leonardcohenforum.com

Well, I was at the Olympia on the 25th and this was a magical moment. When Leonard came, there was a stand up ovation. He was very moved, and thanked the audience. There was a real devotion in the audience, and a great respect for this living legend. The sound was perfect, the lights were beautiful. We had the chance to hear Chelsea Hotel, the Partisan (one of the headlights of the show), the recitation of "A thousand kisses deep" and Famous Blue Raincoat (the video is on You Tube).

Leonard ended the show with a long speech, thanking the audience for having kept his songs alive, and finally saying "Il y a longtemps que je t'aime jamais je ne t'oublierai". Nous ne l'oublierons jamais non plus.

And... it has been written in french newpapers that he would be back for another concert in 2009 in Bercy, but I don't believe it (Jarkko would have said something about it). Well, anyway I keep my fingers crossed, in case Leonard would like to come back... one never knows what can happens in life...

Did LC speak French at the Paris concerts?

yes, sometimes, not all the time. For example the first lyrics of "dance me till the end of love" were in french.

sandrine1 wrote:And... it has been written in french newpapers that he would be back for another concert in 2009 in Bercy, but I don't believe it (Jarkko would have said something about it). Well, anyway I keep my fingers crossed, in case Leonard would like to come back... one never knows what can happens in life...

Jarkko did say something about it... Namely that another European tour in 2009 is mentioned (after Pacific, and US and Canada), but it's really much too early to know anything. But number of cities were mentioned; also, Javier Mas and some other band members mentioned the possible Spanish tour (in the UNCUT interviews).

sandrine1 wrote:yes, sometimes, not all the time. For example the first lyrics of "dance me till the end of love" were in french.

That's nice. Would like to hear that.

Really is there even small chance to see Leonard again in Europe? That is the best news of the day! Anyway I still keep saving money for trip to Canada. If Mohamed will not go to the mountain, the mountain must come to Mohamed

Thankyou for all the super videos, I 've just joined the Forum having been a Leonard Cohen fan for many years. I went to the July and November performances at the O2 and they were absolutely fantastic. Such a great and humble man, the musicians and the lovely singers and the crew behind the scenes did a wonderful job.
Has any one ever had any problems recording their videos? I was very discretely using a phone my husband had passed on to me at the november concert to record a few brief excerpts of Leonard, from our seat you could see the arena below and the many camera phones in action. Unfortunately the Lady next to me said the light was bothering her, I have to say she did seem to have problems with her eye sight and I switched off the phone straight away, but I had been trying to cover the phone to stop any nuisance. At least there are all your great videos to watch to bring back memories of those two brilliant evenings!

Tom Sakic wrote:

sandrine1 wrote:And... it has been written in french newpapers that he would be back for another concert in 2009 in Bercy, but I don't believe it (Jarkko would have said something about it). Well, anyway I keep my fingers crossed, in case Leonard would like to come back... one never knows what can happens in life...

Jarkko did say something about it... Namely that another European tour in 2009 is mentioned (after Pacific, and US and Canada), but it's really much too early to know anything. But number of cities were mentioned; also, Javier Mas and some other band members mentioned the possible Spanish tour (in the UNCUT interviews).

Great news for us lot, but starting to feel very glad I'm not an LC fan stationed in the USA...

Many thanks for all the reports. Judy, thanks for the set lists for the 24th and 26th. Any chance someone has the set list for November 25?

osmachar wrote:Did LC speak French at the Paris concerts?

On the first night, his last words were those from a famous traditionnal french song (A la Claire Fontaine):
"Il y a longtemps que je t'aime, jamais je ne t'oublierai" (I've been loving you for a long time, never will I forget you).
This song is also very popular in Quebec (last year, it was the name of a show celebrating Quebec City's 400th anniversary).

I knew I had to see LC perform Live, so several months ago, i bought tickets to the Olympia Concert, then booked a flight from Los Angeles, CA to Paris, France. Then worried that i might be out of my mind to go alll the way to Paris for a concert. Now i know i am completely Sane - This concert was magic and i will never forget it. I can close my eyes and see,hear and feel the moments and the excellent music which inspires me and seems to always evoke tears of joy, sorrow and gratitude. He has a gift of allowing the audience to feel intimate with him.

I was impressed with the quality of the sound, the talent of the musicians and the sincere warmth,gratitude and honor i felt from Leonard Cohen toward his audience. Being able to hear him speak to us and share things that are impossible to capture on CD was a treasure in my heart. He was elegant, kind and gracious. I thank him for the over 3 hours of song he shared with us and for the talented musicians and lighting crew that made it complete.

I also would like the set list from the Nov. 25 venue ... thank you in advance.

I too was at the 25-Nov concert. I'm Australian and really never thought I'd get to see him live. Then the stars aligned, I was passing through Madrid for work and I picked up a ticket and planned the detour.

Although seated way up the back, it was brilliant, a 10/10 concert and I think I would have paid ten times the price to see him. And seeing him in Paris was that extra bit special. My highlight - Partisan, Famous Blue Raincoat and the Gypsy's Wife.

How do you describe to someone who doesn't "get" his music just how good that concert was?

I've just seen the setlist for Nov. 25th there.

goodnight to all
one week ago, twenty past midnight, i came back to the hotel after the olympia concert. i was deaf, blind, and speechless ; all i could hear or see, were sounds and images of a man and his band, in the most beautiful place we could have been in.
one week later, tears still come, hearing inside my head this wonderfull softer version of hallelujah, even more intense than in bruges ; or the one song, that, on it's own, would have been enough reason to go to paris, because i felt it belonged to this city and this hall : the partisan.
seeing mr.cohen giving boogie street, back to sharon robinson, silently singing along with her, was to me a sign of deepest respect and admiration for her as a singer, and a beautiful person ; it still makes me feel very warm inside.
when, on top of all, we also received chelsea hotel and famous blue raincoat, it was just too much.
it was a night, full of magic and beauty and kindness, that is still waving on.
everything was perfect, that day, starting with the people in the streets of paris, when we arrived ; one had the impression that the kindness of leonard cohen had spread in the minds of all "parisiens", as everyone was so friendly and helpfull.
that continued when we came in the olympia, where a very gentle "guard" helped my wife and me with her wheelchair, to our perfect places on the balcon ; and went on when, at the pause, we could not use the elevator because it was blocked for security reasons (mr & mme le président were among us) ; two very gentle - and strong - men caried her , wheelchair and all, down the stairs, to the toilet room, and back up again : many thanks to them too ; without them it would not have been possible to enjoy this evening still tonight.
so, thank you all, thank you leonard, take good care of yourself, and let everyone take good care of him, let him take a good rest now, and hope that he will not be back too soon, but soon enough, let's say next summer.

good night
pe swijngedouw