CONCERT REPORT: Liverpool, July 14

[vaughan]

Away with all of you shameless people who'd take advantage of Lord Len's illness to satisfy your (understandable) base desires with him.

As he once wrote:

"Come down to my room
I was thinking about you
And I made a pass at myself"

[hididdle]

He needs a good meal. His shoulder blades seemed to be poking through his suit.

[vaughan]

Nah - Everybody Knows that Leonard is just ... sharp

[John J]

Sorry we could not get in before the gig for the meet up
but only arrived at the venue at 7.45pm.

This was indeed a special night,Leonard and the band were in great form,
Leonard even managed to bring soul to a souless cavern,
we are really looking forward to Barcelona,and meeting up with everybody there.

[yaniv297]

No Chelsea Hotel makes me sad... I hope it returns to the setlists quick. I want to hear it live.

[cpl593h]

i think they cut this gig a little short, maybe for helth reasons? maybe curfew?

no chelsea hotel even though it was on the set list
no whither thou goest
no parting sentiments

also, saw roscoe doing the 'throat-cut' signal to band and crew during encores signifying they were cutting something short or cutting something out

in fact, i checked the printed set list afterwards and there were q few on the main list that were dropped. can't remember which and the guy who had the list took it away again

still - let's remember, we were again fortunate to be in the presence of lenny, his wonderful band and his transporting songs.

that's more than enough for me

[Womanfromaroom]

O dear, if Leonard has indeed got one of these nasty summer colds himself that he keeps warning people about in his blessings, may he fully recover as soon as possible! Leonard, get well soon...
And don't you worry, ladies - don't you think that with the sublime Webb Sisters (English, therefore experts on tea and Lemsip), Sharon and probably a doctor travelling with him, he will be well looked after?

[greggie]

Seen Leonard last night in Liverpool. First time in a big arena. I've seen him in the Opera House in Manchester and the Albert Hall in the past, but I must say that it was every bit as good, if not better than pervious concerts. The sounds was amazing for such a big place. We had a great night!!!

[burningviolin]

Great show last night, 3 hours passed in a flash. At Liverpool airport at the moment watiting on my flight so will write more in the way of a review later. It was a really great show.

[somewhat_nifty]

Sorry to hear that Leonard has caught a cold, I expect that was Wetbridge's fault. Sounds like he's being a trouper though - don't wear yourself out Leonard!

[vaughan]

i think they cut this gig a little short, maybe for helth reasons? maybe curfew?

no chelsea hotel even though it was on the set list
no whither thou goest
no parting sentiments

also, saw roscoe doing the 'throat-cut' signal to band and crew during encores signifying they were cutting something short or cutting something out

in fact, i checked the printed set list afterwards and there were q few on the main list that were dropped. can't remember which and the guy who had the list took it away again

still - let's remember, we were again fortunate to be in the presence of lenny, his wonderful band and his transporting songs.

that's more than enough for me

You are sort of right - my 10 year old son Leonard (at his 9th concert last night) was lucky enough to be given the set list attached to Mr Cohen's feedback monitor (or whatever its called) and it shows Chelsea Hotel OR Hey That's No Way to Say Goodbye - he obviously opted for the latter during the show itself.

I've been to previous concerts (Edinburgh I think was one) where they've cut Whither Thou Goest and parting thoughts, and I was told by LC's Front of House manager that night that it was because of a venue-imposed curfew. I'd imagine it was the same last night as the concert finished pretty much bang on 11pm - and I'm sure you all saw the enormous analogue clock LC has on stage to remind him of the time

[stan]

The Show was brilliant as every one knows he never does a bad one, but i would like to take time out from the show thank all the people that organised the meet before and after the show, i only attended the meet before the show with my 24 year old son Philip and he was very impressed with the people that he spoke to and was supprised that the elder generation{ me included in that} actualy took time out to talk to him,i personaly would like to thank all involved for making my night doubly special.{by the way the real ale in the Dispensary.}WOW.Philip has gone shopping to buy three CDs, no prizes for guessing what artist he is going to buy.
Once again thank you all. take it easy.

[cpl593h]

I'm sure you all saw the enormous analogue clock LC has on stage to remind him of the time

yes, i saw that in front of roscoe when the video camera behind neil panned down onto the stage

[davem99]

I've seen him in the Opera House in Manchester and the Albert Hall in the past, but I must say that it was every bit as good, if not better than pervious concerts.

I too was at Manchester Opera House last year and the difference between the shows was quite marked.

The band are so much more relaxed and playful now than last June as is to expected after 18 months, 15 of them on the road. They are really enjoying themselves especially Dino who was dancing and strutting around all night.

Leonard has dispensed with the endless band introductions every song and they now happen solely at the end of Anthem and Take This Waltz to far greater effect. He also did not talk much last night which is probably down to his cold but it did serve to keep the flow of the music going far better than earlier concerts.

Leonard is still in remarkable form and his delivery apparently effortless especially given his cold.

The only downside to last nights gig was the 8pm start time which immediately meant that some songs were going to get dropped. We lost Democracy, A Thousand Kisses Deep and Wither Thou Goest. Shame he couldn't have started at 7-30 as he did last year.

I feel that this show was very good but lacked the event of Manchester Opera House in June or the celebratory feel of the MEN Arena in November when they finished the European tour.

If this is his last UK show then it was a good one to go out on.

I personally cannot wait to see him in Girona on August 15th. I feel that that is going to be a special night given the location it is being held in and, apart from the ealry Canadian shows, the smallest capacity of the tour at 1500.

Finally I would like to congratulate my Scouse friends for proving me wrong and for just once managing to keep their gobs shut during a concert in Liverpool. Well done.

Dave Metcalfe
Manchester, England

[sturgess66]

From NME Online Magazine

http://www.nme.com/news/leonard-cohen/46120

NME News
Leonard Cohen plays huge Liverpool show

Legendary singer provokes several standing ovations

* Jul 15, 2009

Leonard Cohen what could be his last-ever UK tour date last night (July 14) with a three-hour gig at the Liverpool Echo Arena.

Jogging onto the stage, the 74 year-old singer-songwriter opened with 'Dance Me To End of Love' in a greatest hits set that saw several standing ovations.

Backed by a six-piece band and three backing singers, Cohen introduced his band twice with such titles as the "prince of precision" for drummer Rafael Gayol and the "maestro of breath" for saxophone player Dino Soldo.

On second song 'The Future', the Webb Sisters, two of Cohen's backing singers, did cartwheels during the line, "and the white girls dancing", while on 'Hallelujah' he provoked huge cheers when he changed a line to sing: "I didn't come to Liverpool to fool you".

After the 15-minute interval, he resumed with 'Tower of Song' which had him laughing when he sang: "I was born like this, I had no choice, I was born with the gift of a golden voice", an ironic reference to his gravelly vocal tones.

The crowd remained respectfully quiet for the majority of the set, but perked up on 'First We Take Manhattan' by clapping along.

He closed the set with the fitting 'Closing Time', co-written with backing singer Sharon Robinson, before coming back on to play the tongue-in-cheek 'I Tried To Leave You' to another round of rapturous applause.

Leonard Cohen played:

'Dance Me To The End Of Love'
'The Future'
Ain't No Cure For Love'
'Bird On A Wire'
'Everybody Knows'
'In My Secret Life'
'Who By Fire'
'Waiting For The Miracle'
'Anthem'
'Tower Of Song'
'Suzanne'
'Sisters Of Mercy'
'Parisian'
'Boogey Street'
'Hallelujah'
'I'm Your Man'
'Take This Waltz'
'So Long Marianne'
'First We Take Manhattan'
'Famous Blue Raincoat'
If It Be Your Will'
'Closing Time'
'I Tried To Leave You'

The gig was only his second UK date of his European tour, after playing the Mercedes-Benz World in Surrey last week (July 11).