CONCERT REPORT: Sydney, Australia - December 2, 2013

The last leg of the Old Ideas tour in November and December 2013
dce
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Location: Adelaide, South Australia

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Sydney, Australia - December 2, 2013

Post by dce »

Concert Report, Part 3

Notable Happenings

There are always a few unique things that mark each concert out as different from any other. For the Sydney Opera House show, by far the most notable of these was the rather amusing anecdote which Leonard gave as a monologue in the middle of “Tower of Song” after having been applauded for his keyboard solo. I’ve posted it previously, but for completeness here it is again:

"Y'know I was talking with some of the guys . . . some of the guys in the band are kind of over the hill. And they were talking about the various stages that a man goes through in relation to his allure to the opposite sex. It was not a scientific evaluation . . . just something that arose over a cup of coffee.

"It went something like this: you start of irresistible, then you become resistible. Then you become transparent -- not exactly invisible but as if you are seen through old plastic. Then you actually DO become invisible. And then -- and this is the most amazing transformation -- you become repulsive. But that's not the end of the story. After repulsive then you become 'cute' . . . and that's where I am.


The Crowd: First he took Manhattan and Berlin, Now he finally takes Sydney

There are no two ways about it – Leonard and the band had the Sydney Opera House crowd in the palm of their collective hands. Standing ovations were plentiful, including some small ones for Sharon Robinson’s solo performance in “Alexandra Leaving” and the Webb Sisters’ solo performance of “If It Be Your Will.” While never stretching into being raucous (as I have witnessed in other places), the Sydney crowd was nonetheless extremely warm and receptive. There was even a bit of singing along with “So Long, Marianne” and “Save The Last Dance For Me” (the latter of which surprised me). I was especially pleased to see this reception, as my previous experiences of crowds at Cohen concerts in Sydney have been less positive (see my reviews from previous tours). But this time around pretty much the entire audience was glued to the performance, calling for more and more even beyond the point where the curfew had come into effect (and been mentioned by Leonard). Indeed, at the end of the second encore (“Closing Time”) the Opera House staff started opening up the auditorium door obviously expecting the show to be over – I even saw one or two people hurriedly leave. But mere seconds afterwards the band was back on stage for a rousing third encore. Great to see!

Where Next?

The Australian tour kicks on for a few more shows, the last of which is in Adelaide on the 11th. That will be the only other concert I will be lucky enough to be at (along with AlanM and the much-travelled B4Real). Doubtless that will also be a fantastic night … but it will need to be pretty amazing to top the Opera House show, which for many different reasons will be something I remember fondly for a long time.


Dean (from Adelaide)
(For most of November 2010, I followed Leonard and the band as they toured around Australia and New Zealand. You can read about my wanderings on the blog I created to collect them all in one place: http://lcdownunder2010.wordpress.com/)
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AlanM
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Sydney, Australia - December 2, 2013

Post by AlanM »

Dean, you have missed your calling. You are journalism's loss.
What an excellent report, reading it took me back through time to the last time LC was in Oz.
See you next week.

Alan
Too much Leonard Cohen is never enough.
London 1972, Adelaide 1980, 1985, 2009
Sydney 2010; Adelaide 2010
Sydney 2013 X2; Melbourne 2013; Adelaide 2013
sereneava
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Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2011 4:06 am

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Sydney, Australia - December 2, 2013

Post by sereneava »

I have finally successfully uploaded "I Tried To Leave You" to Youtube. (from Opera House 021213, 7mins 17 secs). I don't know how to put the link here. I also put photos on Flickr. I would appreciate someone putting the links on.
sereneava
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Sydney, Australia - December 2, 2013

Post by sereneava »

PS Dean. Your review was fantastic
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AlanM
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Sydney, Australia - December 2, 2013

Post by AlanM »

sereneava wrote:I have finally successfully uploaded "I Tried To Leave You" to Youtube. (from Opera House 021213, 7mins 17 secs). I don't know how to put the link here. I also put photos on Flickr. I would appreciate someone putting the links on.
I Tried To Leave You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBc_6dxBh7g

sereneava's Channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/sereneava

Thanks for all your videos.

Alan
Too much Leonard Cohen is never enough.
London 1972, Adelaide 1980, 1985, 2009
Sydney 2010; Adelaide 2010
Sydney 2013 X2; Melbourne 2013; Adelaide 2013
sereneava
Posts: 62
Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2011 4:06 am

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Sydney, Australia - December 2, 2013

Post by sereneava »

Sharon Robinson has posted a 31 sec video called "We're walking" as she, Leonard, Charley, Hattie and Roscoe sing as they leave the green room before the concert.
sereneava
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Sydney, Australia - December 2, 2013

Post by sereneava »

Sorry. I forget to say that it is on her Facebook page.
holydove
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Location: Connecticut

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Sydney, Australia - December 2, 2013

Post by holydove »

sereneava wrote:Sharon Robinson has posted a 31 sec video called "We're walking" as she, Leonard, Charley, Hattie and Roscoe sing as they leave the green room before the concert.
Wonderful!! Thank you for that, sereneava, & thank you to Sharon for posting it.

Here is a link to the page, for anyone else who would like to see it:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10 ... =2&theater

I don't know it one has to be a member of facebook to go there (I found it by logging in & going to Sharon's page), but it you're not a member, it can't hurt to try.

Editing: I just tried the link, & you can get there without logging in, so you don't have to be a member.

They are singing a traditional English song called, "Chairs To Mend". It's really lovely.
MaryB
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Location: Columbus, Ohio USA

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Sydney, Australia - December 2, 2013

Post by MaryB »

I have put off reading all the posts re:Australian Tour for a time when things 'slowed down' a bit on the forum and when I was not overwhelmed with the day-to-day happennings of the holiday season, a time when I could leisurely fully enjoy every word, photo, video, tweets.....on this forum. WOW! I have definitely not been disappointed!

Thank you all for ALL your posts on this thread! A special thank you to Alan, sereneava for the 'Man evolution' video, and especially to Dean for his always phenomenal reviews! This thread has been such a wonderful treat! :D

Grateful regards to all who contributed on this thread!
Mary

Will wait to read the other threads when I have more time.
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