CONCERT REPORT: London, UK , September 15, 2013

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harald
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: London, UK , September 15, 2013

Post by harald »

Reading your thoughtful and interesting posts here in forum it no way astounds me, that your review on amazon is the most helpful one.
Thank you, dear John.
And Savages: well, Christmas is coming closer
1979 Kassel / 1980 Munich / 2008 Munich, Hamburg / 2009 Cologne, Antwerp, Lisbon, Budapest, Barcelona / 2010 Salzburg, Florence, Marseille, Stuttgart, Bratislava / 2012 Ghent, Berlin, Verona, Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon / 2013 Paris, Mannheim, Rome, Prague, Pula, Zuerich, Amsterdam
2011 Haiger / 2014 Dublin / 2015 Hydra, Viladrau / 2016 Amsterdam / 2017 Hydra, Balaton / 2019 Yorkshire
songwriter
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: London, UK , September 15, 2013

Post by songwriter »

Great review John, thank you
John Etherington
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: London, UK , September 15, 2013

Post by John Etherington »

Joy, William, Harald, and Songwriter - Thanks for your kind words. I'm glad you liked my concert report and/or Webb Sisters review.
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: London, UK , September 15, 2013

Post by songwriter »

John Etherington wrote:Joy, William, Harald, and Songwriter - Thanks for your kind words. I'm glad you liked my concert report and/or Webb Sisters review.

I was referring to your webb sisters review but your concert reports are always enjoyable also. :)

I'm sure I have read other reviews of yours on amazon. I am always grateful that people such as yourself take the time and trouble to write such thorough reports, the artists must really appreciate it, as do we the readers.

I would write some myself but sadly I do not possess your gift with words! :lol:
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TommyJ
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: London, UK , September 15, 2013

Post by TommyJ »

Many thanks to all, particularly John Etherington, for these reviews (John, I was also in A2, row E: I am sorry that we did not get to meet). I am not sure that I can add much of value to what has already been said. While I was disappointed by the abrupt curfew (back in June, we got kicked out around 11.20 pm!), I thought it was a wonderful show. Sure, there were imperfections, but anyone familiar with the lyrics of Anthem will get over them pretty quickly. I actually thought the band were very tight and very together, and it made a big difference, and they seemed quite invigorated. Best of all, the sound quality was noticeably better than Leeds the week before which I really enjoyed (particularly the Webb Sisters' contributions). This band creates a wonderful and unforgettably alchemy. I thought Leonard was on terrific form, and it made a huge difference having such good seats so that you can look right into the great man's eyes: once again, thank you so much, Jarkko et al.

Show number 13 for me, and I have no regrets. Will we see him again over here? Who knows, but I feel really privileged to have seen so many fabulous shows and to have met some great people along the way. I do feel that a live album and/or DVD of the latest tour would be the icing on the cake.

Tom
London o2 July 2008 and Nov 2008, NYC (Radio City Music Hall) May 2009, Weybridge July 2009, Lille Sept 2010, Las Vegas Dec 2010, Wembley 8 and 9 Sept 2012, Dublin Sept 2012, Paris Sept 2012, London 02 June 2013, Leeds Sept 2013, London o2 Sept 2013 ... and hopefully more to come.
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: London, UK , September 15, 2013

Post by sturgess66 »

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-enter ... 18940.html

... but, frankly, this 27-song set is divine. Luckily for us, this beast won't go to sleep...

O2 Arena, London
Music review: Leonard Cohen - The 78-year-old troubadour enjoys a mournful waltz

5 Star review

Ben Walsh - Monday 16 September 2013

"If you want a doctor/ I'll examine every inch of you," he growls, with relish, on "I'm Your Man". The 78-year-old troubadour's lyrics have always been infused with lust, as well as searing candour and wit. If an alien race wanted to understand human obsession, the pungent words of Keats and Cohen ("Many loved before us/ I know that we are not new") would probably be the best place to start.

The Canadian poet is as softly belligerent ("I'm not quite ready to hang up the boxing gloves... but I know where the hook is") and droll ("Thanks for not going home, I really appreciate that") as ever. Cohen has always been a self-lacerating artist, with potent confessions ("I have torn everyone who reached out to me" on "Bird on a Wire") and a talent for the puncturing the absurd ("I was born with the gift of a golden voice" on "Tower of Song").

We all have Kelley Lynch, his former business manager, to thank for Cohen's on-stage resurrection. The ex-lover emptied the septuagenarian's bank accounts, forcing Cohen back on the road. And the artist is clearly having a ball, playing out the roles of pugilist, preacher and poet, bending down on his knees at the front of the stage, quietly demanding intimacy. He promises that "We'll give everything we've got" and, enhanced by his technically accomplished backing singers, the Webb sisters (Charley and Hattie) and Sharon Robinson, they clearly do - even though the arena is cursed by some distracting feedback.

Cohen's three-and-a-bit-hour serenade is divided into two sets, with two encores to boot. The first set is blessed by the caustic "Everybody Knows", a compelling "Who by Fire" and anti-war track "Lover Lover Lover". The second set is stronger, with Cohen in skittish mood. He starts by playing the keyboards with his elbow before performing a perfect rendition of "Suzanne", his weathered voice quivering with remembrance. "Chelsea Hotel # 2" and "I'm Your Man" are equally robust, but nothing tops the sumptuous "So Long, Marianne" and his plea "I never said that I was brave."

After reclaiming his "Hallelujah", the Webb sisters come to the fore on "Take This Waltz" - a lot of tonight's material feels like a mournful waltz at the tether end of a wake, and you wouldn't want it any other way. "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" is the only glaring omission, but, frankly, this 27-song set is divine. Luckily for us, this beast won't go to sleep...
John Etherington
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: London, UK , September 15, 2013

Post by John Etherington »

Thanks for posting the review (above) Paul. The only thing I would disagree with here is that "Hey That's No Way..." was the only glaring omission. A copy of the set-list that I've seen is much more revealing, and shows what we might have heard*.

Under Lover Lover Lover it lists:
(Anthem)

and above Secret Life:
(Sisters of Mercy)
Night Comes On

The two encores we didn't get due to the curfew were:
Tried To Leave You
Save the Last Dance

On the left hand side of the set-list under the heading Attention, are:

Le Manic
Joan of Arc
Field Commander Cohen
The Guests
Singer Must Die
Avalanche
Light as the Breeze
Hey That's No Way
Feels So Good
Tonight Will Be Fine
Passing Through
Coming Back To You

then under the heading Choices:
Different Sides
I Can't Forget

Perhaps someone could tell Leonard that the titles we didn't hear would make a perfect concert in their own right for O2 next year, please!

*Thanks go to Andy Barnes for managing to photograph a copy of the set-list that someone retrieved from the stage (there are a few omissions here as some of the titles in the photograph were two blurred to read).
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Paul Zagreb
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: London, UK , September 15, 2013

Post by Paul Zagreb »

Thanks for this, John. I think on Dr Heck of Guy's site there is Joey's guide to reading the setlists. What you describe here suggests that we would have heard Night Comes On and, of course, the last two encores were it not for the curfew. We might also -- if the stars were aligned correctly :-) -- have heard Sisters of Mercy and Anthem (which none of us missed until it wasn't there anymore!). One little quibble: "Choices" is not a heading, I would say, but rather the George Jones' song which he has covered a few times - mostly in the US leg of this tour.

But I am with you all the way that the "alternative" /for attention list would certainly get our attention!!!!

all the best,

Paul
2008: Manchester 20 June /Vienna 24 September /Berlin 4 October / Cardiff 8 November/Manchester 30 November 2009: Liverpool 14 July / Belgrade 2 September / Barcelona 21 September 2010: Zagreb 25 July /Sankt Margarethan 5 September 2012: Ghent 12 August/Verona 24 September/Lisbon 7 October 2013: London 21 June / Berlin 17 July / Ljubljana 25 July / Pula 2 August / London 15 September
stackridge
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: London, UK , September 15, 2013

Post by stackridge »

Hello Tommy, We were at Leeds and found the sound to be PERFECT, so if it was better at the O2 it must have been damn good !! Shall we see the master again ?? Who knows ?? But sincerely hope so.
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TommyJ
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: London, UK , September 15, 2013

Post by TommyJ »

Hi stackridge

No complaints whatsoever about the sound at Leeds, but I thought the clarity of sounds at the o2 was exceptional. I also thought the balance was a lot better than it has been (though Leeds was fine) - many's the time I've felt that the Webb Sisters were too quiet initially, for example. But the overall balance last Sunday seemed perfect to me.

I loved the Leeds concert, as I've previously indicated. It actually felt more intimate than the o2 (which, let's face it, is a great big barn of a place), so somewhere like Brighton must have been fabulous.

Tom
London o2 July 2008 and Nov 2008, NYC (Radio City Music Hall) May 2009, Weybridge July 2009, Lille Sept 2010, Las Vegas Dec 2010, Wembley 8 and 9 Sept 2012, Dublin Sept 2012, Paris Sept 2012, London 02 June 2013, Leeds Sept 2013, London o2 Sept 2013 ... and hopefully more to come.
Nefelly
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: London, UK , September 15, 2013

Post by Nefelly »

I think a book celebrating all the amazing photos of Leonard in concert this tour is a wonderful idea. Plus maybe a handful of the critic's great review comments and/or a handful of the amazing Tweets. I am sadly very deficient on computer technology but would be happy to contribute any help I am capable of.
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: London, UK , September 15, 2013

Post by sturgess66 »

Video -

Uploaded by "Me I'm up there waiting"

I've Got A Little Secret
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sGXlupUOLE

If It Be Your Will
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P34pU-rK7Hg
evalucia
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: London, UK , September 15, 2013

Post by evalucia »

Thank you so much for promoting my videos, dear sturgess66
Even though this time I did not have such an amazing seat 4 rows from the stage as I did in Leeds, the "I've got a secret" video is especially close to my heart because Leonard has changed the lyrics and now says that he's "got a ticket to Mallorca" :shock:
That is great news! I would very glady take him in! :D
So I am very greatful to you for putting this link here, boosting the chance that Leonard sees it at least slightly ;-)
(Sorry for behaving like an idiot but this got me so excited...) :oops:
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: London, UK , September 15, 2013

Post by sturgess66 »

evalucia - thank you very much for the video! :D

b4real has been transcribing the changing lyrics
Over here - viewtopic.php?f=80&t=34421
Last edited by sturgess66 on Wed Sep 18, 2013 6:20 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: London, UK , September 15, 2013

Post by sturgess66 »

http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/ar ... jmG5j-GeM0
Leonard Cohen: Age Cannot Wither Him

Mick Hume
Editor-At-Large
18 September 2013

As he enters his 80th year, seeing Cohen live is life-affirming.

Image

Halfway through Sunday’s three-hour show at London’s O2 Arena, as Leonard Cohen began messing around, plinky-plonk style, on a little electronic keyboard, some started to applaud. ‘Are you humouring me?’ he asked. ‘If so, I accept your compassion towards the elderly.’

Warm laughter all round. The joke was of course that none among the enraptured thousands was humouring or being kind towards the man in the grey suit, hat and hair. For once, nobody could see ‘elderly’ as a cheap euphemism for ‘past it’.

Cohen the Canadian-born Jewish poet and singer-songwriter will be 79 years old this Saturday, 21 September. He has surely never been better. His rich voice remains unique, and he brought the 20,000-capacity Dome down with an extraordinary performance, making that cavernous space seem almost intimate. As I said to Ginny, my wife, in a euphoric car park moment straight after the show, I have not seen a man dominate an arena through his personality in that style since the Gary Glitter comeback tour at Manchester Polytechnic in 1979.

This is more than patronising guff about being ‘marvellous for his age’. Cohen seems to me to have been rehearsing all of his life for the part he plays near-perfectly now: the worldly-wise sardonic sage of the songbook, deploying his acerbic wit to share what he has learned over his long career about life and death, love and hate, pain and perseverance, faith and hope in the face of darkness and depression. Some of us who may not have entirely taken to the folkie acoustic and uptight Leonard of the Sixties can be electrified by the more relaxed but razor-sharp older model.

On Sunday, Cohen galvanised the arena with an emotion one would not always have associated with his work: the joy of being alive. Bending into the microphone in the knock-kneed stance that brought to mind an even earlier punk-music hero, Hank Williams, he held the crowd in his hand as readily as his hat, mixing classic songs with material from his new album, the pointedly entitled Old Ideas. This album has been described by one critic as ‘Autumnal’ music, and the songs do not shy away from issues of age and mortality – before Cohen shrugs ‘that’s how it goes’, and literally skips off stage, then back on for the three encores (including ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’) that butted the show right up against the O2’s absurd ‘curfew’, when they cut the power off.
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