CONCERT REPORT: Berlin, Germany, July 17, 2013

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crista
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CONCERT REPORT: Berlin, Germany, July 17, 2013

Post by crista »

Today's announcement of the concert in one of Berlin's newspapers:

Berliner Morgenpost
http://www.morgenpost.de/

15.07.13, 02:55
Höhepunkte der Woche
Lieder: Leonard Cohen singt sein Lebenswerk in Friedrichshain
17.07. Der 78-jährige Sänger Leonhard Cohen macht schon länger Musik, als die meisten seiner Fans überhaupt auf der Erde weilen. Mit so beschwörender wie betörender Grabesstimme singt er seine wunderbaren Lieder immer und immer wieder und die Fans folgen ihm wie dem Hohepriester der Musik. Cohen ist ein Erlebnis – auch 2013.
O2 World O2-Platz 1, Friedrichshain, Tel. 20 60 70 88 99, 20 Uhr, es gibt noch Karten von 55 bis 95,25 Euro

My translation:

Highlights of the week
Songs: Leonard Cohen sings his life's work in Friedrichshain [a Berlin district]

17.07. The 78 year old singer Leonard Cohen has been making music for longer than most of his fans have spent on earth. With a sepulchral voice as evoking as it is beguiling [unfortunately, it not possible to reproduce the German rhyme “beschwoerend(der)” and “betoerend(der)” in English] he sings his wonderful songs again and again and the fans follow him like the high priest of music. Cohen is an experience – also in 2013.
Tickets are still available.
Last edited by crista on Tue Jul 23, 2013 3:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
1979 Cologne Messehalle 8 - 2012 New York Madison Square Garden - 2013 New York Radio City Music Hall x2; Zurich Hallenstadion
crista
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Location: New York

Re: Concert Report: Berlin (July, 17)

Post by crista »

Musings in a Berlin newspaper before LC's concert today:

BERLINER ZEITUNG
http://www.berliner-zeitung.de
Berliner Zeitung »Kultur »Unterm Strich
Unterm Strich
15.07.2013
Leonhard Cohen in Berlin
Das versaute Einmaligkeitsgefühl
Von Katrin Warnstedt

Foto: AP/dpa Leonhard Cohen beim Jazz Festival in der Schweiz, Anfang Juli. Nun kommt er (mal wieder) nach Berlin.
[Sorry, I don't manage to upload the photo]

Noch einmal Leonard Cohen live beim Konzert erleben, das schien vor ein paar Jahren, als der Künstler im Kloster verschwunden war, nur im Traum möglich. Inzwischen geht er wieder auf Tournee, und der Traum ein bisschen zu oft in Erfüllung.

Einst, als ich noch jung war, verfertigte ich mir eine Liste mit Erlebnissen, die ich meinem Leben noch zuteil werden lassen wollte. Zu Beginn schrieb ich: „Leonard Cohen live hören“. Zur jener Zeit saß der Nämliche in einem weit entfernten Kloster und meditierte. Es hieß, er werde nie wieder ein Konzert geben. Das war ein trefflicher Grund für den ersten Platz auf meiner Liste, denn nur das eigentlich Unerreichbare konnte im Fall des Eintreffens die grenzenlose Freude auslösen, an die ich mich aus meiner Kindheit nur mehr erinnerte.

Dort war es etwa ein schlichter Videorekorder, der nach jahrelangem sehnsüchtigem Begehren und konstantem Bearbeiten meiner Eltern irgendwann Einlass in unsere Schrankwand fand. Alle paar Jahre sollte mein Leben sich an solcher Freude erfrischen können, so dachte ich.

Seinerzeit malte ich mir aus, wie Leonard Cohen doch einmal, von seinem Kloster herabsteigen würde, um irgendwo in Kanada heimlich ein Konzert zu geben, in einem Kellerclub für wenige Gäste. Es wäre mir auf geheimnisvollem Weg zugetragen worden, ich hätte all mein Geld, meinen Jahresurlaub genommen, ach was, ich hätte gekündigt, meinen Hausstand verpfändet oder wäre im neunten Schwangerschaftsmonat zu ihm geflogen.

Ich wäre in diesen Club getreten, hätte Leonard Cohen die widrigen Umstände meiner Anreise geschildert, und er hätte sein gütig verschmitztes Lächeln gelächelt, das Kind in meinem Bauch gesegnet und „Take this Waltz“ gesungen. Nur für mich. Es ist in Nuancen anders gekommen.

Danke der Managerin!
Man hörte, seine Managerin habe ihn um sein Vermögen gebracht, und er müsse noch ein Mal auf Tournee gehen, um seine Altersvorsorge zu sichern.

Ich brauchte also gar nicht zu ihm kommen! Er kam zu mir! Nach Berlin! Für läppische 80 Euro! Das war schon fast kränkend! Na gut, ich hatte 15 Jahre darauf gehofft, aber das ist keine Zeit im Angesicht der Ewigkeit! Das war so, als wenn sich jemand jahrelang auf eine Bergbesteigung vorbereitet und endlich dort angekommen, sieht, dass bereits ein Fahrstuhl zum Gipfel führt. Meine rückhaltlose Opferbereitschaft wurde gar nicht Anspruch genommen. − Egal, dachte ich, nimm es als Geschenk an und danke der Managerin!

Ich ging zum Konzert in die Riesenhalle, die, anders als der imaginierte Club, eher die emsige Atmosphäre eines Großflughafens verbreitete, aber egal auch das. Da war er und da war auch ich. Und zehntausend andere. − Ich war nicht enttäuscht. Im Gegenteil! Cohens Stimme hat es geschafft, diese kalte große Halle und diese Zehntausend vergessen zu lassen. Da waren tatsächlich nur er und ich und ein paar wenige. Und „Take This Waltz“ hat er für mich gesungen! Welche Freude! So etwas wirst du nie wieder erleben, sagte ich mir und glaubte es.

Bis die Ankündigung für das zweite Konzert kam. Was denn, was denn, rief ich. Das ist doch nicht so einfach wiederholbar! Nein, diesmal kann ich nicht gehen! Ich lass mir mein Einmaligkeitsgefühl nicht versauen! Nicht von Leonard Cohen! In der Nacht des Konzerts schlief ich ganz schlecht daheim in meinem Bett. Schon reute es mich zutiefst. Ich sagte mir, du bist nicht hingegangen wegen eines aufgeblasenen Gefühls, und nun wirst du ihn nie wieder live hören! Du Närrin!

Weit gefehlt. Schon bald hingen die Plakate der neuen Tournee an den Zäunen der Stadt. Ich kaufte sofort ein Ticket für die Waldbühne. Ist ja woanders, tröstete ich mich, wird sicher nicht das Gleiche. Besser. Viel romantischer. Es wurde nicht besser, aber auch nicht schlechter. Es war nahezu identisch, doch die siebenminütige Magie, die von dem Lied „The Partisan“ ausging, war neu. Nahezu berauschend! Ich gratulierte mir zu meiner Entscheidung, mein Einmaligkeitsgefühl durch dieses nun ganz sichere Lebewohlkonzert ergänzt und vervollständigt zu haben.

Bis ich, richtig, abermals eine Ankündigung für die nunmehr vierte Tournee las. Inzwischen glaube ich, er kommt gar nicht wegen des Geldes, er kommt, weil er seinen Auftritt genießt. Vielleicht geh ich wieder und wieder hin, um es mit ihm gemeinsam zu genießen. Doch die Freude danach, fürchte ich, wird schon bald ähnlich der sein, die ich empfinde, wenn ich mir einen Film mit unserem inzwischen vierten DVD-Player anschaue.

Leonard Cohen spielt mal wieder in Berlin: am Mittwoch (17.07.2013) in der O2-World.

My translation:

THE BOTTOM LINE IS
LEONHARD COHEN IN BERLIN
The messed up feeling of uniqueness
By Katrin Warnstedt

To experience once more Leonard Cohen live at a concert, a few years ago when the artist had disappeared into the monastery that seemed to be possible only in a dream. Meanwhile he is touring again, and the dream comes true a bit too often.

Formerly, when I was still young, I fabricated a list with experiences that I still wanted to bestow on my life. At the beginning I wrote „To listen to Leonard Cohen live“. At that time the same sat in a far away monastery and meditated. They said he would never again play a concert. That was a felicitous reason for the first place on my list as only the virtual unachievable could, in the case of its arrival, trigger the limitless joy that I only remembered from my childhood.
In that case it was a simple video recorder which after years of ardent longing and constant working on my parents someday found admission into our wall unit. Every few years my life should be able to refresh itself at such joy, I thought.
At that time I imagined how Leonard Cohen would, after all, once descend from his monastery to secretly play a concert somewhere in Canada, in a cellar club for a few guests. It would have been reported to me in a mysterious way, I would have used all my money, my annual leave, I say!, I would have resigned, pawned my household, or would have flown to him in the ninth month of my pregnancy.

I would have entered this club, had described the adverse circumstances of my journey to Leonard Cohen, and he would have smiled his kind mischievous smile, blessed the child in my tummy and sung „Take this Waltz“. Just for me. It turned out in nuances differently.

- My thanks to the manager! -
One heared that his manager cheated him out of his fortune, and he must tour once more to secure his retirement provisions.

Then I need not at all come to him! He came to me! To Berlin! For mere 80 Euro! That was almost insulting! Fair enough, I had hoped for it for 15 years, but that is no time in the face of eternity! That was as if somebody prepared oneself for years for the ascent of a mountain and, having finally arrived there, sees that already an elevator leads to the summit. My no-holds-barred readiness to make sacrificies was not at all engaged. − Never mind, I thought, accept it as a gift and thank the manager!

I went to the concert in the giant hall, which, different from the imagined club, sent forth more the diligent atmosphere of a major airport, but never mind that as well. There he was und there I was as well. And ten thousand others. – I was not disappointed. On the contrary! Cohen’s voice managed to make one forget this cold giant hall and these ten thousand. There were really only he and me and a few others. And „Take This Waltz“ he sang for me! What joy! You will never again experience anything like that, I told myself and I believed it.

Until the announcement for the second concert arrived. How so, how so, I cried. Surely it is not possible to simply repeat that! No, this time I cannot go! I don’t let my feeling of uniqueness get messed up! Not by Leonard Cohen! The night of the concert I slept very badly at home in my bed. I already regretted it deeply. I told myself you did not go because of a self-important feeling and now you will never again hear him live! You foul!

Far wrong. Soon posters of the new tour hang at the fences of the city. I immediately bought a ticket for the Waldbuehne. [Forest Stage – the outdoor venue for the 2010 concert] It is somewhere else, I comforted myself, it will not be the same. It will be better. Much more romantic. It did not turn out better, but also not worse. It was almost identical, but the magic of seven minutes, that emanated from the song „The Partisan“ was new. Well-nigh intoxicating! I congratulated myself on my decision to complement and complete my feeling of uniqueness by this now for sure farewell concert.

Until I read once again an announcement for the by now fourth tour. Meanwhile I believe he does not come because of the money, he comes because he enjoys his performance. Maybe I go again and again to enjoy it together with him. However, the joy afterwards, I am afraid, will soon be similar that, which I experience when I watch a movie in our meanwhile fourth DVD-player.

Leonard Cohen plays once again in Berlin: Wednesday (17.07.2013) in the O2-World.
1979 Cologne Messehalle 8 - 2012 New York Madison Square Garden - 2013 New York Radio City Music Hall x2; Zurich Hallenstadion
zwirnie
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Location: Berlin, Germany

Re: CONCERT REPORT: BERLIN (July, 17)

Post by zwirnie »

Just a quick check-in... on my way back from the concert. It was fantastic, no real surprise there. The slow and almost solo acoustic Version of Chelsea hotel is hauntingly beautiful. And First We Take Manhattan cannot be anymore awesome then when it is played in Berlin :D . Setlist posted in the appropriate thread. More tomorrow.
2010: Wellington, 2012/13: Berlin
astranger
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: BERLIN (July, 17)

Post by astranger »

Interesting that Anthem is still not being played in a non-festival setting.
Jake.........Durham, NC 11-3-09; Brooklyn, NY 12-20-12
notevenasuit
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: BERLIN (July, 17)

Post by notevenasuit »

Crista:
Your comment is honest just as the songs of LC.... In one of his songs he says "and since she spoke the truth to me, I tried to answer truthfully..." I wonder what he would answer to people who are surprised by the repetition of his unique concerts.
I am also curious to know, if the Berlin-concert was only a repetition of former concerts or if it was something unique, once more ..?
Not for just 1 months, not for just 1 year but. ..
ALWAYS
crystal
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: BERLIN (July, 17)

Post by crystal »

The songs may be a repetition because we know them. The concerts never are. Last night was once more unique and beautiful a combination of sadness and joy, humor and a bitter truth. It was about getting old and going on about showing ways, loving and hurting. Javier Mas' solo in Who by fire was excellent. I have never heard it better. Of course all the musicians were exceptional. Lover, Lover, Lover was one of my highlights and Chelsea Hotel and of course Sisters o mercy. But when I say highlight, it is in the sense of highlight in a sea of highlights.
For me it once more unique.
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: BERLIN (July, 17)

Post by sturgess66 »

Here's some terrific video -

Uploaded by genieek -

I Tried To Leave You + Save The Last Dance
(Response from Berlin audience is stupendous. Leonard at the end "It's been so great playing for you, friends. We'll remember this night for a long time. Thank you so much.")
http://youtu.be/nrj284rTRl0

Suzanne
http://youtu.be/VOQGt03Bvfo

Everybody Knows
http://youtu.be/CvC2m-s3rfo

The Future
http://youtu.be/1inaFa8qibE

First We Take Manhattan (partial)
http://youtu.be/zgGkpc-9xqg


************

This is very short - but captures enthusiasm of audience - and the big flashing boom of light - synced with "Berlin!!"

Uploaded by Lee G

First We Take Manhattan
http://youtu.be/_f0Tn3zYhRQ
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sturgess66
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Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Re: CONCERT REPORT: BERLIN (July, 17)

Post by sturgess66 »

From Joey Carenza - Notes From The Road -

Image
Keep Calm Berlin

Image
Big Barn Berlin

http://leonardcohen.tumblr.com/

************

From Leif Bodnarchuk - NO IDEAS -

Berlin - Pre-Show - http://dragonhelm.wordpress.com/2013/07 ... berlin-o2/
Berlin Show - http://dragonhelm.wordpress.com/2013/07 ... orld-show/

*************

Instagram -

Image
6th time seeing #leonardcohen live, never seen anything like this - gave it his all tonight #thenhetookberlin #berlin

And the set list as posted in setlists thread by zwirnie -
zwirnie wrote:Berlin, O2 World, 17.07.2013

Dance me to the end of love
The Future
Bird on the Wire
Everybody knows
Who by Fire
Darkness
Amen
Come Healing
Lover, Lover, Lover

Tower of Song
Suzanne
Chelsea Hotel #2
Sisters of Mercy
The Partisan
Alexandra Leaving (performed by Sharon Robinson)
I'm Your Man
Hallelujah
Take this Waltz

Encore 1
So long Marianne
Going Home
First We Take Manhattan

Encore 2
Famous Blue Raincoat
If It Be your Will (performed by Hattie and Charlie Webb)
Closing Time

Encore 3
I tried to Leave You
Save The Last Dance For Me
Last edited by sturgess66 on Sat Jul 20, 2013 3:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
susanne30072009
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: BERLIN (July, 17)

Post by susanne30072009 »

Just back from Berlin.... what an incredible last Night we have had!
After Hamburg, which was (from my point of view) an outstanding Performance from Leonard and all of the Band-members (Hattie was fighting with the Cold; even in Berlin... from here: all the best wishes!), I wouldn't, no: I thought, I couldn't expect to get "more"....
But last Night, Leonard have delivered a touching and very warm and exciting evening!
Yes, since Lucca, "Anthem" is skipped... I don't know why... And: I do miss it.
But this is his Show, and he knows very well, what to do, even when me and some others like to hear this or this Song.
Since Lucca, Lover Lover Lover is the Song before the break. He make the Intros for all of the UHTC-Bandmembers, and then he announced the Break.
But last Night in Berlin, you could hear him shouting to Javier: "One more Time the (first or the last?) Verse!" And the Rhythm of Lover Lover Lover thrilled the crowd wildly.
A very, very good way to make a "outtro" (at least, for me).
I love this Song more and more, especially in this Version.
I really do hope, that they will Publishing a Live-DVD from this Summertour!!
It's not the same Show now as it was in 2008 and 2009. It's really cool now, Leonard is much more relaxed and delivering some unique and Special, but absolutely different Shows that he did back then.
And everyone can see, that he likes, what he does; he looked like he had some real Fun on the Stages. And you can feel, that he want to be right there in this Moment!

I was wondering, if Leonard would Play "Chelasea Hotel" and "Tower of Song". And he did. But once again he did it in a different way.
When I was expecting the Piano-Tunes from the Synthesizer in "Tower of Song", the tune from a "Indio-Pan-Flute" can be heard.
The "Cohenites" laughed all together, and most of all, Leonard did laughed... it really Looks like a "Teaser" (in the very best Way of meaning; I don't know another Word right now).
And then he had all of the Audiences laughed too!
And: they really changed the Arrangements another Time: you can hear this very clear, even "Chelsea Hotel" was different, a Little bit harder.... just different, better and better!

Leonard Cohen is not just a Singer and a Poet: he is a real magicians.
Sure, you can't compare Singers or Poems with each other.
But that's for sure: Leonard Plays in his own league, also his hand-picked Musicians: each and everyone of them are truely the best Artists, that's for sure, everyone in his own Profession!

And last Night, they "gave me (I hope, that you can say the same for yourself) everything that they got", to Quote Leonard.
I will remember this Concert for the rest of my Days.
Leonard Cohen and all of your Band and Crew: thank you very, very much!
This means so very much for me, and I am sure: for other People too!
My Wife Susanne have a "round" Birthday, that's why we fly to Vienna....
So both of us will have great, great Present: we have given us the VIP-Tickets for Mr. Cohen, a true Gentlemen, a Crooner in his own League!

Uwe + Susanne, Switzerland
PS: Gruss an Diana.D und Co. von Berlin
HelenOE
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: BERLIN (July, 17)

Post by HelenOE »

From the Tagesspiegel newspaper, another amazing and poetic review. My Google-assisted translation:
Leonard Cohen at the O2 The Lightbringer
5:45 pm by Rüdiger Schaper

Hallelujah. Leonard Cohen, 78, gave a three-hour concert at the sold-out Berlin 02 World. Photo: David / Brunner


A concert of Leonard Cohen recalls the elegance of the Alhambra. The Canadian "sings prayers" as Bob Dylan once called it. Now Cohen has blessed Berlin with a magnificent concert.

Oh, that Heinrich Heine did not make any recordings! That King David in Jerusalem, who nevertheless was also a great singer, left no tracks behind! How might they have sounded, the men of the Psalms and of the love songs? We need to rely on Leonard Cohen then, the poet with the "golden voice", as he with gentle irony says of himself in "Tower of Song", the poet who once took up the guitar and both sweetened and darkened pop music. He has fused the pop and the poetry with religion and sex. He will soon be 79, still bouncing animatedly on stage, kneeling gratefully before his virtuoso musicians - and is received in the sold-02 World in Berlin with standing ovations from his fans, who certainly are not experiencing him for the first time.

He played for three hours; the evening is a triumph.

Since his comeback in 2008 he has been here every year. Every appearance has had its own charm, has never been a disappointment—far from it. Now the concert starts a bit rough, as always, with "Dance Me to the End of Love", but already by the third song, "Bird on the Wire", the first tears of emotion, of happiness flow. These songs are easily forty years old, and as often as he may have sung them already, as melancholy and tired as their keynote is, as they once came out on vinyl and made him famous, as spare and shadowed as the arrangements were at that time, so they changed the music world .

Today, and that had already begun before his nearly 15-year retreat period, Cohen floats on the wings of the blues, flamenco, a gypsy-mixture that pays homage to his poetic model Federico Garcia Lorca. This is mainly thanks to the master of strings Javier Mas, who plays a prelude to Cohen's "sung prayers", as Bob Dylan once called them, with poignant beauty and intensity.

Suddenly you understand what religion is based on: on the dialogue with the Elder and Higher.

The architecture of a Cohen concert is reminiscent of the elegance of the Alhambra in Granada, Lorca's Andalusian homeland. Cohen holds converse with his verses, always overhearing fresh nuances in them. He can make depression swing. He is a longed-for, welcome Lucifer, a light bringer. This is especially true for the new songs like "Amen" and "Darkness" on the "Old Ideas" album. This is unique. He does not let up. He is even better - if the criterion is that an artist of almost 80 does not just deliver his material in a self-controlled and orderly way, but also has the power to inspire himself. Cohen drinks the love that flows over him in the cold hall. "Hallelujah" is not even the high point, for "Lover, Lover, Lover" leaps out of the framework in which each old hit is once fastened. The piece is bursting with energy.

Suddenly he is a young man, the Jew in the synagogue. Cohen chants the invocation of the Father, of God, of his own story. When has a song that was on the charts ever crossed, so late in time, the border to the metaphysical! And one understands at once, what religion is based on, if it does not gag and reprimand the people: on the dialogue with the Elders, the Higher Ones. And what speech means, what it is called, what power is in it to name people and things when he sings “Father Give me another name. A new name. The old one is filthy, worn.” Sometimes it takes decades to understand a few verses. They can change a life.

Cohen defined poetry in the true, original meaning

And how relaxed they are, the pair of Webb Sisters from England who have always accompanied him since his return, and the singer and composer Sharon Robinson and band leader Roscoe Beck, who have stood faithfully and inspirationally at his side for as long as one can recall. Nobody expected such an outpouring of energy. Yes, it's getting late. How often will he want to come again? A good love song always has a farewell in its heart, and you can play any song as if it were a goodbye. That was always so with Leonard Cohen, but now "Closing Time" and "I Tried to Leave You" from the encore set are actually reaching a little closer to the boundary that one day will separate an artist and his audience for eternity. But such dark thoughts evaporate quickly. Cohen rocks the hall with "First We Take Manhattan - Then We Take Berlin". Also an old song. But it still works.

And somehow that's true also. One day in the mid-sixties, a Canadian poet and novelist, after a stay on the Greek island of Hydra, came to New York and made a record. Yes, the one with "Suzanne". He has also played that one, and how fast his fingers ripple on the guitar. He also sings "Chelsea Hotel" solo, homage to a brief affair with a woman who was probably Janis Joplin. The gentleman with the suit and hat is a living memorial to the years of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, a survivor; he has known them all and loved many. "Lover, Lover, Lover come back to me." We shy away from the word maturity. And age. Nothing comes back. It's just that Cohen is still there, and it's a miracle.

He defines poetry, in the true, original sense. A singer and his song. A man and his instrument. Orpheus. King David. A medieval troubadour. Verse and song. Rhyme and clarity. Poetic images that never fully open. Mystery and faith. Love and doubt. Cohen does not cease to thank his musicians, his audience. He does that in such perfect form, more intimate than any of us would be able to. Thank you. Merci. Gracias. For a few years he has played "Save the Last Dance for Me" as a last encore. The qualities of an entertainer were always said to be in a small circle. And as a student he played in a country and pop band. The circle has closed.
crista
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: BERLIN (July, 17)

Post by crista »

Salut notevenasuit,
Just to clarify the statements in my earlier post are not my opinions. I have only translated the article by Katrin Warnstedt in the newspaper 'Berliner Morgenpost'. I actually find especially the last sentence of her article rather silly. I myself have been to three concerts of Leonard within a period of 4 months, all of them in New York City, and I thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of them and I feel I could see many more...

Maybe I should repeat here a comment that I posted in the Hamburg concert report folder where I translated a few reviews. Writers for the 'culture' parts of German newspapers often do not simply review the concert, but they want to come up with an original angle or idea which often has not much to do with the concert they have visited.

That said, here is the first review of Leonard's concert in a Berlin newspaper and my attempt at translation. I hope you enjoy it a bit.
crista

http://www.morgenpost.de
18.07.13, 10:42 Konzert
Altmeister Leonard Cohen singt in Berlin sein Lebenswerk
Der 78-Jährige macht schon länger Musik, als die meisten seiner Fans auf der Erde weilen. Er singt seine wunderbaren Lieder immer und immer wieder - und die Fans folgen ihm. So auch in Berlin.
Von Frédéric Schwilden
Der kanadische Sänger Leonard Cohen steht mit 78 Jahren noch immer auf der Bühne und ist noch immer wundervoll
Foto: AP

78 Jahre Verführung, Poesie und Eleganz vereint Leonard Cohen an diesem Mittwochabend in der Berliner O2 World. Mit jedem Jahr wird seine Stimme eine Spur dunkler, einen Ton tiefer. An den Konzerten ändert sich wenig.
Die ersten sieben Stücke spielt Cohen unterstützt von seiner Band in der gleichen Reihenfolge wie im vergangenen Jahr in der Berliner Waldbühne, was sie aber nicht weniger grandios macht. Es tut gut, etwas zu haben, an dem man sich festhalten kann.
Schon beim allerersten Stück "Dance Me To The End Of Love" geht Cohen auf die Knie. Es ist, als würde man erahnen können, wie es sich anhören muss, wenn Gott singt. Zumindest wenn man naiverweise glaubt, dass Gott ein alter kanadischer Mann in einem Anzug ist. Aber wer weiß das schon.
Cohen jedenfalls ist überirdisch. Und dazu noch unglaublich komisch. "Danke meine Freunde, dass ihr kommt, dass ihr so weit nach oben klettert für uns", er schaut dabei auf das aus seiner Sicht absurd anmutende Bild, wie sich Zuschauer über Zuschauer auf mehreren Ebenen der Konzerthalle stapeln.
Allein im Wippen seiner Knie liegt eine Weisheit, die wenige jemals erreichen. Unter seinem Jackett blitzt ein rosa-farbenes Hemd auf. Und wie er federnd die herrlich schmutzige Dystopie "The Future" vorträgt, kann man nicht anders als es im gleichtun zu wollen. Versaute Witze in große Songs verwandeln und dafür als Dichter verehrt zu werden, dass schaffen nur die wenigsten. Oscar Wilde war einer von ihnen.
Anrührend ist seine Haltung, die er bei den Soli einnimmt
Vielleicht benötigt unsere Gesellschaft wieder einen Cohen, aber in jung. Damit er der Sexismusdebatte mal einen schmunzelnden und im rechten Versmaß komponierten Tritt in den Hintern gibt. Fast vierzig Jahre ist "Chelsea Hotel #2" jetzt alt. Und noch immer ist es ein Bild für die Ewigkeit, die Limousinen vor dem Gebäude, die zerwühlten Laken, der Dichter mit Janis Joplin.
Wieder geht er in die Knie. Es scheint, als würde Leonard Cohen sich bei allen noch einmal bedanken wollen. Nur so zu Sicherheit. Den Fans, dass sie ihm noch zuhören. Bei der Band, weil sie mit ihm spielt. Und ein bisschen bei sich selbst bestimmt auch.
Anrührend ist seine Haltung, die er bei den Soli einnimmt. Cohen stellt sich in den Schatten. Seine Musiker, seine Sängerinnen, sein Geiger, sie sind dann die Lichtgestalten. Er hält den Hut vor der Brust, wie zum Kirchgang. "Der Professor Mitch Watkins", kündigt er seinen treuen Gitarristen, gefolgt von einer ehrlichen, tiefen Verneigung an. Seit 1979 kennen sich die beiden schon. Viele der Zuschauer waren da noch gar nicht geboren.
Nach der Pause hält sich die Band zurück. Cohen steht an einem Synthesizer und singt zum daraus entspringenden Drumbeat, es ist ein Alleinunterhalter-Rhythmus, wie wir ihn auf Familienfeiern gehört haben, "Tower Of Song". Dazu ein engelsgleiches Da-Dü-Da-Damm-Damm-Da-Dü-Da-Damm-Damm der Backround-Sängerinnen. Kitsch ist etwas Wundervolles.
Cohen fährt mit uns bis ans Ende unserer Zeit
Das 1988 erschienene Album "I'm Your Man" markierte damals Cohens Öffnung für den Zeitgeist, man könnte fast von einem Synth-Pop-Album sprechen. Er spielt die kindliche Melodie auf diesem kleinen Keyboard. Der große Songwriter, der Dichter, an einem Plastikinstrument, er weiß um diese Komik. "Do you humour me?", fragt er nach dem nicht mehr endenden wollenden Applaus. Frei übersetzt: "Findet ihr denn alles gut, was ich mache?" Natürlich tun sie das und Cohen schenkt Berlin das Lächeln eines Kindes.
Bei "I'm Your Man" wird klar,, dass es nur einen geben kann. Die Gypsy-Geige des gerade mal 33 Jahre alten Geigers Alexandru Bublitchi singt von all den guten Zeiten. Wer einen Liebhaber, einen Partner, einen Boxer, eine Doktor oder einen Fahrer benötigt, Cohen ist der Richtige. Er hält uns die Hand, er steigt in den Ring und fährt mit uns bis ans Ende unserer Zeit.

My translation

Culture 18.07.13, 10:42 Concert
Doyen Leonard Cohen sings his life’s work in Berlin
The 78-year old has been making music for longer than most of his fans have spent on earth. He sings his wonderful songs again and again - and the fans follow him. So they did in Berlin.
Von Frédéric Schwilden
The Canadian singer Leonard Cohen at 78 years still stands on the stage and is still wonderful
Foto: AP

Leonard Cohen combines this Wednesday evening in the O2 World in Berlin 78 years of seduction, poetry and elegance. With every year his voice becomes a hint darker, a tone deeper. The concerts change little.
Supported by his band Cohen plays the first seven pieces in the same sequence as last year in the Waldbuehne [forest stage] in Berlin, which does not make them any less terrific. It is good to have something to hold on to.
Already during the very first piece "Dance Me To The End Of Love" Cohen goes down on his knees. It is as if one could sense how it must sound when god sings. At least if one believes naively that god is an old Canadian man in a suit. But who knows that anyhow.
Cohen in any case is heavenly. And, in addition, unbelievably funny. "Thank you my friends that you come, that you climb up so far high for us“, he says while he is looking at the from his perspective absurd appearing picture of how the audience is stacked up in several levels in the concert hall.
In the giving at his knees alone lies a wisdom that few ever achieve. Under his jacket flashes a rose-coloured shirt. And seeing how he resiliently performs the gloriously dirty dystopia "The Future", one cannot help but want to imitate him. To convert dirty jokes into great songs and in return get adored as poet, only the fewest manage that. Oscar Wilde was one of them.
His attitude during the solos is touching
Maybe our society again requires a Cohen, but a young one. So that he can give the debate on sexism a smiling kick in the ass that is composed in the right metre. "Chelsea Hotel #2" is now almost forty years old. And still it is a picture for eternity, the limos in front of the building, the rumpled sheets, the poet with Janis Joplin.
Again he goes down on his knees. It seems as if Leonard Cohen would like to thank everybody once again. Just to be safe. The fans that they still listen to him. The band because they play with him. And a little bit also himself for sure.
His attitude during the solos is touching. Cohen puts himself into the shadow. His musicians, his singers, his violinist, they are the figures in the light. He holds the hat in front of the chest, as if going to church. “The professor Mitch Watkins”, he announces his faithful guitarist, followed by an honest, deep bow. Since 1979 the two know each other already. Many people in the audience were then not yet born.
After the intermission the band backs off. Cohen stands at a synthesizer and sings to the drumbeat that arises from it, it is a rhythm for solo entertainers, as we have heard it at family celebrations, "Tower Of Song". In addition an angelic Da-Dü-Da-Damm-Damm-Da-Dü-Da-Damm-Damm by the background singers. Kitsch is something wonderful.
Cohen drives with us until the end of our time
The album "I'm Your Man", which was released in 1988, at the time marked Cohen’s opening to the zeitgeist [spirit of the time], one could almost speak of a synth-pop-album. He plays the childish melody on this small keyboard. The great songwriter, the poet, at an instrument made of plastic, he is aware of the humour. “Do you humour me?” he asks after the applause that did not want to end. Freely translated: “Do you really like everything that I do?” Naturally they do and Cohen presents Berlin the smile of a child.
During "I'm Your Man" it becomes clear that there can only be one. The gypsy violin of the just 33 years old violinist Alexandru Bublitchi sings of all the good times. Whoever needs a lover, a partner, a boxer, a doctor or a driver, Cohen is the right one. He holds our hand, he climbs into the ring and drives with us until the end of our time.
Last edited by crista on Sat Jul 20, 2013 6:28 pm, edited 3 times in total.
1979 Cologne Messehalle 8 - 2012 New York Madison Square Garden - 2013 New York Radio City Music Hall x2; Zurich Hallenstadion
crista
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 3:17 am
Location: New York

Re: CONCERT REPORT: BERLIN (July, 17)

Post by crista »

Here is another review - there are clearly some mistakes in the listing of the band members:

http://www.berliner-zeitung.de
MUSIK
18.07.2013
LEONHARD COHEN IN BERLIN
Die Engel kratzen an der Tür
Von Sabine Vogel
Leonhard Cohen sang in der O2-Halle.
Foto: AP/dpa

BERLIN – Der 79-jährige Leonard Cohen hat seine Deutschland-Tournee mit einem wieder hinreißenden Konzert in Berlin abgeschlossen. Zart und zerbrechlich wirkte er, dabei ist er fit genug, um wie ein fröhlicher kleiner Junge herumzutänzeln.
Die „goldene Stimme“ ist nicht mehr so kräftig wie früher. Das „Halleluja“ kam schon fast kurzatmig, wie ein bayrisch hingespucktes „lluja“ rüber, wenn da nicht die blonden Webb-Sisters für den himmlisch nachhallenden Kometenschweif gesorgt hätten. Aber selbst wenn der inzwischen fast 79-jährige Leonard Cohen gar nicht mehr singen könnte, würde das dem Charisma seines leibhaftigen Auftritts keinen Abbruch tun. Schließlich kennen wir alle seine Lieder von den „Sisters of Merci“ über den „Famous Blue Raincoat“ bis zum „Bird on the wire“ in- und auswendig und singen ein jedes ohnehin permanent im Kopf mit.
Ja, man muss sich geradezu ein bisschen beherrschen, um beim Refrain von „So long Marianne“ nicht laut herauszuplatzen, was freilich bei der Berlinhymne „First we take Manhattan“ gar nicht mehr nötig ist. Da richten sich die Scheinwerfer auf das inzwischen längst von den Sitzen gerissene Publikum, und es gibt kein Halten des beseelten Mitgrölens mehr. Und im Grunde sind Cohens Hymnen ja gerade durch ihre tiefe Eingegrabenheit in unseren Köpfen und Körpern erst richtig unsterblich.
Fast fünf Jahre ist es her, dass Cohen hier am selben Ort sein erstes Deutschland-Konzert nach seiner langen Absenz als Mönch in einem buddhistischen Zen-Kloster gab. Damals munkelte man, es könnte seine letzte Welttournee sein, aber wie sich inzwischen herausstellte, war das nur der Anfang eines ungemein erfolgreichen Comebacks, für das wohl längst nicht mehr die Legende herhalten muss, dass er pleite, da von seiner Agentin um die fünf Millionen Altersvorsorge betrogen worden war. Offensichtlich fand der alte Mann Gefallen daran, seinen hingebungsvollen Fans all die traurigen Lieder vorzusingen, die seit seinem Debütalbum von 1967 zum Hausschatz aller hoffnungslosen Romantiker und melancholischen Heulsusen gehören. Nun aber, als er wieder mit seinem umwerfend charmant-schiefen Lächeln ins Publikum verspricht, uns heute alles zu geben, schwant es uns, dass es wirklich das letzte Mal sein könnte. 20 weitere Konzerttermine in ganz Europa stehen noch an bis Anfang September.
Wie ein fröhlicher kleiner Junge
Zart und zerbrechlich wirkt er, wie er da demütig gebuckelt in seinem dunklen Anzug den Hut vor die Brust hält. Und dabei ist er fit genug, um wie ein fröhlicher kleiner Junge herumzutänzeln, gar zu hüpfen, ununterbrochen auf die Knie zu fallen und dann mühelos wie ein Tanzbärchen wieder aufzuspringen. Drei volle Stunden macht er das, das Mikrofon ganz nah an den Lippen, das Kabel behutsam wie unsereins das des Rasenmähers mit sich führend, er schließt die Augen beim Singen vor Inbrunst und Innerlichkeit – you want to tavel blind with Suzanne – , und wenn er sie öffnet, schaut er seinen Mitmusikern in die Augen, mit denen er offenkundig die kindlich reine Spielfreude teilt.
Wollte man vor fünf Jahren noch ununterbrochen weinen vor Rührung und Ergriffenheit über die eigenen altgewordenen und zugleich immer noch quicklebendig rumorenden Sehnsüchte, so möchte man nun schniefen vor Glück, wenn die alten Männer verschmitzte Blicke des Einverständnisses austauschen. Als ob sie das nachlassende Volumen der dabei immer noch kehlig-raunenden, rauchig-kratzigen Stimme Cohens kompensieren wollten, scheinen die Musikersolis dieses Mal länger, inniger zu sein, zumindest mehr Bedeutungsraum auszufüllen.
Der „tadellose“, schütter grauhaarige Neil Larson lässt seine runzligen Finger wieselflink über die Tasten der Keyboards klimpern, der freundlich kopfwackelnde und hochkonzentriert züngelnde Javier Mas zupfelt und plinkert die Saiten der Laute als ob sie seine Geliebte wär, ein versonnener Alexandru Bublitchi streichelt seine Violine weit über die Schnulzengrenze hinaus, bis die Engel gar nicht mehr aufhören können, an der Tür zu kratzen und zu winseln. Wiederholt bezeugt Cohen seinen Respekt vor den zumeist Dekaden-langjährigen Mitspielern, indem er sie mit Verbeugungen vorstellt, den musikalischen Leiter Roscoe Beck am Bass, den mexikanischen Luftikus Rafael Gayol am Schlagzeug, den süß mümmelnden Mitch Watkins und „I’m Your Man“-Bob Metzger an den Gitarren, und natürlich die Komponistin und bluesige Sängerin Sarah Robinson, mit der Cohen schon seit 33 Jahren zusammenarbeitet.
Das Tollste am Poeten Cohen aber ist, dass seine Balladen in unseren, jaja, Seelen, sogar klingen, selbst wenn er nur den Text spricht. Sein vielleicht religiösestes Lied „If It Be Your Will“ (Dein Wille geschehe) wird so zum Gebet in bedingungsloser Hingabe – das die Webb-Sisters dann feengleich aus dem Jenseits unsere Echoräume hervorharfen.

My translation

MUSIC
18.07.2013
LEONHARD COHEN IN BERLIN
The angels are scratching at the door
By Sabine Vogel
Leonhard Cohen sang at the O2-hall.
Foto: AP/dpa

BERLIN - The 79-year-old Leonard Cohen has completed his tour of Germany with a once again thrilling concert in Berlin. He appeared delicate and fragile, but he is fit enough to prance around like a happy little boy.
The "Golden Voice" is no longer as strong as before. The "Hallelujah" came off already almost short of breath, like a Bavarian spit "lluja" if not the blond Webb Sisters had arranged for the heavenly reverberant tail of a comet. But even if the by now almost 79-year-old Leonard Cohen could no longer sing at all that would not detract from the charisma of his incarnate appearance. After all, we know all his songs from "Sisters of Mercy" via the "Famous Blue Raincoat" to "Bird on the wire" inside out and sing along with each one anyway permanently in our heads.
Yes, you have to absolutely check yourself a bit to not burst out loudly with the chorus of "So Long Marianne", something which is, however, no longer necessary during the Berlin anthem "First we take Manhattan". Then spotlights are directed towards the audience that has long ago torn off its seats, and there is no stopping anymore of the animated chanting. And basically Cohen's hymns are only really immortal because they are deeply buried in our heads and bodies.
Nearly five years ago, Cohen gave here at the same place his first concert in Germany after his long absence as a monk in a Buddhist Zen-monastery. At that time, it was rumoured that it could be his last world tour, but as it has turned out in the meantime, it was only the beginning of a tremendously successful comeback, for which arguably long ago the legend that he was broke because his agent cheated him out of five million dollars pension provisions no longer had to serve. Obviously, the old man took pleasure in singing to his devoted fans all the sad songs that, since his debut album in 1967, belong to the treasure of all the hopeless romantics and melancholy cry babies. But now, when he, with his stunning charmingly crooked smile at the audience, again promises to give us all today, something tells us that it could really be the last time. There are 20 more concert dates across Europe until early September.
Like a happy little boy
Delicate and fragile he looks as he humbly hunched in his dark suit holds his hat to his chest. And yet he is fit enough to prance around like a happy little boy, to hop even, continuously falling on his knees and then effortlessly jumping up again like a little dancing bear. Three full hours he does that, the microphone very close to his lips, gently leading the cable like we do that of the lawnmower, he closes his eyes while singing due to fervour and soulfulness - you want to travel blind with Suzanne - and when he opens them, he looks into the eyes of his fellow musicians, with whom he obviously shares the pure childlike playfulness.
If five years ago you wanted to continuously cry with emotion and feeling, about your own grown old and yet still as-fresh- as-daisies rumbling desires, now we would like to snivel with happiness when the old men exchange sly glances of consent. As if to compensate for the declining volume while still throaty-murmuring, smoky-raspy voice Cohen’s, the musicians’ solos this time seem longer, more intimate, to fill at least more space of meaning.
The "impeccable", thinly gray-haired Neil Larson makes his wrinkled fingers strum the keys on the keyboards alert as a flash, Javier Mas picks and plucks the strings of the lute as if it were his mistress, a pensive Alexandru Bublitchi caresses his violin far beyond the limit of schmaltz, until the angels cannot stop to scratch at the door and whine. Cohen repeatedly shows his respect to the mostly decades-long team-mates by presenting them with bows, the musical director Roscoe Beck on bass, the Mexican happy-go-lucky sort of fellow Rafael Gayol on drums, the sweetly nibbling Mitch Watkins and "I'm Your Man" - Bob Metzger on the guitars, and, of course, the composer and blues singer Sarah Robinson, with whom Cohen has been working together already for 33 years.
The most terrific regarding the poet Cohen, however, is that his ballads sound in our, yes, souls, they even sound, when he only speaks the text. His perhaps most religious song "If It Be Your Will" (Thy will be done) thus becomes a prayer of unconditional surrender - that the Webb-Sisters then like fairies harp out from the after world of our echo rooms.
Last edited by crista on Sat Jul 20, 2013 6:37 pm, edited 2 times in total.
1979 Cologne Messehalle 8 - 2012 New York Madison Square Garden - 2013 New York Radio City Music Hall x2; Zurich Hallenstadion
HelenOE
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: BERLIN (July, 17)

Post by HelenOE »

Between those two reviews, we have quite a few characters I wasn't expecting... Bob Metzger, Sarah Robinson, an airhead on drums? And Leonard in a pink shirt??

I noticed the shortened Hallelujahs in the video, but I certainly didn't get the impression it was due to any shortness of breath. I think he's just playing around with a different lyrical styling.
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sturgess66
Posts: 4110
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: BERLIN (July, 17)

Post by sturgess66 »

More good video -

Uploaded by kyoshi9

Save the Last Dance –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tKSzQ839Zc

First We Take Manhattan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cC_8H78RXD0

****************

Uploaded by Heebong Park

Famous Blue Raincoat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpOA3EAuoss

First We Take Manhattan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KYFKH6watU

Lover Lover Lover (partial)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-EViWQfu2w

Amen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIsydZsnZwk

Dance Me To The End Of Love
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpZw4N8vZJM

I’m Your Man
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VEzFTkhjwU
crista
Posts: 27
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Location: New York

Re: CONCERT REPORT: BERLIN (July, 17)

Post by crista »

Here are two more reviews:
One in a the Berlin tabloid "Berliner Kurier", the other one in "Die Welt" [The World], a newspaper that is distributed throughout Germany. The latter is an edited version of the review "Old master Leonard Cohen sings his life's work in Berlin" in "Berliner Morgenpost" that I posted earlier (on 18 July). It is interesting to see what they have kept and which parts ended up 'on the cutting room floor'. Among other things they kept the reference to LC's pink shirt - I have my doubts that he owns one. Somehow that does not seem to fit. The author was probably distracted by the colourful light show... Enjoy!

http://www.berliner-kurier.de
BERLINER KURIER BERLIN LEUTE
FREITAG, 19. JULI 2013
Leonard Cohen
Der Poet verzückt 12.000 Fans
Mühelos sinkt der 78-Jährige bei seinen Songs auf die Knie.
Foto: dpa

BERLIN – Melancholisch und poetisch sind die Balladen und Songs. Hinreißend ist ihr Interpret. Leonard Cohen, 78 Jahre, eine lebende Legende.
Oft singt er in sich versunken, die Augen geschlossen, andächtig auf den Knien. Bei „Suzanne“, „First We take Manhattan“ und anderen Hits hält es die 12.000 Besucher in der ausverkauften 02 World nichts mehr auf den Sitzen.
Dreieinhalb Stunden verzückt der Grandseigneur seine Fans. Als sich Cohen bei seinen Mitstreitern Musikern auf der Bühne bedankt, zieht er demütig den Hut.
Wir auch und vor ihm. Goodbye, Mr. Cohen! GMI

My translation

Berliner Kurier Berlin People
Friday, 19 July 2013
Leonard Cohen
The poet ecstasizes 12,000 fans
Effortlessly the 78-year-old falls on his knees during his songs. Photo: dpa

BERLIN - Melancholic and poetic are the ballads and songs. Thrilling is their interpreter. Leonard Cohen, 78 years, a living legend.
He often sings lost in thought, eyes closed, devoutly on his knees. During "Suzanne," "First We take Manhattan" and other hits nothing keeps the 12,000 visitors to the sold-out 02-World on their seats.
For three and a half hours the grand seigneur ecstasizes his fans. As Cohen thanks his colleagues musicians on the stage, he humbly takes his hat off to them.
We as well, and to him. Goodbye, Mr. Cohen! GMI
************************************************************************************************************************************************
http://www.welt.de
Die Welt kompakt 19.07.13 Kultur
Leonard Cohen gibt versauten Witzen den richtigen Ton
Hallelujah: Der 78-jährige Sänger bezauberte seine Fans am Mittwoch in der O2-World in Berlin
Von Frédéric Schwilden

78 Jahre Verführung, Poesie und Eleganz vereint Leonard Cohen am Mittwochabend in der Berliner O2-World. Mit jedem Jahr wird seine Stimme eine Spur dunkler, einen Ton tiefer. An den Konzerten ändert sich wenig. Die ersten sieben Stücke spielt Cohen, unterstützt von der Band, in der gleichen Reihenfolge wie vergangenes Jahr in der Waldbühne, was sie nicht weniger grandios macht.
Schon beim ersten Stück "Dance Me To The End Of Love" geht Cohen auf die Knie. Es ist, als könnte man erahnen, wie es sich anhört, wenn Gott singt. Zumindest wenn man glaubt, dass Gott ein alter kanadischer Mann im Anzug ist. Wer weiß das schon? Cohen ist jedenfalls überirdisch. Und unglaublich komisch. "Danke meine Freunde, dass ihr kommt, dass ihr so weit nach oben klettert für uns", er schaut dabei auf das aus seiner Sicht absurd anmutende Bild, wie sich Zuschauer auf mehreren Ebenen der Halle stapeln.
Allein im Wippen seiner Knie liegt eine Weisheit, die wenige jemals erreichen. Unter seinem Jackett blitzt ein rosa-farbenes Hemd auf. Und wie er federnd die herrlich schmutzige Dystopie "The Future" vorträgt, kann man nicht anders als es im gleichtun zu wollen – versaute Witze in große Songs verwandeln und dafür als Dichter verehrt zu werden, das schaffen nur die wenigsten. Oscar Wilde war einer von ihnen.
Nach der Pause hält sich die Band zurück. Cohen steht an einem Synthesizer und singt zum daraus entspringenden Drumbeat, es ist ein Alleinunterhalter-Rhythmus, wie wir ihn auf Familienfeiern gehört haben, "Tower Of Song". Dazu ein engelsgleiches Da-Dü-Da-Damm der Background-Sängerinnen. Das Album "I'm Your Man" von 1988 markierte Cohens Öffnung für den Zeitgeist, man könnte fast von einem Synth-Pop-Album sprechen. Er spielt die kindliche Melodie auf einem Keyboard. Der Songwriter, der Dichter, an einem Plastikinstrument. Er weiß um diese Komik. "Do you humour me?", fragt er nach dem nicht mehr enden wollenden Applaus. Frei übersetzt: "Findet ihr denn alles gut, was ich mache?" Natürlich tun sie das, und Cohen schenkt Berlin das Lächeln eines Kindes.
Bei "I'm Your Man" wird klar, dass es nur einen geben kann. Die Gypsy-Geige des 33-jährigen Geigers Alexandru Bublitchi singt von all den guten Zeiten. Wer einen Liebhaber, einen Partner, einen Boxer, einen Doktor oder einen Fahrer braucht – Cohen ist der Richtige. Er hält uns die Hand, er steigt in den Ring und fährt mit uns bis ans Ende unserer Zeit.

My translation

Die Welt kompakt 19.07.13 Culture
Leonard Cohen gives dirty jokes the right note
Hallelujah: The 78 year old singer charmed his fans on Wednesday at the O2-World in Berlin
By Frédéric Schwilden

Leonard Cohen combines this Wednesday evening at the O2 World in Berlin 78 years of seduction, poetry and elegance. With every year his voice becomes a hint darker, a tone deeper. The concerts change little.
Supported by his band, Cohen plays the first seven pieces in the same sequence as last year in the Waldbuehne [forest stage] in Berlin, which does not make them any less terrific.
Already during the first piece "Dance Me To The End Of Love" Cohen goes down on his knees. It is as if one could sense how it sounds when god sings. At least if one believes that god is an old Canadian man in a suit. Who knows that anyhow?
Cohen in any case is heavenly. And unbelievably funny. "Thank you my friends that you come, that you climb up so far high for us“, he says while he is looking at the from his perspective absurd appearing picture of how the audience is stacked up in several levels in the hall.
In the giving at his knees alone lies a wisdom that few ever achieve. Under his jacket flashes a rose-coloured shirt. And seeing how he resiliently performs the gloriously dirty dystopia "The Future", one cannot help but want to imitate him. To convert dirty jokes into great songs and in return get adored as poet, only the fewest manage that. Oscar Wilde was one of them.
After the intermission the band backs off. Cohen stands at a synthesizer and sings to the drumbeat that arises from it, it is a rhythm for solo entertainers, as we have heard it at family celebrations, "Tower Of Song". In addition an angelic Da-Dü-Da-Damm-Damm-Da-Dü-Da-Damm-Damm by the background singers. The album "I'm Your Man", which was released in 1988, at the time marked Cohen’s opening to the zeitgeist [spirit of the time], one could almost speak of a synth-pop-album. He plays the childish melody on a keyboard. The songwriter, the poet, at an instrument made of plastic, he is aware of the humour. “Do you humour me?” he asks after the applause that did not want to end. Freely translated: “Do you really like everything that I do?” Naturally they do and Cohen presents Berlin the smile of a child.
During "I'm Your Man" it becomes clear that there can only be one. The gypsy violin of the just 33 years old violinist Alexandru Bublitchi sings of all the good times. Whoever needs a lover, a partner, a boxer, a doctor or a driver - Cohen is the right one. He holds our hand, he climbs into the ring and drives with us until the end of our time.
Last edited by crista on Sat Jul 20, 2013 6:42 pm, edited 2 times in total.
1979 Cologne Messehalle 8 - 2012 New York Madison Square Garden - 2013 New York Radio City Music Hall x2; Zurich Hallenstadion
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