ADAM COHEN: TOUR 2011

[IrishAL]

Some video from the Dublin gig,

Like a Man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIxZqwDI ... ture=feedu

Hey Jane,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sf5066VVio

enjoy

Albert

[lizzytysh]

Thanks so much for these links, Al. First time I've heard Hey Jane. Thought it was lovely before he merged into Bird.

[gallina]

I am a bit late, but: completely agree with Gwen and Marsha, feel the same about Adam's work.

[daveeliver]

Hi all
The lady at the university box office has confirmed that it is a seated show, but no seats are allocated.
First up best dressed!
It's not a large venue.
She also assured me that tickets will be available on the door on the night £16 no fees.
Hope to see some old faces. All the students look really young!!

Spotify has Adam's new album available to listen to.
There are some really standout songs

[Goldin]

Live gig review: Adam Cohen - Thekla, Bristol

It’s taken him the lion share of his 39 years on this mortal coil, but Adam Cohen has finally reconciled himself with the association and implications of being ‘The Son of Leonard’.

Cohen Jnr first officially entered the family trade 13 years ago with an MTV-slanted eponymous album of adult pop and has since gone on to release a French language effort and play in the band Low Millions. But he’s avoided trading on his father’s legacy like the plague and been dropped from his fair share of record labels in the process.

Becoming a father seems to have been his Road to Damascus moment and now we have third solo album Like A Man, released last month. The record is Adam’s unabashed homage to his father’s early work, most notably 1974’s New Skin For The Old Ceremony. It’s a brave move, and one not without its risks.

The tender opener Sweet Dominique saw him set out his stall as an old fashioned troubadour in the classic mould at this seated Thekla show. What Other Guy - an album stand-out - shone here in its live incarnation, too, as a nicely observed relationship sketch.

The gently swaying title track of the new album made for another highpoint.

Despite his less than stellar recording career, he’s grown into a confident on-stage performer with a nice line in easy-going banter and anecdotes. Ditch those Ugg boots though, Adam.

The comparisons now between son and father are both unavoidable and totally appropriate. The voice, inflections and subject matter were spookily similar at several points and that’s an entirely good thing. Why fend off what comes naturally just for the sake of contrariness, after all?

But at times, Cohen Jnr’s lack of lyrical originality does become rather glaring. Girls These Days and Eleanor traversed hackneyed ground which didn’t cut the mustard.

Full marks though for the smart deconstruction of Marvin Gaye’s classic What’s Going On, and yes, Leonard did get a look in on the setlist thanks to a heart-warming version of So Long, Marianne. “Oh you’re recording this one are you?” he chides the audience in mock indignation as they reach for their camera phones. It’s a cross he’s happy to bear nowadays, though. His new skin for the old ceremony seems to fit him rather well.

Rating: 6/10

STEVE HARNELL

[mydoglorca]

He looked great in the Ugg boots.
He was very good. It would have been much better in the same venue the Webbs played though.

[clive cass]

I saw Adam in Manchester last night and I would like to invite you to visit my Blog to read all about it

http://planetscopus.blogspot.com/

[daveeliver]

Hi All,
Probably about 7 or 8 of us from the forum etc.,are going to Adam's concert this Friday at The Stanley Theatre Liverpool.

If anybody else is going (tickets available on the door), we're having a drink about 430-5, probably starting in The Dispensary,and a meal in Hardman Street at 530.

Maybe see you then or there

Dave

[liverpoolken]

....hoping to see ya all sometime tomorrow....it's gonna be long day for me as it's the liverpool playhouse's centenary...i'm tied up from about 10am!!!! to 5-6pm.......lots of tea, cake, champagne and stars of stage screen and picket line....sorry but i still don't fancy going to see adam but i will keep in touch with dave and hopefully i will make the meal before you all head up to see cohen jnr.........ta ken

[clive cass]

ADAM COHEN BAND ON THE WALL MANCHESTER MONDAY 7/11/11

I first heard about Adam Cohen on the Leonard Cohen forum and was morbidly curious and hoped he would at least sing the same type of music as his father even if I knew nothing was ever likely to compare to the great man.

My first impression of Adam was through his You Tube confessional that he had all but given up singing after a failed career but was giving it one more go with a new album called Like A Man. The preview clip sounded promising and my wife Karen assured me he looked good

Apart from that I found a few quite sexy sounding French songs but frankly anything in French sounds sexy and anything sexy sounds good.

I am so desperate for anything “Cohenesque” that I have seen the Webb Sisters and the Keith James tribute show but I am totally convinced that I would not have bought tickets to see Adam if I did not like his music. So based on one track, the title track to Like A Man, I became the excited holder of 2 tickets to see Adam live at the band on the Wall in Manchester.

When I finally got the whole new CD I realised I had not made a mistake but at the same time I could not disassociate Adam from his father. Having see Cohen senior on every one of his tours since 1985 (all 3 of them) and 6 concerts in all including 4 shows during his recent 3 year long tour Adam was going to have to be good to make an impact on me. The last time I saw Leonard I got right up in front of the great man for the encores so was determined to be up close to his son and Karen certainly was not complaining.

The show opened with Mia Bloomfield warming up the stage with half a dozen songs and she was really good so I was not disappointed when she announced that she would be back to play in Adam’s band.

Finally Adam appeared with Mia and Peter his drummer, guitarist, pianist, backup vocalist etc. Ten songs and lots of chatting later it was all over but I hope that this is just the start of something that will last many years. Adam is talented, writes great songs and has bucket loads of charisma.

It must be difficult having a father who is so famous, successful and who is simply better than you will ever be but if Adam did not have a talented father he would not have had the chance of inheriting the talent he has so it’s a catch 22.

I am confused because on the one hand Adam wants to break free from living in his father’s shadow but yet the show was so totally overshadowed by his father and Adam was equally to blame for constantly referring to him and even led a sing along to So Long Marianne.

Adam could have come on, sang 20 songs and gone back to his hotel but he did not. Instead he engaged the audience in conversation about himself, his father and how he tried and failed to force himself to not only be a success but to do it by way of a genre of music he neither liked nor was competent at. Instead he has finally accepted that he is part of a dynasty of music that deserves to be honored by him and this realisation has freed him to express himself with a collection of truly beautiful songs.

Ok so Adam’s songs do not quite have the breadth of musicalilty or depth of poetic imagery of his fathers and he does not even have a back catalogue. Furthermore Adam is not yet able to afford to be accompanied by a band, like his father’s, who could provide a great evening of entertainment without either Cohen at their helm but he really is a great singer in his own right. He recounted how Paul Mcartney recently attended one of his concerts and assumed even he was morbidly curious but was much boosted when Paul admitted that he wished he had written “over rated himself”

Adam cannot help it but if you closed your eyes and just listened to the voice singing or talking you really could be forgiven if you thought it was Leonard himself on the stage.

Adam invited references to his father when he asked the audience why we had come to hear shouts of “Leonard” in response and when he asked if we wanted to hear a Leonard Cohen song to hear cries of “yes” in reply. I think this tour brings with it a sense of closure. Adam gives the audience chance to once again express their feelings about Leonard and Adam has the opportunity to hold his hand up and say "yeh my dad is Leonard Cohen and there is nothing I can do about that".

There is a saying “if you cannot beat ‘em, join ‘em” and I say good luck to Adam and make the most of it. However I feel that Adam just wanted to get this monkey off his back or chip off his shoulder and I believe that Adam will go on to make many more great albums and to carve out a great career for himself. I am sure that Adam will stay true to himself and by that he will be staying faithful to the Cohen brand of music and he will through his albums and shows perpetuate what his father started but also fulfill his own potential.

When I saw Leonard Cohen the last time and probably for the last time in Lille in 2010 I was lucky enough to get the great man’s set list (well Karen got it actually). It was a lot easier to get hold of Adam’s set list and even to get it signed but it’s a nice double to have achieved and Karen even got a kiss on both cheeks (from Adam if you were wondering).

I told him that I am also a Cohen and we spontaneously gave each other the secret hand single of the Cohens used from ancient biblical times to the present day and that is worth more than a kiss to me.

[harald]

ADAM COHEN Munich, 30 November 2011

Will anyone be going?
Regina and me will be there.
Might take the chance to see some familiar faces in a small meetup.

(the venue ´Ampere at the Muffathalle´ is a very small place in central Munich, no numbered seats if seats at all, normally entrance opens one hour before start of the concert, there should be a bar also inside the audience, casual atmosphere)

Harald

[almarks]

Attended the show at Oran Mor, Glasgow on Wednesday evening, great gig and great rapport with the enthusiastic audience. Adam was joined on stage by as young lady who made cocktails in Manchester and had been invited on the tour! Also he asked a newly engaged lady in the crowd to come on stage. which she did to loud applause.
We sang along to So Long Marianne having been told that was his favourite song written by his father. adam was happy to meet fans and sign posters and cds after the show. If Adam is in or near your town soon I would recommend buying a ticket.

[lizzytysh]

IMMENSELY enjoyed your balanced review, Clive.
Thank you so much and your words only encourage me more to want to see Adam.

[John Etherington]

It's hard to believe that it's over thirteen years since Adam Cohen first played in London. I saw his first two shows here in 1998, at the Water Rats pub in Kings Cross and the Borderline club in the West End (at the second of these shows he handed free bottles of Stella Artois to the audience!). At the time,as I recall, he fronted a four-piece band and appeared to have a mixture of influences including Sting, Marvin Gaye and more contemporary bands (possibly the Smiths). And so to November 13th 2011...

We arrived at Bush Hall at about 45 minutes early on Sunday evening, and there were already about six people queueing. A similar number promptly joined the queue behind us, and it rapidly spread round the corner and along the side of the building. Doors opened at 7.30 PM, and we were able to enter the hall and secure seats dead centre at the front. i thought this was a bit close at Neema's show there earlier this year, but this time there was a bit more leg room at the front. It soon became apparent there was a full house, though the only two forum members I met were Sue Merlyn and Padma. There seemed to be a large contingent of Irish fans.

Mai Bloomfield opened the show with half a dozen numbers, which was a pleasant start to the evening. She's a very sweet lady, and sang a song in which she expressed her appreciation of English rainfall. After the break, she joined Adam and Michael onstage and swapped guitar for the cello, of which she's clearly a very competent player.

Adam came across with much charm and wit, and interspersed his songs with some engaging banter. He's obviously made a careful study of his father's persona and music, and his present work effectively carries this influence. He flirted with Mai Bloomfield and announced that she was engaged to be married (detecting an air of disapproval from the guys in the audience). He also drew attention to a young barmaid from Manchester who had been integrated into the tour, and who was on hand to supply him with tequilas. He told an amusing story of how his parents had used him and Lorca as go-betweens when their relationship was breaking down and had conveyed messages to each other in elaborate prose, which was a bit much to lay on a kid aged five! He joked that the audience no doubt knew that he was the son of Celine Dion.

Adam played about ten songs in total, including most of those from his new album - namely Out of Bed, Matchbox, Like a Man, Sweet Dominique, What Other Guy, Girls These Days, Overrated and Beautiful (as elsewhere, he told the story of when Paul McCartney had come to a gig, and said he wished he had written "Overrated"). Adam featured a verse from "Bird on A Wire" in one of the songs, and also included Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On". Eventually, he asked the audience if they'd like to hear a song by "Celine Dion". He said that he thought that "Hallelujah" had been overdone and that while it was still a great song, he thought there were many better songs by his father. With this in mind, he led the audience through the first few verses of "So Long Marianne", which received a great response. At the end of the set, Adam said that the band didn't know any more songs, but that he would be available to sign albums, shake peoples hands, or listen to stories about his father.

Adam's concert was very well received with a standing ovation, and the event was clearly a triumph for him and his accompanists. The show ended at 10.30pm, and Adam promptly made his way to the merchandise stand. We joined the queue, and I got him to sign my "Like a Man" promo CD. I told him that I had attended his earlier London concerts, and he said that he thought I looked familiar. I also told him that I had attended every Leonard Cohen tour since 1970, and he said "I don't blame you, man"!

All good things, John E

[musicmania]

Great review John!! Glad you had a good time

My review of the Dublin gig has just gone up on Drop-d and can be read at this link.

http://www.drop-d.ie/adam-cohen-crawdaddy/21771