Unlike many dedicated Forum members who’ve been to dozens of concerts since LC started touring again in 2008, I’ve only been to five concerts in the past five years. One reason is the distance; living in Japan has its advantages, but being so far from everywhere else, especially from places where concerts are held, is a clear disadvantage. But to a certain extent it is also a matter of choice; although I’ve been a dedicated follower of LC’s work since 1972, going to concerts was never easy, since LC was such a private experience for me. Before joining the Forum in 2006 I hadn’t realized that there are so many others who share this experience, nor was I aware that sharing it with others can be so beneficial. Still, as far as going to LC concerts, I always felt that fewer is better, thus making each concert a unique experience (and this should not by any means be interpreted as criticizing those who feel the need to go to as many concert as they can – hooray to them).
For us, going to a concert means re-experiencing songs we all know very well. However, as all dedicated followers must be aware, LC has always had a tendency to change the lyrics of his songs while preforming them, as well as the musical arrangements and sometimes even the tempo. Here are a few points I noticed during the Pula concert:
“The Future” – In the third verse, instead of “anal sex” he sang “careless sex”, which makes sense… However, on checking some videos now I found that the change occurred already much earlier in the tour (at least since 2009), so I must have missed it in previous concerts… This change was also reported on the Forum already once or twice before, I now see, but I guess it’s worth mentioning again.
“Who By Fire” – Nothing new here, but there is an important change in the tour version compared with the album one: the long instrumental introduction played by Javier Mas, which for me became one of the most thrilling moments of each concert.
“The Darkness” – The order of the verses was changed compared with the album version and earlier concert ones, although, again, checking the videos I found that he had already done it late last year (for example, Boston, December 16, 2012). In Pula (as in other concerts this year) the third verse (“I should have seen it coming…”) came first, the first verse (“I caught the darkness…”) third, and the song ended with the third verse again (there was also the humming – or whatever you may call it – before introducing the drummer). There often seemed to have been difficulties with this song in concerts last year, so perhaps this is the reason behind the change. Musically the song stands very well now, but still, I wonder why the order of the verses was altered so radically.
“Amen” – If I heard correctly (and I haven’t been able to find a video yet), LC sang in the last verse: “the Eye of the Camps”, rather than “the Camp”; Forum members will remember the debate about this line, some people believing, even after the album came out with lyrics printed, that they could hear him sing “cam” or something else rather than “camp”. However, it was clear then, and becomes clearer now, that he refers to the death camps of the Holocaust (and probably also to all other camps where people were and still are being tortured and killed). As often before, LC coined a new expression based on well-known ones, such as “the eye of the storm” or “the eye of the needle”.
“Lover Lover Lover” – The new musical phrasing was somewhat surprising, although on listening back it turns out that the change evolved gradually, since the first phase of the tour. On the whole it is a somewhat different but equally satisfying version of the song.
“Chelsea Hotel” – Here again the change is not in the lyrics but in the arrangement; I found this recent rendition with minimal accompaniment especially touching, better than the earlier tour versions with the whole band accompanying LC.
“I’m Your Man” – This isn’t new, but again, a change compared with the album version, with words added to the line: “I’ll wear an old man’s mask for you”, which is somewhat ironic…
“Famous Blue Raincoat” – This is not a new change either; for a while now LC has been ending the song with “Sincerely, A friend”, as Jennifer Warnes did on her album, rather than with the original “Sincerely, L. Cohen”. This could be meaningful, as rather than a letter to himself, the song can now be interpreted as coming to him from someone else; both options always existed, but now LC seems to prefer one of the two.
It should be mentioned once again how great the band is and how wonderfully they are all working together (as Tom also indicated elsewhere). Compared with the earlier band combination, with Dino Soldo sometimes taking central stage, the current band is much more balanced. And although Bob Metzger is missed, Mitch Watkins is a very good replacement. Alexandru Bublitchi’s violin is a great addition, although I remain puzzled by the fact that his inclusion did not lead to the revival of some great songs in which the violin had an important part, in particular “The Guests” and “The Window”; and what about “Came So Far For Beauty”? Unfortunately, “The Gypsy’s Wife” is the only song from Recent Songs performed on the tour. Apart from Death of a Ladies’ Man, for obvious reasons (the only song from it ever performed in concerts, back in the 80’s, was “Memories”), Recent Songs is the most neglected album during these past five years of touring, and this fact still puzzles me greatly (Dear Heather should also be mentioned as an album totally ignored in the tour, but here the reasons must be different, perhaps due to its somewhat experimental nature).
After all this, and after leaving the Arena with an unmistakable sense of satisfaction, dare I say that something was missing? Let me first mention what Jarkko reported elsewhere (on the “Pula meetup reports” thread), quoting a local guide in the Arena who said, reportedly: "a few days ago we had here Leonard Cohen, you know, the man of those depressing songs"; this, of course, makes us all laugh, and had that guide been to the concert she would probably have ended up with a different impression. And this is the point that somewhat bothered me: it was all so joyful, that something from the “depressing” side was missing (and I don’t mean to say it was ever “depressing” but rather, for me, uplifting, but you know what I mean). I am, of course, very happy that our Man is in such great shape (although a bit too thin, perhaps), and that he is still willing and able to give such great performances and gain more admirers; I’m also happy for him for no longer being shackled by depression. Elsewhere on the Forum someone complained about the tour, asking “Is it becoming slightly stale?”; I would certainly not say “stale”, but how about slightly too slick? I could see that the audience enjoyed his ending the concert with “Save the Last Dance”, but am I the only one who would have preferred an original LC song? (From the Old Ideas album I very much missed “Different Sides”, which was performed, if I’m not mistaken, a few times early on in the current tour but was dropped long ago; LC actually rehearsed it at the soundcheck the night before the concert, and there’s a lovely video of it on the Forum. Also rehearsed but not performed were “Ain’t No Cure For Love”, “I Can’t Forget”, “Anthem”, “Light As The Breeze”, “Anyhow” with two new verses, and, especially, “Waiting For The Miracle” - go figure why none of them was actually in the concert; at least they are on video, with links in the “Concert Report” thread, and warm thanks to all involved: to LC and the band who gave a free concert, to those who videotaped behind the fence and loaded and linked the videos – I guess it was mostly the work of Roman Gavrilin, so special thanks to him).
Well, I’m not really complaining; it’s great the way LC and the band come together so perfectly now, and how his happiness is shining through. So perhaps it is just some strains of misguided nostalgia for the times it all sounded different? Or to earlier occasions when, for some particular reason, I was deeply moved (such as the “last” concert in Las Vegas, almost three years ago)? Is it indeed better not trying to relive old experiences? I’m not sure. However, for what they are worth, I felt like sharing these thoughts on the Forum.
Sincerely,
Doron
