CONCERT REPORT: New Orleans, LA - March 28, 2013

Everything about the first leg of Leonard Cohen's World Tour 2013
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sturgess66
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CONCERT REPORT: New Orleans, LA - March 28, 2013

Post by sturgess66 »

There are some pre-concert articles about this show - and the first one might be particularly interesting to those lucky to be attending -

In Nola.com - The Times-Picayune - An after-concert event -
http://www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/201 ... aturn.html
Songs of Leonard Cohen: Saturn Bar to host tribute show March 28

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Artist TJ Black, who painted this portrait of Leonard Cohen and a rooster, will paint live at the Saturn Bar March 28. (Photo by Courtesy TJ Black)

By Alison Fensterstock, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
on March 21, 2013 at 3:46 PM, updated March 21, 2013 at 4:03 PM

Thursday, March 28, Leonard Cohen plays his first New Orleans show at the Mahalia Jackson Theater. Over the course of a career nearing the half-century mark, Mr. Cohen has earned the adoration of legions of passionate fans for his spiritual and poetic compositions; however, not all of them can afford the $60-and-up price tag of the concert, which is also almost entirely sold out.

In the spirit of inclusion, New Orleans singer Emily Robertson, of Emily and the Velvet Ropes, has organized an evening of Leonard Cohen tribute performances at the Saturn Bar, to take place the same night as the Mahalia Jackson Theater concert. The tribute show is also being billed as an after-party, though its 10 p.m. start time may be ambitious; Mr. Cohen’s recent performances on the road have notably been running to three hours or more. Still, with nearly a dozen acts on the Saturn Bar’s bill, and more to be added, those who leave Treme with a craving for more Cohen should still be able to catch some of his interpreters performing in Bywater.

So far, the tribute’s lineup includes Ms. Robertson, pianist Josh Wexler, pop folkie Micah McKee with bandmates Rebecca Crenshaw, Amanda Wuerstlin and Luke Huddleston, wry singer-songwriter Pete Orr, guitarist Jayson Knox, drummer J Steigner and Michael Hebert, in various permutations and combinations. The artist TJ Black, who painted the portrait of Mr. Cohen above, will be painting live at the show.

The Saturn Bar's (3067 St. Claude Ave.) Leonard Cohen tribute kicks off at 10 p.m. Thursday, March 28.
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: New Orleans, LA - March 28, 2013

Post by sturgess66 »

Also in Nola.com - The Times-Picayune -
http://www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/201 ... s_poe.html
Leonard Cohen to Bring His Poetic, Spiritual Songs to the Mahalia Jackson Theater March 28
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Leonard Cohen will play his first New Orleans concert Thursday, March 28 at the Mahalia Jackson Theater

By Alison Fensterstock, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
on March 20, 2013 at 1:17 PM, updated March 20, 2013 at 1:25 PM

Never before had fans been quite so happy to hear of a favorite performer’s misfortune.

In 2005, Canadian troubadour Leonard Cohen filed suit against a former business manager for what turned out to be financial mismanagement of major proportions. The former employee and friend, Kelley Lynch, was found to have nearly cleaned Cohen out, misappropriating millions of dollars from his accounts. Lynch was ordered to pay the singer nine million dollars in restitution, but so far has not, and was recently jailed for harassment.

The upside? The reclusive Mr. Cohen, who had not toured in nearly 15 years at the time of the legal battles, would have to return to the concert stage.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmON_0bzUZc&

The 78-year-old Cohen, who is recognized as one of the great literary talents of popular music, first gained notice in the late sixties for his darkly spiritual, poetic songs. In 2012, both the man himself and his oft-covered, incantatory composition “Hallelujah,” were the subjects of well-received biographies. Since returning to live performance in 2008, his concerts – which as a rule, run three hours or more – have been uniformly gushed over by critics; the New York Times’ Jon Pareles said, of a late-2012 concert, that Cohen has “perfected the arena concert as a miraculously hushed ritual.”

Leonard Cohen plays what is reportedly his first New Orleans show Thursday, March 28 at the Mahalia Jackson Theater (1419 Basin St.) at 8 p.m. Tickets $60 and up.
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: New Orleans, LA - March 28, 2013

Post by sturgess66 »

The venue is Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts located in Louis Armstrong Park in New Orleans. Opened in 1973 and home to the New Orleans Philharmonic, and ballet and opera companies. The seating capacity is approximately 2,240 - quite small - and the word is that there isn't a bad seat in the house.

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Squidgy
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: New Orleans, LA - March 28, 2013

Post by Squidgy »

What? Four days later and still no concert reviews??? Oh, right, I'm guessing y'all are still recovering from your NOLA weekend, hangovers, whatever. :D Wish I coulda been there; the Mahalia Jackson theatre is indeed a wonderfully intimate venue with great acoustics. I'd seen several chamber music and classical performances there over the years, most memorably violinist Nadia Salerno Sonnenberg. Can't wait to hear all about Leonard's show, the meetups, etc. from Joy, Barbara, everyone. I'm especially eager to hear impressions from the youngsters like TowerofCirce !
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: New Orleans, LA - March 28, 2013

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http://www.bestofneworleans.com/gambit/ ... id=2170340
Preview: Leonard Cohen
Noah Bonaparte Pais on the legendary singer-songwriter, who's coming to town March 28
by Noah Bonaparte Pais

Mar 28
Leonard Cohen
8 p.m. Thursday

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Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts, 1419 Basin St., (504) 287-0351; www.mahaliajacksontheater.com

Following an operatic staging of Samson and Delilah with a reverential Leonard Cohen show isn't quite The Barber of Seville on the scale of biblical inside jokes, but it's close. Themed "Old Ideas," after his 2012 album of the same name, the spring- and summertime circuit opened in March with six weeks of every-other-day performances across North America by the Montreal-born language legend and music mystic; it closes in August, a month shy of his 79th birthday, in Oslo, Norway, wrapping 16 dates that will take him on an Old World crusade of Western Europe, Poland, Prague, Slovenia, Austria and Croatia.

  Cohen resumed touring five years ago, ending a five-year sequester in Los Angeles' Mount Baldy Buddhist monastery, meaning his eighth decade on Earth has been evenly split between rigorous performance schedules and Zen meditations — two practices that aren't as far apart as they seem, he told The New York Times in 2009. "The older I get, the surer I am that I'm not running the show," Cohen said then, and Old Ideas (Columbia) kicks off with a song-long underscore of that sentiment. "Going Home," a wryly self-deprecating piece of third-person mockery by his controlling puppet-master muse, is still Cohen through and through: "I love to speak with Leonard/ He's a sportsman and a shepherd/ He's a lazy bastard living in a suit," it begins, going on to crush his dreams of writing anthems of forgiving, manuals for living with defeat: "I want him to be certain that he doesn't have a burden/ That he doesn't need a vision/ That he only has permission to do my instant bidding/ Which is to say what I have told him/ To repeat." "The Future," in other words, is the past, and "the little Jew who wrote the Bible" — who saw the nations rise and fall, heard their stories, heard them all — has lived long enough to know everything he doesn't. Tickets $60-$275. — Noah Bonaparte Pais
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: New Orleans, LA - March 28, 2013

Post by holydove »

What a fantastic photo (in Noah Bonaparte Pais' article)! Don't remember ever seeing that one before.
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Goldin
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: New Orleans, LA - March 28, 2013

Post by Goldin »

holydove wrote:What a fantastic photo (in Noah Bonaparte Pais' article)! Don't remember ever seeing that one before.
It's from the recent update of the media section @ http://www.leonardcohen.com/us/media/photos/522
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: New Orleans, LA - March 28, 2013

Post by holydove »

Thanks for that info, Goldin. I should go to that section more often!
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: New Orleans, LA - March 28, 2013

Post by sue7 »

Some New Orleans pics from Joey's blog http://leonardcohen.tumblr.com

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Keep Calm NOLA
The Big Easy marches to its own drummer.

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Sound check at the Mahalia.
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: New Orleans, LA - March 28, 2013

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sue7
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: New Orleans, LA - March 28, 2013

Post by sue7 »

A few of the early tweets from the show:
chateaubrian ‏@BrianTSimonson 4m
The crowd at this Leonard Cohen concert is definitely not obeying the "one fedora per group" rule.
Chris Waddington ‏@CWaddington504 2m
Multigenerational crowd for #leonardcohen Nola 7 year old in pigtails ahead of me
Just couldn't resist posting this incredible photo of a chandelier at the theater:
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from Justice H. Jamail
Justice H Jamail ‏@justice4k35 5m
Photo: Chandelier at Mahalia Jackson Theater for Leonard Cohen in New Orleans. #chandelier #leonardcohen... http://tmblr.co/Z_ExPxhMk6b-
Alison Fensterbunny ‏@AlisonF_NOLA 1m
Leonard Cohen's drummer has a gong. God, this is already the best thing I've done all year. Happy Pesach.
[Alison Fensterbunny is Alison Fensterstock, music writer at the New Orleans Times-Picayune, author of various articles and reviews in this thread.]
Demographic ‏@Majac00 2m
#leonardcohen 3 bird on a wire - Leonard on his knees 4 everybody knows 5 who by fire 6 the darkness.. Leonard's voice clear & strong..NOLA
marcus kelson ‏@marcuskelson 3m
@huskysongs @natfolkfest and finishing with Leonard Cohen lover lover lover just stunning!
Some of the intermission tweets:
countrymarxist ‏@countrymarxist 8m
Wow I'm impressed. Leonard Cohen not only introduced and complimented his musicians multiple times but also the sound crew by name.
GillianVirginia ‏@GillianGurley 8m
Repenting @ Mahalia Jackson Theater w/the incomparable Leonard Cohen.
Pam R. ‏@p4m_R 8m
Intermission. My heart may explode. Blame Leonard Cohen.
Demographic ‏@Majac00 2m
#leonardcohen kinda tucks himself into this shadow boxer position when he's singer.Sound is excellent tonight. New Orleans whereIwasborn
Kristin Diable ‏@kristindiable 7m
Love u Lenny. #leonardcohen #fans are the most enthusiastic bunch around. At least a half dozen applauses for each song.
Justice H Jamail ‏@justice4k35 4m
Approaching the 2nd set of what I'm sure is one of the greatest shows I'll ever see in my life. Goddamn you, Leonard Cohen.
Demographic ‏@Majac00 1m
Prolly #leonardcohen 's closest collaborator. She sounds great tonight. They all sound good. It's so good to be here. http://sharonrobinsonmusic.com
And on to the second half:
Famous A*Fiend ‏@alphabetfiend 1m
Leonard Cohen sings "Suzanne" beneath his titan shadow. Image
Alison Fensterbunny ‏@AlisonF_NOLA 1m
Leonard Cohen fantasizing about cigarettes onstage: "creamy white, lined up on a silver tray like a tiny Parthenon."
Tom Ryan ‏@TominNOLA 1m
Leonard #Cohen stands w head slightly bowed towards Sharon Robinson as she sings.
Alison Fensterbunny ‏@AlisonF_NOLA 6m
The hat is such a part of the whole physical Leonard Cohen image, it has major impact when removed onstage as for "Alexandra Leaving" now
Mike Watson ‏@emcmike 2m
leonard cohen- simply amazing talent: I bite my lip.I buy what I'm told:From the latest hit,To the wisdom of old.But I'm always alone.
And into the encores:
Demographic ‏@Majac00 2m
Burning violin solo on So Long Marianne #leonardcohen I never said that I was brave.
Demographic ‏@Majac00 1m
#leonardcohen Encore #2 if it be your Will recitation sung by the Sisters now. This is a masterpiece song.
Demographic ‏@Majac00 43s
Save the Last Dance for Me .. Surprise #leonardcohen encore 3
Demographic ‏@Majac00 51s
Going Home #leonardcohen Prolly last song. NOLA. Going home to where it's better than before.
Demographic ‏@Majac00 1m
One more - Closing Time #leonardcohen Boss don't like these dizzy heights ... Crescent City Big Easy.
And finally, post-show tweets:
Amorphous Funk ‏@amfunknola 1m
#LeonardCohen in #NOLA tonight--best performance I've ever seen.
Pam R. ‏@p4m_R 1m
Absolutely legendary performance by Leonard Cohen and his group. Can't believe what I just witnessed.
JacquesNola ‏@AJacquesNola 6m
Unforgettable performance from the one of a kind Leonard Cohen. Feel lucky to have experienced in my lifetime.
Last edited by sue7 on Fri Mar 29, 2013 5:05 pm, edited 12 times in total.
sue7
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: New Orleans, LA - March 28, 2013

Post by sue7 »

From Joey's blog:
http://leonardcohen.tumblr.com/post/465 ... at-mahalia

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Half-Time at Mahalia
Last edited by sue7 on Fri Mar 29, 2013 7:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: New Orleans, LA - March 28, 2013

Post by sturgess66 »

A little video from Twitter -
https://twitter.com/justice4k35/status/ ... 5726617600
- @justice4k35 - Pre-first act at Leonard Cohen in New Orleans. #neworleans #leonardcohen #nola https://vine.co/v/bjjQz6AXUx9
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: New Orleans, LA - March 28, 2013

Post by sue7 »

A new post from Joey about Roscoe:
http://leonardcohen.tumblr.com/post/465 ... -the-count#_=_
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Down for the Count
Roscoe Beck flat on the deck with what appears to be a nasty bit of stomach flu. The band is going to have to scramble to keep the encores coming.

Feel better soon, Roscoe...
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: New Orleans, LA - March 28, 2013

Post by sturgess66 »

Yes - feel better soon, Roscoe!
This flu bug has well worn out it's welcome with UHTC - not that it ever was (welcome)! :-x

Statigram -
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Luv u Lenny. #leonardcohen #fans are the most enthusiastic bunch around. At least half a dozen applauses throughout each song. Talk about a #listening room #rockandroll #poet
http://statigr.am/p/421990363596208483_27599749
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