It is a beautiful and warm day.
Dave, two excellent restaurants. Cal Pep good food and a bit expensive. Bomba Bar is one of those typical places of Barceloneta, really interesting.
See you soon friends, the natives must work until the weekend
Leonard Cohen in Barcelona
October 12 & 13, 1974
It was at the Palau de la Musica Catalana, a modernist building designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner (1908), maybe the most beautiful of Barcelona, more if we bear in mind its social function. It is the home of the Orfeó Català, a lyrical association.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau_de_l ... a_Catalana
October 12 was Saturday, after the success of the first concert a second concert was hurriedly scheduled on Sunday morning (a matinee), October 13.
Cohen presented his album "New Skin for the Old Ceremony".
Jeff Layton, banjo, guitar, mandolin, strings
Johnny Miller, bass
John Lissauer, keyboards, saxophone, woodwind
Erin Dickens, vocals
Emily Binding, vocals
Years later Cohen has given us many surprises, but I personally love this time, this sound (that of John Lissauer), and these songs.
Leonard Cohen remained concentrate on his music in the first part surrounded for a warm public who recognised the songs.
Returning to the stage for the second part, he thanked the attention for his music and said the famous phrase: "My guitar is come home". He spoke about the many social changes, expectations and dreams of those years. (Spain - in this moment still in a dictatorship - lived times of political transition, times of hope and fear in front a possible regression, many people had political commitments. Gigs as this were a gateway to the world). This changes and turbulent times were in the Chelsea Hotel too. He introduced the song mentioned a famous singer without giving her name.
Click here to listen: "My guitar is come home"
In this second part he presented nearly every song, after the "Sisters of Mercy" introduced the band, them the song written for "the soldiers of both sides": "Lover Lover Lover". Before a beautiful "Seems So Long Ago, Nancy", Cohen played some dots of "Los cuatro muleros", a popular Spanish song recovered by Lorca. Federico García Lorca wrote the lyrics and he recorded it, playing the piano, with La Argentina. It's a song linked to the Civil War.
Click here to listen: "Los cuatro muleros"
At the end he performed a heartrending blues, "The Butcher" and repeated as encore "Bird On The Wire" and "The Partisan". When he reached the expected phrase "freedom soon will come, then we'll come from the shadows", the public began in applause, the applause was a demonstration of the longing for the freedom. Because in Europe kept the fascism at the end of WWII.
I could not be in this concert, although I lived it many times, thanks to GB, JA and unknown people.
November 17, 1980
He performed at the Palau Municipal d'Esports, ugly and inappropriate place where all important concerts and events were celebrated in this period.
Rehabilitated in 2000 as Barcelona Teatre Musical.
Mitch Watkins, guitar, keyboards, vocals
Roscoe Beck bass
Steve Meador, drums
Bill Ginn, keyboards
Raffi Hakopian, violin
John Bilezikjian, oud, mandolin
Paul Ostermeyer, flute, saxophone
Sharon Robinson, vocals
In the current tour, only 29 years later, Roscoe Beck and Sharon Robinson return to Barcelona. Part of the band was the Passenger, they had a very full and powerful sound, with special richness provided by Raffi Hakopian, John Bilezikjian and Sharon Robinson. Jennifer Warnes did not come.
We can consider as the late presentation of Recent Songs, but from this great album only he sang "The Gypsy's Wife" and "The Window".
At first Cohen seemed concerned about the acoustics and for performance in front more than 1,000 people, we were 7,000, but soon everything started to work perfectly. He talked in French and English.
Click here to listen: "Intro Barcelona 1980"
Sharon Robinson is also a wonderful Joan Of Arc, though Julie Christensen is very special to me.
The concert ended formally with "Memories" on crooner style, microphone in hand and passionate. Introduced the band and said good night with "buenas noches".
Then, as encore, he performed "Sisters of Mercy", "Tonight Will Be Fine", "Lady Midnight" and "I Tried To Leave You" another introduction of the band and "buenas noches my darling." We still get a "Bird On The Wire" reciting the first verse in French, my recorder exhausted the batteries before finishing this last song. Historic.
A memorable concert and "a landmark in the musical year in Barcelona" as it were published in a newspaper.
May 24, 1988.
"I'm Your Man" tour came. A brilliant album produced by Cohen with master songs that captivated new and younger fans. Leonard seemed happy with these sunglasses and the banana. Promoting it in Spanish television with Perla Batalla and Julie Christensen performed in playback "First We Take Manhattan," "Take This Waltz" and "Is not No Cure For Love" with a static and serious look, they seemed very funny.
Again in the Palau d'Esports, 8,000 audience.
Bob Metzger, guitar, steel guitar
Bob Furgo, keyboards, violin
John Bilezikjian, oud, mandolin
Tom McMorran, keyboards
Steve Zirkel, bass, keyboards, trumpet
Steve Meador, drums
Perla Batalla, vocals
Julie Christensen, vocals
He kept Bilezikjian, appear Bob Metzger and the unforgettable Perla and Julie.
They started with what would be the classic begin: "Dance Me To The End Of Love".
He appreciated the assistance at the concert, and for not watching a basketball match than Barça was playing that night. Although he expected to win Barcelona, but win or lose, Ain't No Cure For Love.
This time Perla Batalla was his translator into Spanish. He is not so stupid because he had a beautiful woman to speak for him.
Click here to listen: "I have a beautiful woman"
The concert takes two hours and my recorder one-thirty. An unforgettable show.
May 15, 1993.
He returned to the old Palau d'Esports.
Bob Metzger, guitar, steel guitar
Bob Furgo, keyboards, violin
Jorge Calderon, bass
Bill Ginnl, keyboards
Paul Ostermeyer, flute, saxophone
Steve Meador, drums
Perla Batalla, vocals
Julie Christensen, vocals
The Future seemed too dark to me and it left just a video with six songs taken from the Catalan television with subtitles in this language: "Democracy", "Closing Time", "Sisters of Mercy", "I Can not Forget", "Hallelujah" and "Tried to Leave You" (thanks to GB.).
for my little daughter than taught me four easy things to make a simple video