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@RomanSoper - Going to Leonard Cohen on sat. First real concert I've been to. So excited!!!!!

@jeankimberley - Off to see Leonard Cohen – so excited

@gcinjectables1 –Leonard Cohen concert tonight yippppppeeeeeee have a fabulous weekend love from injectables #LeonardCohen#BestArtist#Lovehim#superexcited#goingwithmydaddy xxx

@louniss - Leonard Cohen tonight! Yahoo!

@supsuphannah - 4 men in cowboy hats. 4 women in high heels. Leonard Cohen attracts a diverse crowd.

@NoPlaceforSheep - So excited waiting for Leonard Cohen!!!!

@pianotrees - Our view at Leonard Cohen tonight. SO happy #secondrow #lucky pic.twitter.com/DAzZ9ggOOb https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BaT5zKCCQAAYBPW.jpg

@iSmac - Leonard Cohen. Hallelujah 2013 http://instagram.com/p/hVbAXgpLVX/ http://distilleryimage7.ak.instagram.co ... e153_8.jpg

@M_Ludlow - Ladies and gentleman, Mr Leonard Cohen. Dance Me To The End Of Love pic.twitter.com/JCMb9GjUme https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BaT_r9PCMAAPmwI.jpg

@NoPlaceforSheep - DANCE ME TO THE END OF LOVE!!! Leonard Cohen pic.twitter.com/ZiLEBYgzyR https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BaT-N5XCAAA_E8O.jpg

@BenFromBrisbane SO excited to be at Leonard Cohen with Mum tonight! It's the third time I've seen Leonard Cohen over the years. I listened to Cohen constantly in lockdown prior to Big Brother : ) instagram.com/p/hVbsBDG75u/ http://distilleryimage6.ak.instagram.co ... 1fa5_8.jpg

@goldensteph_ - I never thought I'd get to see my favourite songwriter, but tonight I get to see Leonard Cohen for the third time.

@jnettejb - If Leonard Cohen is performing at a place near you don't miss the chance, he's even better than before and it may be yr last chance.

@TyroneNoonan - The inimitable Leonard Cohen; legend! @ Brisbane Entertainment Centre http://instagram.com/p/hVpGSdprPK/ http://distilleryimage2.ak.instagram.co ... 80da_8.jpg

@caroldarcy - Leonand CREW!!!! Omg. Second half just about to begin. ❤❤❤

@ElsZuzu - Out at the Leonard Cohen World Tour Concert 2013 tonight. Such fun and so awesome to be at. @Bellyboo2121 pic.twitter.com/5TNedoEh52

@Twobob13 - Interval at Leonard Cohen, Brisbane. Sensational show so far.

@lorihph - Three hours of Leonard Cohen live..... Don't mind if I do.Pure bliss

@wenchofnations - I see you decided to get drunk at a Leonard Cohen concert. Please understand everyone in this section is trying to maim you with their mind

@AnnaMcGahan - Leonard Cohen is singing on his knees, hand on heart.

@BorneoBert - Blown away by the incomparable Leonard Cohen in Brisbane tonight. Second half coming up. Wow!!!!

@PipSheehan - The inimitable Leonard Cohen. http://instagram.com/p/hVkobpMB8o/ http://distilleryimage8.ak.instagram.com

@Anneke363Y - Leonard Cohen: an amazing man with such dignity.

@BorneoBert - OMG Leonard Cohen gig! 3 hrs on stage; every min magic! Poetic lyrics, dramatic stage presence, brill muso support. U seen him?

@doncandon - "He's gonna do another one!!" Bloke behind me genuinely shocked that Leonard Cohen was doing an encore.

@FriendsofOris - Went to see Leonard Cohen in concert tonight in Brisbane. The man is fantastic, at 79 he didn't stop for 3 and half hours.

@KWerninghaus - Brilliant Concert in Brisbane tonight - Thank you Leonard Cohen.

@mandimcintyre - Those who had been before were right. A Leonard Cohen concert is a spiritual experience.

LC&LC wrote:Brisbane Entertainment Center, November 30th

Dance me to the end of love
The future
Bird on a wire
Everybody knows
Who by fire
The darkness
Amen
Come healing
Lover lover lover
Anthem

Tower of songs
Suzanne
Chelsea hotel
Le partisan
Alessandra leaving (Sharon Robinson)
I'm your man
1000 kisses deep (recitation)
Hallelujah
Take this waltz

So long Marianne
Going home
First we take Manhattan

Famous blue raincoat
If it be your will (The Webb sisters)
Closing time

Tried to leave you
Save the last dance for me

Leonard Cohen Delivers Strong Performance At Brisbane Entertainment Centre

December 01, 2013 1:04PM


Leonard Cohen. Source: AFP

MAKE that three from three.

Leonard Cohen returned to the scene of his triumphs on tour in 2009 and 2010 and delivered another performance that those present will cherish for a lifetime.

After a series of encores that lasted almost an hour , he finally concluded with a version of The Drifters’ Save The Last Dance For Me, leaving the stage to yet another standing ovation with the crowd wondering if they would ever see the 78-year-old perform again.

Then again, we thought that after those previous tours.

As usual, Cohen was in sparkling form and good humor, opening the night with the invitation to Dance Me to the End of Love and delivering a fervent first set including some of his finest material like Bird on the Wire and Everybody Knows.

As with his previous concerts here, the sound quality was close to perfection as the attentive audience hung on every word and note. Spanish guitarist Javier Mas again added his passionate touch to the songs and stunned the audience with his virtuoso introduction to Who By Fire.

Neil Larsen’s work at the Hammond organ was again extraordinary, and the band on this occasion featured violinist Alex Bublitchi, whose gypsy-flavoured sounds suit this material splendidly.

Cohen’s stagecraft, his drops to his knees, graceful bows to his band and so on, somehow makes the audience feel like they are in a small club rather than in an arena with 8000 or so others. Then there is his wry wit between songs, telling us of his admiration for Brisbane’s road tunnels while noting their “therapeutic quality’’.

The second set was even better than the first, if that’s possible, with his female singers occasionally taking the lead, with Sharon Robinson on Alexandra Leaving and the Webb Sisters on If It Be Your Will, and dazzling renditions of old friends like Suzanne, Hallelujah and Chelsea Hotel # 2.

It is difficult to put into words the power Cohen puts into his recitation of A Thousand Kisses Deep, and into every song he performs in more than three hours on stage.

Suffice to say that there was nowhere on the planet that this audience would rather have been than in the presence of Cohen’s tower of song.

Leonard Cohen performed at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Saturday

Live Review: Leonard Cohen @ Brisbane Entertainment Centre 30.11.13

Written by Gabriella Cowan


Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen. What an incredible man. A consummate musician who surrounds himself with other consummate musicians. The music is tight. Cohen is a perfectionist in every way. The audience appeared to see him as sex symbol… maybe he is.

With the cheek of an adolescent and the conviction of a soldier, he will go on to give the Brisbane Entertainment Centre a dazzling three and a half hour show. It is quarter past eight. The lights dim, you feel the woosh of every man clapping his hands excitedly and then a group of figures enter the stage. “There’s Leonard!” I shout, pointing to one of the figures wearing a hat. I soon realize that they’re all wearing hats, and that couldn’t be Leonard Cohen, unless he’s been eating excessive amounts of Thanksgiving cake and has picked up the bouzouki.

Sure enough, Leonard arrives on stage, and not only that, but he is running enthusiastically. When’s the last time you’ve seen a 79- year old performer run on stage? His voice still carries the warm, hypnotic texture, off beat in his phrasing but nonetheless utterly captivating. “Thanks so much… friends,” he drawls, cast in a dim spotlight, center of stage. He makes a dry joke about the new Brisbane CBD tunnels, then proceeds to thank us graciously again. What a host! “If…you…ever feel neglected,” he murmurs slowly, “just call out my name.” I wince a little as people in the audience scream: “LEONARD! LEONARD!” Chuckling, Leonard tips his hat slightly. “That’s it,” he smiles. “I assure you tonight we’ll give you everything we have,” he promises.

The show opened with Dance Me To The End Of Love, which was, thanks to the three female backup singers left of Cohen, almost identical to the recording, off Cohen’s third album, Various Positions. He immediately lowered to his knees while he sung, crooning and twisting into his microphone. My god, I thought, as he swayed and sunk to the floor, this man possesses triple the stamina that he had when he was young.

Cohen and the band began playing Bird On A Wire, which was somewhat unrecognizable because of the jazzed-up, poppier musicality of it. He took up his position on the floor again, a small mouse for Bird On The Wire. During this song he graciously presented each member with a bow and the taking off of his black hat. We discover that the lead guitarist is the head professor of music from a Texan university, and the two blonde backup singers, ‘The Webb Sisters’, are from England. Leonard has a nine-piece band that boasts the highest quality musicians from around the world. To his right, sits the archlute player, the fiddle player, and the nylon guitarist, each of them in suits and hats. Everyone is wearing a suit, even the female backup singers, although, in their white and black attire, they come across as good-looking cater waitresses. Well, Cohen always adored the beauty of women; it seems only natural to have exquisite looking women accompanying him on stage. Sometimes, they even sing his songs for him. Sharon Robinson, the third female vocalist, performed Alexandra Leaving by herself, which astounded the audience. Here’s an interesting bit of trivia- Robinson first started working with Leonard Cohen on his 1979 Field Commander Cohen tour.

Leonard spits out Everybody Knows, with conviction and bright expression in his pale eyes. As it is more of an upbeat number, the female backup singers perform synchronized foot bounces, almost mimicking a waltz with their invisible partners. Cohen has such character, in his figure, his profile, the way he clutches the microphone like a crucifix and offers it his off-handed, loving attention.

After the intermission, where the people scrambled out of their seats to buy ice-cream and chips, the stage remained dark, but for a red spotlight cast upon the bouzouki player. One could make out Leonard’s figure in the shadows, his hat resting under his arm, listening with his head bowed to Javier Mas playing haunting, melodious sounds on the Spanish archilaúd. His fingers moved like spiders across the fret while the fiddle player behind him quietly provided a rich undertone to complement the dramatic quality. This introduction led to an unexpected Who By Fire. The applause was tremendous once the audience caught on. Hattie Webb played harp whilst singing: a blonde angel. Cohen played a black steel string guitar and the bass player switched to a grand double bass, in which he utilized the most fantastic hand muting technique to give that intriguing sound in the short pauses.

Leonard Cohen’s songs have the unique ability to uplift their audience and put them into a trance-like state. Like some sort of prophet with his elusive poetry, one is enticed and soothed at once, as in the famous Suzanne. Members of the audience clapped for joy and swayed adoringly in their seats. The original backup female vocals on the album were not sung, but they were close. I don’t know how many times you’ve listened to Suzanne, peeling oranges and weeping alone in your kitchen, but if you have listened to it as fervently as I, you would recognize the different backup harmonies and pout a little. However, that doesn’t matter so much. What does matter is the fact that he played a good deal of his old songs, Famous Blue Raincoat, So Long Marianne, Hallelujah. It is these songs, and I don’t think I speak alone, which are the songs that will truly soothe and speak to your soul. Cohen stood under a soft spotlight while he crooned out Chesea Hotel 2# much to my amazement. “Givin me head on the unmade bed,” he drawled smoothly, while plucking in the way that he does, the black steel string.

Leonard Cohen is a born performer who uses his dry wit and charm with complete and utter ease. He juggles reciting his poetry, singing on his knees and playing keyboard, (“Your generosity has no bounds…”). Cohen has enriched the life of many with his wonderful melodic style, interesting and powerful lyrics and a deep resonate voice. The man is unquestionably a poet. He tipped his hat at precisely quarter to midnight, and skipped off the stage gallantly to a standing ovation. And that was about the third standing ovation of that night.