Amrei wrote:..I had brought my children, as you probably know.
They are great fans of Leonard Cohen. And my youngest daughter, Stella Sophia, knowing, that these will be the last concerts with Leonard, waved to him from time to time.
And then - when he sang "So long Marianne", he suddenly stopped and held a little break, smiled to her and gave her a wave back before he sang "You are really such a little pretty one" while he looked her into the eyes and smiled at her. It was so touching, I will never forget it ...nor will she.
This is such a beautiful story!! You should see the smile on my face now
I am sure it's an unforgettable evening for all of you.
Best,
--Sharon
2009 Tel Aviv; San Jose 2010 Sligo [x2] ; Las Vegas [x2] 2012 Berlin; Paris; New York, Brooklyn 2013 London (Sept); Amsterdam
Wow!! These are great! You may tell your friend how much I enjoyed them, too, and thank her very much!
And, for anyone interested (and you all should be!), Suzanne includes Avalanche, and it is in striking black & white, with beautiful close-ups of Leonard playing his guitar. This is my new favourite video!!
Thank you for posting Annisnakes videos. They are stunningly beautiful. The best I have seen for a while. Love the black and white
'...and here's a man still working for your little smile' -Leonard Cohen
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I had the honour to be at the Hannover concert last year. And the memory still gives me shivers down the spine.
After the first song, Leonard said that they would be giving everything that night, and I thought: "I am sure he will give us an excellent concert (I had read the enthusiatic reviews), but I didn´t really believe they would give everything." Almost four hours later, I had to say: They gave everything, to the very last. Most impressive indeed. You could see and feel that the band and Leonard loved to play for the audience.
It is a concert that I will never forget - wonderful, fantastic, magical, outstanding ...
And if you´re in love with a very beautiful woman from Vienna, lines like "Now, in Vienna there`s ten pretty women, there´s a shoulder were death comes to cry" will cut deeply into your memory.
Most remarkable was "Who by fire". Leonard played the intro on the guitar (or Banduria) himself ... and then he emerged into dynamic meditative variations of these few notes .... and he just didn´t stop playing ... played on and on for 10, 15? minutes ...he sent us out of space and time - not a whisper to be heard in the audience - it was absolutely brillant, it simply blew our minds and sent us floating ...
If Leonard and his band dare to turn up somewhere in Europe, I am bound to come.
Most remarkable was "Who by fire". Leonard played the intro on the guitar (or Banduria) himself ... and then he emerged into dynamic meditative variations of these few notes .... and he just didn´t stop playing ... played on and on for 10, 15? minutes ...he sent us out of space and time - not a whisper to be heard in the audience - it was absolutely brillant, it simply blew our minds and sent us floating ...Anthony
Hi Anthony,
Thank you for the review. Reading it now brings me back to all those concerts and is much appreciated and welcome to the forum.
How unusual for LC to do the intro on this as this is usually Javier's time to shine. Did Javier play any part in the intro?
Best regards,
Mary
1993 Detroit 2008 Kitchener June 2-Hamilton June 3 & 4-Vienna Sept 24 & 25-London RAH Nov 17 2009 NYC Feb 19-Grand Prairie Apr 3-Phoenix Apr 5-Columbia May 11-Red Rocks Jun 4-Barcelona Sept 21-Columbus Oct 27-Las Vegas Nov 12-San Jose Nov 13 2010 Sligo Jul 31 & Aug 1-LV Dec 10 & 11 2012 Paris Sept 30-London Dec 11-Boston Dec 16 2013 Louisville Mar 30-Amsterdam Sept 20
Leonard played that all by himself, only when the actual song started the band came into it. In fact, Leonard played an extended and "spaced-out" version of the intro that you can hear on the "Live in London" album (c.1:40 min.), where Javier plays the archilaud.
I am very grateful for the videos that Annie shared with us, but unluckily this part is not on the tape. And as you can see on "Avalanche", Leonard was indeed in the mood to play the guitar.
Maybe we should ask Edward Sanders, Roscoe Beck or someone, if they could release a few more special recordings of this kind, as they have done already on the album "Songs From The Road".
Ed Sanders has an excellent ear. When you compare the same songs from different concerts, you can hear that his choices were impeccable. But, as he has said, "The best version is the one you heard in person." I wish also that Ed Sanders would do a Songs from the Road Volume II, eventually putting all the songs that were done in this last tour on CDs. Would be interesting to see what his choices would be.
In my recollection, this opening on Who By Fire was always done by Javier and Javier always changed it up and put his own personal touch on it. Apparently you were privy to a 'different' special version by LC
Best regards,
Mary
1993 Detroit 2008 Kitchener June 2-Hamilton June 3 & 4-Vienna Sept 24 & 25-London RAH Nov 17 2009 NYC Feb 19-Grand Prairie Apr 3-Phoenix Apr 5-Columbia May 11-Red Rocks Jun 4-Barcelona Sept 21-Columbus Oct 27-Las Vegas Nov 12-San Jose Nov 13 2010 Sligo Jul 31 & Aug 1-LV Dec 10 & 11 2012 Paris Sept 30-London Dec 11-Boston Dec 16 2013 Louisville Mar 30-Amsterdam Sept 20
Well, I askeld my friend who was with me at the concert and he said, that he also remembers, hat it was Leonard playing that intro. It may well be, that we both are mistaken. I´d reckon, that for the anniversary some other visitors might look into this thread and will confirm one of us. And if it was Javier, that doesn´t change anything, as this intro was truely magnificantly played. And if Ed Sanders does make a selection for a Vol. II of "Songs from the road" (which I do hope), I give you a bet, that this piece will be choosen.