CONCERT REPORTS: Manchester, UK (June 17, 18, 19 and 20)

Canada and Europe (May 11 - August 3, 2008). Concert reports, set lists, photos, media coverage, multimedia links, recollections...
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secretchord
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Location: Manchester, UK

Re: Manchester, UK (June 17-20)

Post by secretchord »

just got back from the show

don't feel like saying much at the moment other than echoing so much that has been said so far but how amazing to see Leonard in Manchester, in such a small and intimate venue doing so many songs I never thought I'd get to hear live and there he was just a few yards away giving it large

going again on friday, what a gift he gives us


ps Jarvis Cocker was sitting in the stalls, walked right by me, he's dead skinny
...that David played and it pleased the Lord...


http://www.myspace.com/morrinmusic
K-Holed
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Re: Manchester, UK (June 17-20)

Post by K-Holed »

erm ... wow.
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Mikeaus
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Re: Manchester, UK (June 17-20)

Post by Mikeaus »

James T wrote:Just met Leonard and got a picture with him! Amazing day.
Amazing James. Something to treasure for the rest of your like. It's like having you photo taken with Shakespere or James Joyce.
Sydney & Bowral 2009. Lissadell Sligo July 2010 (what a night!). Sydney & Hanging Rock November 2010. Bimbadgen Winery, Hunter Valley, Nov 2013. Sydney Opera House, Dec 2013.
bowieboots
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Re: Manchester, UK (June 17-20)

Post by bowieboots »

What can I say. I got into LC quite late and the thought I would never see him tour, especially in my home town, and such a small venue.
Got row E front stalls from Ticket master Auction for £80.00 which I thought was a bargain. Great seats. Fantastic show, almost 3 hours. Didn't see Jarvis Cocker, but there was an actress form Fat Friends behind me and some guy at the front who seemed to be well known. One slight moan, but only a small one. Its ok doing band introductions, but we don't want to applause a band member after almost every song
Born With The Gift Of A G
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Re: Manchester, UK (June 17-20)

Post by Born With The Gift Of A G »

[quote="bowieboots"]What can I say. I got into LC quite late and the thought I would never see him tour, especially in my home town, and such a small venue.
Got row E front stalls from Ticket master Auction for £80.00 which I thought was a bargain. Great seats. Fantastic show, almost 3 hours. Didn't see Jarvis Cocker, but there was an actress form Fat Friends behind me and some guy at the front who seemed to be well known.

That was Jarkko signing autographs....!

Seriously, what a glorious night that was.

No matter how high your expectations of LC are on this tour, they will be surpassed.

I'm off to buy a trilby for the Wednesday show....
"Little lady.....I AM Kris Kristofferson....."
London: 10 & 11 May 1993; Manchester: 17, 18, 19 & 20 June 2008; Vienna: 25 September 2008; London: 17 November 2008; Paris: 26 November 2008; Manchester: 30 November 2008; Liverpool: 14 July 2009; Paris: 28 September 2012; Manchester: 31 August 2013; Leeds: 7 September 2013.
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sirius
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Re: Manchester, UK (June 17-20)

Post by sirius »

Leonard Cohen at the Opera House, Manchester
Stephen Dalton
TImesOnline

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/ ... 161404.ece



More than 15 years have passed since Leonard Cohen last graced a British stage, but the 73-year-old poet-turned-crooner was on suave form at the start of a four-night stint at the Manchester International Festival last night.

Dressed in the full Guys and Dolls outfit of grey fedora and outsized double-breasted suit, he looked frail, but performed for more than two hours with wit, humility and twinkle-eyed charm.

Exuding all the unruffled poise of the maitre d’ at the world’s most understated kosher restaurant, Cohen made no mention during the show of the dramatic financial crisis which necessitated this unexpected return to live performance. In 2006, he won a civil lawsuit against his former manager and ex-lover Kelley Lynch after millions of dollars went missing from his retirement fund, leaving him virtually penniless. Which helps explain the eye-watering ticket prices for this tour, at least.

Cohen is sometimes called the Canadian Bob Dylan, and both mixed in the same bohemian-aristo circles in 1960s New York. But unlike Dylan, the singer’s high standing among fans, critics and musicians rests largely on his latterday output. It was not until the 1980s that Cohen began his second-act transition from florid acoustic troubadour to funny, bass-baritone cabaret crooner.

The majority of last night’s set drew on these last two decades, with Cohen teasing bleak ironies from apocalyptic chansons including I’m Your Man, Everybody Knows, and The Future. Backed by six musicians and three backing singers, the settings were mostly fusions of jazz, gospel and cabaret with vaguely Eastern European textures supplied by exotic instruments including the bandurria and archilaud.

Cohen has been a depressive for much of his career, but he insists the dark clouds have lifted. He certainly leavened his Manchester performance with immense humour and carefully rehearsed quips. Leonard Cohen is the Samuel Beckett of pop. His financial misfortunes have been a windfall for the rest of us. On this kind of grand autumnal form, he should tour every year.

Tour dates: Manchester Opera House until June 20; Glastonbury Festival, June 29; Edinburgh Castle, July 16; London O2 Arena, July 17.
We are so small between the stars, so large against the sky
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sirius
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Re: Manchester, UK (June 17-20)

Post by sirius »

Leonard Cohen

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shirlaine/2588890478/

View shirlaine's mapTaken in a place with no name (See more photos or videos here)Manchester Opera House, 17.6.08. We had to shoot from the back of the venue for one song, and no shooting in the quiet moments. Ho hum!
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sirius
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Re: Manchester, UK (June 17-20)

Post by sirius »

Leonard Cohen's first show in Britain in 15 years is immaculate

David Cheal

Daily Telegraph

18/06/2008


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... ulate.html

It's no secret that Leonard Cohen is touring the world at the age of 73 because he needs the money.

In 2005, the great Canadian singer and songwriter became aware that his manager had made off with £5 million from his retirement fund, and quickly realised that he needed to do something to make up the shortfall.

Well, Cohen's loss is our gain, because his first show on British soil in 15 years was immaculate, beautiful, exquisite. Dressed in a double-breasted suit and fedora, Cohen followed his band onstage and was greeted with a standing ovation before he had even said or sang a word. Then, having thanked us for our kindness, he quickly dispelled any fears about the condition of his voice in the first bars of the opening song, Dance Me To The End Of Love: never the most wide-ranging of instruments, it's now drier than desert parchment, but rich, rumbling, and more resonant than ever.

Manchester has struck gold by persuading Cohen to play four nights in the city's slightly tatty but cosy opera house in a series of four shows which are acting as "trailblazers" for next year's Manchester International Festival; it's hard to see how his subsequent dates in London, Edinburgh and at summer festivals will match this one for warmth and intimacy.

Cohen is renowned as a singer of bleak and mournful ballads - he once joked that his albums should come with a free razor blade - here what came across was the humour of the man: it was there in his wry smile, in his knowing twinkle, even in the way he held himself. Talking about the last time he toured Britain, when he was almost 60, he said: "I was just a kid with a crazy dream."

The evening's songs were drown mostly from the latter part of Cohen's 40-year career - The Future, In My Secret Life, Anthem - but there was the occasional trip back into classic Cohen territory: Bird On A Wire, Suzanne and That's No Way To Say Goodbye (the last song marred, incidentally, by the unnecessary addition of a rhythm section).

The band played with absolute restraint, the sound quality was as close to perfection as I have ever heard, and the lighting was, unusually for a pop concert, subtle and unobtrusive, reflecting the shifting moods of Cohen's music rather than drawing attention to itself.

But in the end it was all about this small and slightly frail-looking man, one of the giants of popular song, who had the audience in his grip for the best part of three hours. If I had to choose my top moments from this near-flawless show, I'd choose two: Suzanne, with Cohen on guitar, supported by backing vocalists and keyboard, seemingly going into a trance as he entered into the serene beauty of the song; and Hallelujah, in which his body trembled and he clutched the microphone tightly as he really, really sang those scriptural-sexual-poetic lyrics. At the end he took his hat off, held it to his chest, blinked and smiled the smile of a contented man.
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secretchord
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Re: Manchester, UK (June 17-20)

Post by secretchord »

...that David played and it pleased the Lord...


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Yorkshire Lad
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MANCHESTER JUNE 17th

Post by Yorkshire Lad »

I have waited 25 years for last night and boy was it worth waiting for . If you have never seen a grown man cry you should have been sat next to me when Leonard sung " Hey that's no way to say goodbye " FANTASTIC !!!!
manchester, london,manchester , a mountain in Wales ,hills in Haiger
Be content with a mistake or two. Perfection holds no compromise. It's a prison for perfect people .Where the flag of insanity flies
Suemerlyn
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Re: Manchester, UK (June 17-20)

Post by Suemerlyn »

martisan wrote:going up wednesday from London...oooohh.
Sue - are you getting the 13.40 from Euston?
Hope to see some of you in the Deansgate...
M
No, the train before at 13:05! Shame. Are you male or female, sorry can't tell from your name 'Martisan'.
Will look out for you in the Deansgate (and Margaret and any other Wed nite people.) There are two of us - my adult son and I - and I will be wearing jeans and a denim jacket.

Alternatively I could carry a copy of the Times and wear a red buttonhole....

Jarrko - will you be there? I have never met you and would like to..
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lilly
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Re: Manchester, UK (June 17-20)

Post by lilly »

Thanks for the tip about the Deansgate. Hubby and I will be there tonight, so hope to meet some of you then.

Just soooooooo excited.

Lilly
loulou
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Re: Manchester, UK (June 17-20)

Post by loulou »

i am also seeting off from london shortly on the 12.30 train and hope to meet some of you at the deansgate 5pm ish - margaret i think i am going to recognise you (having meet you at the richard godall gallery and the barbican methinks) so you are my beacon :)

can't wait, the day is finally here, and my heart is already bursting with joy at the thought of witnessing leonard live his music tonight !
desire the horse
depression the cart
cloudlea
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Re: Manchester, UK (June 17-20)

Post by cloudlea »

Last night was pure magic. In the Circle could hear every word and note.
I have waited 40 years for this, how can we thank him.
Perfect venue in my opinion.

One warning to anyone going to the rest of the Manchester concerts the ushers
were very strict about cameras or video recorders. We got told off twice.
Monica
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Re: Manchester, UK (June 17-20)

Post by TheDharmaBlues »

I have a spare ticket for tonight (18/06/08) as my little brother disappeared away on holiday.

If anybody is interested in coming, let me know.
Nous nous confions rarement à ceux qui sont meilleurs que nous.

La Chute (1956) p.97
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