post by B4real »

MaryB wrote:My gosh, aside from the lovely review, Tom Robbins description of LC's voice is out of this world!!!

Thanks for posting this Linda!
Hi Mary,
Remember this from 3 years ago? There’s a fuller narrative by Tom Robbins here:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=21564
It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to B4real ~ me
Attitude is a self-fulfilling prophecy ~ me ...... The magic of art is the truth of its lies ~ me ...... Only left-handers are in their right mind!
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Memphis, TN - March 24, 2013

Post by MaryB »

Ah Bev,

What a memory you have! That you for. Reminding me !!!!!!
1993 Detroit 2008 Kitchener June 2-Hamilton June 3 & 4-Vienna Sept 24 & 25-London RAH Nov 17 2009 NYC Feb 19-Grand Prairie Apr 3-Phoenix Apr 5-Columbia May 11-Red Rocks Jun 4-Barcelona Sept 21-Columbus Oct 27-Las Vegas Nov 12-San Jose Nov 13 2010 Sligo Jul 31 & Aug 1-LV Dec 10 & 11 2012 Paris Sept 30-London Dec 11-Boston Dec 16 2013 Louisville Mar 30-Amsterdam Sept 20
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Memphis, TN - March 24, 2013

Post by Wirebird »

85: Oslo 88: Oslo (2x) 93: Oslo 08: Gothenburg 09: Langesund; Bratislava; Prague 10: Malmø; Oslo; Oakland (2x); Las Vegas (2x)
12: Ghent (2x); Halden; Gothenburg; Helsinki; London; Verona; Paris (2x); Lisboa; Montreal (2x); Quebec; NYC; Brooklyn
13: Memphis, New Orleans, Louisville, London (2x), Antwerp, Mannheim, Brussels, Rome, Pula, Stockholm, Odense, Oslo, Bournemouth, Brighton, Birmingham, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Wellington (2x), Auckland.
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