CONCERT REPORT: Zagreb, Croatia, July 25, 2010

July 25 - December 11, 2010. Concert reports, set lists, photos, media coverage, multimedia links, recollections...
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Mabeanie1
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Zagreb, Croatia, July 25, 2010

Post by Mabeanie1 »

donalagata wrote:I am surprised to read some comments from others who wanted or expected more from our man.
Perhaps these individuals cup will always be half full in life...
I think that is very unfair donalagata and just a little bit insulting to those of us who dare to express views other than "everything is perfect and Leonard can do no wrong".

By the way, having experienced a very different show in Salzburg last night, where the audience were much more reserved than the Zagreb crowd and only let their hair down in the encores but were the set list was much "riskier" with both the new song Born in Chains and Feels So Good included, I have reached the conclusion that Leonard was probably suffering from first night nerves in Zagreb, hence the "safe" set list I referred to earlier.

Wendy
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IrishAL
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Zagreb, Croatia, July 25, 2010

Post by IrishAL »

sturgess66 wrote:Anyone notice Dino's new state-of-the art "acoustic-enhancing" equipment? :lol: 8) 8)

In "I Tried To Leave You" - Dino's harmonica solo starting at 1:15 -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ze_cyqZIlOU
Yes, i thinks its a Unified Heart Mini Cylindrical Thermo Kinetic Variable Fluid Containing and Dispensing Device..
or perhaps its a MUG !


albert
ps Sturgess ...sorry no Bird this time. Will put it on the list for the next outing.
2008: Dublin x2 London Helsinki London RAH M'chester
2009:
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2010: Zagreb Sligo x2 Berlin Gent x2 Florence Marseille Katowice Bratislava L' Vegasx2
2012 Gent x2 Amsterdam X2 Dublin x4 Verona Paris x2,Boston
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donalagata
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Zagreb, Croatia, July 25, 2010

Post by donalagata »

Wendy,
You present a very good point and I did not intend my comment to insult anyone and I do apologize for that . It is true that there can and will be an unpredictable and specific response to his concerts. I have such respect for this man as an artist I was speaking from my heart and not my head when I wrote my comment. I have sent you a private message on this also. I am sorry for any upsets I may have caused.
Respectfully,
Donna
LHHUNTER
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Zagreb, Croatia, July 25, 2010

Post by LHHUNTER »

Mabeanie1 wrote:
donalagata wrote:I am surprised to read some comments from others who wanted or expected more from our man.
Perhaps these individuals cup will always be half full in life...
Don't forget Leonards past, his cup has often been half full and at times empty.
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tomsakic
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Zagreb, Croatia, July 25, 2010

Post by tomsakic »

is it only me, or has anybody else gotten an impression that the beginning of 'everybody knows' was rendered by LC in tom waits-ish style - almost barking :)? maybe a deliberate hommage to one of the artists he appreciates, according to an interview i read somewhere?
You're right, after the show we commented the new "barking style" of Everybody Knows and I think one other song, maybe Closing Time (?). I like the subtle change.
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tomsakic
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Zagreb, Croatia, July 25, 2010

Post by tomsakic »

sturgess66 wrote:And Dino was playing on a new instrument - an Eigenharp. :D :D 8) Anybody remember which song?
There was some new strange instrument... He played it but we didn't hear any sound from it, in Zagreb nor Salzburg. You can probably see which song on YouTube.

Image

Good change in arrangement is Roscoe playing bass guitar instead of stand-up bass in I'm Your Man and in I Tried To Leave You. On this picture from Graz he has it:

Image

Also, we noticed Rafael hitting the gong behind him on the very end of The Gypsy's Wife. In Zagreb it resounded through the venue, but in Salzburg it was almost inaudible when he hit it.
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tomsakic
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Zagreb, Croatia, July 25, 2010

Post by tomsakic »

Mabeanie1 wrote: I have reached the conclusion that Leonard was probably suffering from first night nerves in Zagreb, hence the "safe" set list I referred to earlier.
cpl593h wrote:
LHHUNTER wrote:I felt disappointed with the set list at the Zagreb show as Leonard choose not to give us anything fresh whether a taste of something from the forthcoming new album or some different songs from the back catalogue. I also thought the band looked very reserved and dare I say even bored at some points. I hope as the tour evolves they decide to try something new. ;-)
let's not forget that for the vast majority of people in the audience this is the one and only time they'll see LC and Band on this tour and as it's such a perfect set list it's best to keep it as it stands. of course it's great for us who visit the tour on several occasions to have a little variety - especially as this tour is now sooooo long! - but for most this is their one LC gig and they deserve the hear the music that has had the rest of us in raptures for so long.
Don't forget that there was maybe only 100 people among 11,000 in Zagreb who saw Leonard Cohen show before. And of those 50, half of them were Croats, other the Forum members! And the Forum members did complain about the setlist, true. I also hoped for new songs, but now I am glad it didn't happen in Zagreb.

I was in both Zagreb and Salzburg. And I can conclude that it was the wise decision to jump the new songs in Zagreb in front of the audience screaming, dancing and literally jumping to the stage and giving you the standing ovations after every song. The atmosphere in Zagreb was highly emotional atmosphere of long-awaited love to be fulfilled, and it happened. Similar to reports from shows in Dublin or Israel, people dancing, singing, sitting on the floor in corridors etc.

In Salzburg, and after the Zagreb show (and after the experiences of the Lucca and Venice shows), I was struck by the church-like mood. The audience didn't move at all until I'm Your Man, and only by their clapping (which was becoming longer and deeper as the show progressed) you could realise that they are also very dedicated, but in completely different manner.

At moments I was thinking that I am sitting at the perfect soundcheck - crystal sound in complete silence, as someone's pouring Live in London directly into my brain as I'm sitting in perfect acoustic room. In such atmosphere it was easy to launch two new songs. Born in Chains sounded like I was listening to it on my mp3 player. In Zagreb, it was more like feeding lions, people hungry of hearing you after so many years of waiting. And you can't stop your sing-along show in front of 11,000 people with new song, you wanna give these people the old songs they love. You can do new songs in silenced and polite small arena of 5,000 seated people.

The common opinion of the local people and fans is that the show in Arena Zagreb was one of the best shows everyone experienced. No single complaint yet, newspapers still writing about it and people calling and writing and linking the clips on Youtube.

And I have to say that on my list of the shows the crowded, loud shows of Zagreb, Venice and Lucca are on the top, while Salzburg, despite its perfection of delivery and sound, is on the bottom of my personal attachment. Although it was the best played show I ever saw (!), much better than Zagreb or Royal Albert Hall, in terms of playing and delivery it was pure professionalism and total perfection. No single note fell on the wrong ground, while in Zagreb there were some errors and you couldn't really just sit and enjoy the music, as it was about giving yourself to the man, and vice versa, as he was much more smiling and dancing in Zagreb, delighted by the audience reaction.

So I can say that Salzburg was pure perfection of performance, while on the other side Zagreb was total surrender of the audience. For Salzburg, you can't say "I experienced the divine revelation", as that critic said for the Zagreb show. You can say "total perfection in reverend atmosphere". And the both sides are similar and are Leonard Cohen. Which one will happen depends on local audience and people's mentality and expectations.
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tomsakic
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Zagreb, Croatia, July 25, 2010

Post by tomsakic »

Security at the Arena Zagreb didn't allow local fans to give LC the gift, so here's he, leaving the hotel next morning (Monday 26th), with the plywood violin he was presented with in the hotel lobby:)

Image

The monkey stayed with Jurica...
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tomsakic
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Zagreb, Croatia, July 25, 2010

Post by tomsakic »

Davido wrote:
tomsakic wrote:One thing I noticed in the arrangements, somebody correct me if it was introduced already in the uS tour before Xmas: The Gypsy Wife ended with Rafael hitting the big gong behind him. I have many bootlegs from 2009 tour and never heard this nor I saw it in Venice. The gong was used only that time during the whole show.
You can see the gong behind him on the pic in previous post.
Tom,
The gong is not new - I noticed it at UK shows. I think in early shows it was low down behind Raphael and then later higher up more 'on display'. I have watched a few random vids on youtube of Gypsy's Wife and early ones you can see Raphael stand up and strike the gong. Here (Tel Aviv) it is higher up and clearly visible at around 0.23 :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbrBaOu9EBM
Dave
Thanks, obviously in Zagreb it was so loud that few of us jumped from their seats:P
In Salzburg on July 27 it was almost inaudible, it was only like silenced sound wave when Rafael hit it.
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tomsakic
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Zagreb, Croatia, July 25, 2010

Post by tomsakic »

Nobody noticed: on RTL Croatia television link, there's "professional" TV recording of Dance Me..., shot obviously from the point of the view of the mixing table in front of the parterre.

http://www.rtl.hr/video-veliki-koncert- ... anak-20551

VIDEO is on the right side, in photo gallery.
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tomsakic
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Zagreb, Croatia, July 25, 2010

Post by tomsakic »

Revuiew at http://www.she.hr/default.aspx?id=10358 "To see and hear Leonard Cohen live and then die" is a summary.

This one says: "No, thank YOU" : http://dalje.com/hr-scena/videofoto--ne ... azi/315613
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Zagreb, Croatia, July 25, 2010

Post by sturgess66 »

IrishAL wrote:
sturgess66 wrote:Anyone notice Dino's new state-of-the art "acoustic-enhancing" equipment? :lol: 8) 8)

In "I Tried To Leave You" - Dino's harmonica solo starting at 1:15 -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ze_cyqZIlOU
Yes, i thinks its a Unified Heart Mini Cylindrical Thermo Kinetic Variable Fluid Containing and Dispensing Device..
or perhaps its a MUG !


albert
ps Sturgess ...sorry no Bird this time. Will put it on the list for the next outing.
Thanks Albert. Mnkyface/Esther has "captioned" the event perfectly at Dino's FB page - :lol: :lol:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pag ... 008?ref=ts

BUT - I was just over on YouTube - hanging out in the hallway - and there was a door ajar and when I looked in - I noticed!!! :D :D :D

Hope you don't mind if I post it -

Heart With No Companion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd5JF2l_TmI

-and-

Waiting For The Miracle -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUhn5ifI ... re=channel

Thank you, thank you, thank you.


(No pressure at all Albert - haha - but if Leonard does any sort of recitation in Sligo - or "Born In Chains" - or "There Is A War" and if he does ... well - never mind - I LOVE anything you can capture - and I thank you very much!!! Seriously though - it is most important - make sure that you yourself enjoy the show!!!!)
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tomsakic
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Zagreb, Croatia, July 25, 2010

Post by tomsakic »

Thanks to hint by Paul Zagreb, I just bought today's issue of leading weekly newspaper GLOBUS - three full pages of review written by one of the most Cohen -knowleadgable music critic here, Sven Semencic.

There's no web version. I will try scan it. The title itself is worth translating: "Arena would be valuable of its price it was built only for Cohen"! Other lines include: "the best concert ever in this city", "sound mix never heard on this country's stages", "10,000 people interested in this very show with their lives ... who know who is Sharon Robinson or Roscoe Beck ... 10,000 people giving hope that Croatia will one day be a normal country".
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zagi
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Zagreb, Croatia, July 25, 2010

Post by zagi »

tomsakic wrote:Thanks to hint by Paul Zagreb, I just bought today's issue of leading weekly newspaper GLOBUS - three full pages of review written by one of the most Cohen -knowleadgable music critic here, Sven Semencic.

There's no web version. I will try scan it. The title itself is worth translating: "Arena would be valuable of its price it was built only for Cohen"! Other lines include: "the best concert ever in this city", "sound mix never heard on this country's stages", "10,000 people interested in this very show with their lives ... who know who is Sharon Robinson or Roscoe Beck ... 10,000 people giving hope that Croatia will one day be a normal country".
This is probably the best recap of what Leonard's ZG show meant not only to his fans but to this city and country as well. To call this event a concert is like trying to capture a river in a cup. And if this flashback that hits me every day few times and gets me close to tears is what drives people to visit this celebrations of art and beauty and love then I'm hooked no matter how late it might be. For this might have been my first and only Leonard's show ever but it will be as huge and grand in my memories like seeing all of them I think. :)
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