Hi everyone
I was at the concert on saturday (still drying off!) - there are some links to some extracts that I posted on youtube at the bottom of this post.
I was moved and enthralled by the concert, especially the last hour, when I was lucky to be amongst the first people who got to the front. My wife and I were about 10 metres away from Leonard for that time, and that was very precious. Who knows how many more tours there will be, and I think that when many of us were calling out "thank you" during the encores, it was for very much more than just this concert. In my case, it was for 25 years, and for providing so much of the soundtrack of my inner life, and for being quite unique, musically and lyrically. I just love that guy.
The people organising the concert should be a little embarrassed to say the least. We also got stuck in the endless traffic jam from the motorway, but had the sense / good fortune to recognise it wasn't going to improve, so we parked up and walked the last 3 miles. When we got there at 6.50, having left the motorway at 4.45 (still ahead of the cars we had been behind in our vehicle), we had missed Suzanne Vega, which was a shame. But when you walked into the venue, you could see that the queue had been caused not by the traffic lights or roundabouts on the way, but by the fact that they simply didn't have the people or the logistics to check pre-booked / sell people tickets at the entranceto the in-venue parking, they only had about 3 lanes, a shambles. I gather it was worse on the way out. Unforgivable.
The singing and performing were immediately fabulous, top drawer, but I think the atmosphere was a little subdued for the first half. Part the weather, part due (and forgive me for saying this) to quite good representation in the total audience of what I think what the footballer Roy Keane memorably called the "prawn sandwich brigade". Who else would miss a classic song to queue up for Pimms? To them, though, we owe the fact that we could get to the front for that magic last hour, as about 100 people made a dash for the exit from the front rows during Take this Waltz, so we could pretend to be them and go the front. Maybe they had gone out to refill their lattes or $15 baguettes, but enough of us saw the opportunity, and then critical mass was reached, the security gave up and let us in front of the front row, and it was great to be amongst people feeling the same 'lurve" as we did for the last 8 songs or so.
Whats there to say that hasn't been said? Singers and musicians impeccable, does anyone know if Javier Mas has done a recording of his own? and Leonard Cohen was just out of this world, a unique and uniquely wonderful man and artist still at the very top of his game. and how nice to hear someone sing "Hallelullah" without having to listen to Simon Cowell immediately afterwards!
a final anecdote. When we were logjammed heading for the exit, I found myself wedged next to David Gilmour, also under a dark trilby, though in his case less a trademark and probably more so as not to be recognised, and to avoid the rain. I said to him "bugger me, you and Leonard Cohen are my favorite two musicians in the entire world, and I've just seen you both here in the past 5 minutes". "thank you" he said, and that was that. Bliss (albeit spooky bliss!) I think the fact that he and his family were also there in the normal seats and in the rain is a great compliment both to Gilmour and to Cohen.
youtube links below
So Long Marianne (extract)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2PrBtlXvUA
If It Be Your Will (extract)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnzHZFOC47k
Famous Blue Raincoat (extract)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCiA5osVolU
Who by Fire? (full and best quality of the 4 films)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3UNttT6xd0
