leonardcohenforum.com

jdhayes wrote:dce suggested post-tour celebrations.

Also - there are MP3 links in the article for the audio of the complete show.

leonard cohen – live at caesar’s palace in las vegas – 12-10-10
By admin | Published: December 12, 2010



some concerts are shows. you go like you might go to most movies. they are fun while they are going on. parts of them may be memorable. and on you go with your life. i swear i am not overselling this. the leonard cohen concert i attended in las vegas last night was a life changing event.

cohen is a cool enigma. poet, novelist, songwriter, musician, performer. he’s not for everyone, but if he does touch you in just the right way, it’s almost as though his technique, his approach, his tone, his cynicism, his ideals become a part of you. he’s more than a performer, or singer, or writer. he’s one of those artists who reach people in such a way that through some alchemy of interaction with his art, he becomes a part of your psyche.

and so, the concert: during the first number, ‘dance me to the end of love’, he came out and soon dropped to he knees. he sang as though it was a prayer, a supplication. he crooned to his virtuoso bandurria and 12 string nylon-guitarist, javier mas. together they shared a secret with us. cohen closed his eyes as though he was writing it all over again. it felt holy, like church – filled with joy, searching, ideas, music and the joy of existence. it was like nothing i’ve ever seen.

cohen is magnanimous on stage. he takes off his hat and stands still when someone is soloing or the ladies are taking the melody – almost old fashioned, and wonderful. quaint, charming and still mesmerizing. then he takes control, dancing a jig or wandering about the stage which was composed of persian area rugs.

the first part of the show, a good hour and a half of non stop performing, was largely composed of music from the masterpiece album ‘the future’. he moved effortlessly through periods in his own career, over years of strain and struggling with words, and always it seems, arriving at the same loving conclusions. he was there not so much to perform but to share what he learned with us.

the show i saw was one of two that serve as the close of a tour that has taken the aged troubadour through three continents and spanned three years. last night he showed no signs of slowing down. i hope he has more to say to us, more to sing.



and now, for no particular reason, a little verse from ‘a singer must die’:

“Now the courtroom is quiet, but who will confess.
Is it true you betrayed us? The answer is Yes.
Then read me the list of the crimes that are mine,
I will ask for the mercy that you love to decline.
And all the ladies go moist, and the judge has no choice,
a singer must die for the lie in his voice”

one thing that i immediately thought was odd was the venue. caesar’s palace? las vegas? it felt like an odd pairing. this was not lost on the man himself, who said near the end of the show: ‘thank you friends, for joining me in this curious place ……. an unmagical place …..”. las vegas seems totally in opposition to his higher minded motives and concerns. but in that space, in that time, it didn’t matter one bit that 10 yards outside the door, slot jockeys were playing for redemption, hoping for a break, throwing their money and passion down a toilet on the fraction of a chance that something would break for them. so what?

i’ve been a cohen fan since i was 16 or so. i’ve heard all these songs so many times but still, last night when he sang the classic ‘chelsea hotel #2′ and said:

“And clenching your fist for the ones like us
who are oppressed by the figures of beauty,
you fixed yourself, you said, “Well never mind,
we are ugly but we have the music.”

i’m not afraid to say i got choked up. that always gets me. “we are ugly, but we have the music”.



a side note. two rows behind me was a big, gnarly drunk bastard who insisted on yelling something at the beginning of every song break. he was tolerable enough, mostly lauding leonard, though at one point he did yell ‘get a job’ which made no sense – in context or out. i wonder what guys like this are like outside of the drunken arena. does he remember the next day? does he feel bad? does he think he served the show? what was he doing there? it reminds me of the instantly classic episode of LOUIE with the female heckler.

i took some pics – but i didn’t take in my dslr so all i had to rely on was my fuji point and shoot. it has a good optical zoom but the ‘manual’ features are a digital illusion. i damp down the exposure or f-stop and the result is a digital approximation of what a step like that would look like. it’s not real. doesn’t matter – my feelings are. i don’t need photos, i have memories.



the more i think about this blog entry – the more i think that leonard’s work speaks for itself. and no one reading this is going to care what i write or will hardly regard this if they don’t know about him. and those that do follow him will think that i’ve understated his meaning and importantance. so let me just copy and paste some lyrics from ‘everybody knows’ because they are so perfect and amazing to me, still:

“Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That’s how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died

Everybody talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long stem rose
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that you love me baby
Everybody knows that you really do
Everybody knows that you’ve been faithful
Ah give or take a night or two
Everybody knows you’ve been discreet
But there were so many people you just had to meet
Without your clothes
And everybody knows

And everybody knows that it’s now or never
Everybody knows that it’s me or you
And everybody knows that you live forever
Ah when you’ve done a line or two
Everybody knows the deal is rotten
Old Black Joe’s still pickin’ cotton
For your ribbons and bows
And everybody knows

And everybody knows that the Plague is coming
Everybody knows that it’s moving fast
Everybody knows that the naked man and woman
Are just a shining artifact of the past
Everybody knows the scene is dead
But there’s gonna be a meter on your bed
That will disclose
What everybody knows

And everybody knows that you’re in trouble
Everybody knows what you’ve been through
From the bloody cross on top of Calvary
To the beach of Malibu
Everybody knows it’s coming apart
Take one last look at this Sacred Heart
Before it blows
And everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That’s how it goes
Everybody knows”

ok. so here is the show i heard, poorly recorded, in four separate files. maybe i can clean them up some in the future, but still:

file the first – the first set

file the second – after intermission, second set plus an encore

file the third – second encore

file the fourth – third encore, close of show

those are mp3 files.

i highly recommend anyone not familiar with lenny to check out, at the very least, the documentary leonard cohen: i’m your man. (that links to a torrent file for the movie. download bittorrent first and direct all technical questions elsewhere). please – use GOOGLE to ask questions…

this film features more of OTHER people playing leonard’s music, but it gives a nice overview of who he is and why he is so vitally important to so many of us. i don’t have to sell this event to you – i’m just sharing. i’ll edit this entry and make it a little slicker soon, i’m sure. ill make smoother transitions. i’ll tie together themes. but until then, end of entry.

The sun is up in Vegas and the fog of last nights show is still in the eyes of the troupe as the travel home day begins.
* Las Vegas, Nevada

Chris Bynum is ready to roll.
* Las Vegas, Nevada

Time to roll.
* Las Vegas, Nevada

A quick trip to the airfield.
* Las Vegas, Nevada

BFFs.
* Las Vegas, Nevada

sturgess66 wrote: A colourful delight of action pictures - a live feed of each show as it unfolded. And a great insight into the back story