leonardcohenforum.com

Well this is interesting, I've been so busy with work I haven't been on the forum for a week and now see all hell has broken loose! After reading 29 pages of speculation as to what's going on I have to say everyone seems to be really jumping the gun on assuming this announcement is going to be something bad. Everyone thinks either Leonard is ill, the tour is cancelled, the ticket firms are crooks looking to sell tickets to shows they know are not going to happen, AEG is creating media buzz for nothing or is covering up a screw-up on their part. Has anyone taken the time to really look at everything that has been said? Here's what I've gathered so far:

1. AEG sent a message to Jarkko about something about the tour but told him to not announce it until they give the go ahead (when the press release is made public).
2. Jarkko put the word out that an announcement was coming (originally Jan 30/31 Grammy weekend, but was later changed to Feb 2nd and now is just coming soon).
3. Jarkko advised "We MIGHT want to hold off on booking flights/hotels until after the announcement is made"
4. People suggested sending hate mail to AEG which brought a warning from Jarkko that doing so would only cause us to loose all FUTURE PRESALES.
5. We were told the announcement has nothing to do with:
A. The selling of tickets for the March shows (this to me says shows are still on as planned since if it was to cancel/postpone the tour it would effect the ticket sales).
B. The announcement of new concerts (Jarkko said new concerts which might mean no actual show dates but dose not rule out new tour legs).
6. Jarkko changed his signature to now read 2010....more!....

I'm sure I may have missed something but I think that covers most of it. I don't understand why everyone feels this has to be bad news coming? If Leonard was ill wouldn't that announcement come from his management in Los Angeles and not AEG in London? If the tour was getting canceled/postponed I think if not AEG then Leonard himself would send word to Jarkko to make sure we know and not make us have to guess about it.
Myself I think it will be something good. Reading the other posts in the tour 2010 section I see lots of requests for more cities and countries for him to come to. Also lots of questions about who's traveling to Moscow, France, and where ever else he is playing in March. Did anyone stop to think that maybe the announcement is not about certain cities/shows but instead about the whole tour? Maybe the more in Jarkko 2010...more!.... is his way of saying more as in years not cities? Maybe the announcement is going to be something like "Cohen announces new 2010-2011 world tour....? Something like that would explain why the original plan was to announce it during Grammy weekend (when the world is paying attention to him like in 2008 when the tour dates/tickets came out during Hall of Fame induction weekend). It would also explain why we were told to not to rush off and book flights/hotels for the March shows. Maybe the "might consider waiting until after the announcement" was not to keep people who had tickets already from booking flights since, as everyone has said, it wouldn't matter much since those plans were already made long ago when the concert tickets were bought? Maybe instead it was meant to be a tip for people thinking of making last minute plans to go out of their way to get to one of the March shows incase they are the last shows in Europe not to rush into anything? So I'm betting on an announcement that will give more details about how big the tour will be and not something bad like the tour is canceled. Just my take on it for what it's worth....

I think Leonard has been abducted by aliens, there are now secret negotiation conducted in order to get him back.
As soon as there is more information available AEG will issue a statement, for now secrecy is necessary.

mirka

Some very good points made after sorting through all of the information. Positive energy
will give us positive results...
donalagata

casterbridgecohen wrote:Perhaps of more importance as this is a Cohen site and as this thread rolls over onto its 30th page can any of the old timers advise if this is now officially the longest thread on the site or have their been equally substantive matters in the past that have continued for a greater length.

Yes, my son has

viewtopic.php?f=39&t=14413

Michael and Diana, thank you for voice of reason, and Jarkko for patience with us /evaporating? /.

Mary, you are right, your great son has still got more pages... But he may be somewhat threaten by this thread

Regards to all "angels"


Vlasta

Bigdee
Might be worth having another look at some of the posts. Nobody has suggested sending hate mail to AEG. What was suggested was emails expressing disgust at the manner in which they have conducted themselves and the detrimental effect this could have on the tour should it go ahead on different dates. If they are as professional as you are suggesting then they would have done well to either make an announcement or say nothing until there was an announcement to be made. As said in previous posts this "non-announcement" can only serve to foster speculation.

MaryB wrote:

Michael,

In addition to other forum members who have been doing their best to diffuse this negatively escalating situation (thank you all!)I wanted to specifically commend you on your brilliant defense of LC, Robert Kory, and AEG
viewtopic.php?f=44&t=20757&start=375#p214910
How quickly some forget what they have accomplished to date as a team.

Kindest regards,
Mary

(P.S. I only wish you had put Jarkko into this, as we all know that besides some of what is being said on the forum, this poor gentleman is being bombarded with PMs and emails for information. Jarkko, sorry you have to deal with all this.)

I totally agree.

Isolde

Re: What is going on ?
by edlosi » Thu Feb 04, 2010 12:03 pm

MaryB wrote:

Michael,

In addition to other forum members who have been doing their best to diffuse this negatively escalating situation (thank you all!)I wanted to specifically commend you on your brilliant defense of LC, Robert Kory, and AEG
viewtopic.php?f=44&t=20757&start=375#p214910
How quickly some forget what they have accomplished to date as a team.

Kindest regards,
Mary

(P.S. I only wish you had put Jarkko into this, as we all know that besides some of what is being said on the forum, this poor gentleman is being bombarded with PMs and emails for information. Jarkko, sorry you have to deal with all this.)


I totally agree.

Isolde

TOTTALY AGREE TOO!
We all should be grateful to Leonard, Robert Kory, AEG and also Jarkko and the forum team.
We (forum memebers) always want to know first. 99.9% of the times - we are happy with it. this time, we should just accept this and wait.
I hope and believe we are not about to hear some very ad news...
GIl

I suspect that all that is happening is that one or two concerts may have to be rescheduled, and that Jarkko kindly tipped people off about flights/hotels, just in case problems arise. Booking for long distance concerts is always a risk anyway...such as when Leonard collapsed, or Morrisey walked off after one song.

mirka wrote:I think Leonard has been abducted by aliens, there are now secret negotiation conducted in order to get him back.
As soon as there is more information available AEG will issue a statement, for now secrecy is necessary.

mirka

Thanks for lifting our spirits!
And if this is really the case, I must admit that the aliens have remarkably exquisite tastes

Inge wrote:

jarkko wrote:The speculations on this Forum (and also the same with the French one) are fruitless. There is a very understandable reason behind this. Everybody is going to agree when the facts are available. No need to create an uprising against AEG or anybody else. That would only mean good-byes to all future pre-sales.

I guess this means there will be future concerts. That is good news, isn't it?

Inge

This looks positive to me! I'm hoping that sometime there'll be a pre-sale for another concert that I can get to....
Lizzie

mirka wrote:I think Leonard has been abducted by aliens, there are now secret negotiation conducted in order to get him back.
As soon as there is more information available AEG will issue a statement, for now secrecy is necessary.

mirka

the news is out !!

John Etherington wrote:I suspect that all that is happening is that one or two concerts may have to be rescheduled, and that Jarkko kindly tipped people off about flights/hotels, just in case problems arise. Booking for long distance concerts is always a risk anyway...such as when Leonard collapsed, or Morrisey walked off after one song.

Thank you John - ever the voice of reason! Sounds very logical to me. I do still wonder, though, as one or two others have pointed out, why there seems to be this moratorium on the announcement of further concerts.

bigdee wrote:... everyone seems to be really jumping the gun on assuming this announcement is going to be something bad.

...Has anyone taken the time to really look at everything that has been said? Here's what I've gathered so far:

1. AEG sent a message to Jarkko about something about the tour but told him to not announce it until they give the go ahead (when the press release is made public).
2. Jarkko put the word out that an announcement was coming (originally Jan 30/31 Grammy weekend, but was later changed to Feb 2nd and now is just coming soon).
3. Jarkko advised "We MIGHT want to hold off on booking flights/hotels until after the announcement is made"
4. People suggested sending hate mail to AEG which brought a warning from Jarkko that doing so would only cause us to loose all FUTURE PRESALES.
5. We were told the announcement has nothing to do with:
A. The selling of tickets for the March shows (this to me says shows are still on as planned since if it was to cancel/postpone the tour it would effect the ticket sales).
B. The announcement of new concerts (Jarkko said new concerts which might mean no actual show dates but dose not rule out new tour legs).
6. Jarkko changed his signature to now read 2010....more!....
....

Yeah you're right, it might not be anything bad - but why start something and then don't go through with it. Don't make allusions, that just fuelles the wildest speculations - especially if AEG, the management etc know already but don't care to tell but prefer to create some secret.

I'm not having a go at anyone, but what gets me most and a lot of others too is the fact that announcements have been promised - since the France dates have appeared in November but very little had been added although it had been promised.

Now all the dates seem to have been wiped from this site but not fom the ticket sites and yet another announcement has been promised and postponed various times. And this is pretty infuriating for people who just simply want to know what's happening in less than a month - we do have a life and need to plan our work, annual leave etc as well.

If there are cancellations/postponements it would maybe be disappointing, but people want to know sooner rather than later so they can make other arrangements.

If this announcement hasn't got anything to do with cancellations then fine, but pls someone tell us asap to stop speculations which are pretty pointless.

I'm actually thinking they just have finished this tour on a high with the last USA concert and not try and stick more and more dates on.

as an honourary Scouser, i would like to say: "Calm down, calm down!"

1. Jarkko has done the right thing to warn us to think twice before commiting to further booked flights etc.

2. we have to feel sorry for Jarkko, tied as he is to secrecy. his natural instinct would be to tell us but he knows he has to hang on. he is doing his best for us

3. if LC has decided enough is enough i, for one, would support the decision. i am grateful to have seen him four times on the recent tour when i thought i would never see him in concert.