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http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2007/0 ... _thou.html

O Leonard, where art thou?
By Shay Quillen

Friday, May 11th, 2007 at 10:17 am in Music, Shay Quillen, General.
Three days after Britney Spears blew off San Francisco, Leonard Cohen did the same thing, failing to make an appearance at the “Leonard Cohen Presents Anjani” show Thursday at Cafe du Nord. This despite word from a high-placed source that there was an “excellent” chance Cohen would show. Ah, well.

What we got instead was a pleasant evening of Cohen lyrics delivered by his longtime lover and backup singer Anjani, albeit one so soft and sleepy that it made Norah Jones sound like Pat Benatar. She was backed by a quartet that played with such restraint and taste that you had to lean forward to hear their solos (except for the percussionist, who played the windchimes with authority).

She mixed older tracks such as “The Smokey Life” and “The Gypsy’s Wife” with material from her recent “Blue Alert” CD. A couple of the new songs, “No One After You” and “Thanks for the Dance,” would hold their own against Cohen’s best material.

Anjani was lovely and charming, but her between-song patter was so quiet I couldn’t make most of it out from the back of the room, about 30 feet away. I did hear her mention that she once lived in Mountain View, a statement greeted with mild derision from the crowd.

One note: I saw more nuzzling, smooching and full-on making out occurring during this concert than I’ve seen in a long time (since Pete Yorn, at least). So if you ever bring an urban sophisticate back to your place with romance on your mind, you might want to seriously consider putting on Anjani’s “Blue Alert” CD. I tell you, this stuff works. (I should let Mr. Male Call know about this.)

Before Anjani, San Francisco’s Conspiracy of Beards male choir sang some of Cohen’s best-known material — including “Everybody Knows,” “Hallelujah” and “Bird on a Wire” — with gusto. Because the 20-plus men wouldn’t fit on the cafe’s stage, they sang in the back of the room, with with one baritone actually leaning on my table. A treat.

Just posted my San Francisco show experience and saw this one from Dick. Geez...I thought it was a great show and enjoyed the hell out of it. Didn't notice lots of people "making out" but I did have my eyes on the stage. But I guess it's a good thing if you've got a bit of Barry White going for ya. Anyway, it was packed and I was right in front, so maybe my perspective was different but I heard every word.

Lord, I'm sounding like, dare I say it, lizzy! Seriously, I guess I went there expecting to hear Anjani and she sounded so cool. She carried that show off damn well on her own and like I said in my memory of the show...didn't need the old guy one bit!!

Seriously, I guess I went there expecting to hear Anjani and she sounded so cool. She carried that show off damn well on her own . . .

This is good to see and I one hundred percent agree . Leonard is a bonus !

Anyone unable to hear her from 30 feet away had to have been focusing more on other things or suffering the effects of a too-low-volumed sound system. Anjani may take a cue from this and ask the audience in L.A. She's concerned with how they enjoy the show. Glad to hear you were right in front, Dar .

It's good to hear from the original report here that this album of love inspires expressions of love, albeit those folks may have missed some of the wonderful visuals.

I'm very glad to see you felt it was worth the trip, Dar .


~ Lizzy

Leonard has politely replied to this article, I got a buzz out of it.

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2007/0 ... _thou.html

Leonard Cohen Says:
May 11th, 2007 at 11:41 pm
Dear Shay Quille,

Your’high-placed source’ misinformed you. I made it clear to all the parties concerned, long in advance,that I would not be at Anjani’s concert at the Cafe du Nord. I did not ‘blow-off’ San Francisco, as you put it. I never would. I try to keep my appointments.

In any case, despite my absence, it sounds as though your evening was pleasant enough.

May you have many of them.
Leonard

Anjani has the golden voice. She compares favorably to Diana Krall in my humble opinion. Her voice is simply more interesting, with more colors, not to put down Krall in any way, for she is a great, no doubt. I predict that in the not-so-distant future, when she pens her own tunes, she will wean herself from L. Cohen, for she is in her own right a great songstress, my favorite. She sings better than Krall, Norah Jones and Peyroux. I don't know if people are aware that she is singing in Canada in July for several performances over a few days. I am sure she will be received very well there, with or without Mr. Cohen. Of course, it's true, we all would like to see both. She is nonetheless destined to be recognized for her inimitable voice. How could it be otherwise?

Hal E.

She is nonetheless destined to be recognized for her inimitable voice. How could it be otherwise?

I agree, Hal. Well said .


~ Lizzy

We can all appreciate the subterranean charms of the Cafe du Nord (it being a former speakeasy & all), but might I suggest another venue for Anjani's next visit?
The Noe Valley Ministry is light & airy, has roughly the same audience capacity, has great acoustics and is generally more listener-friendly. In spite of its name, it is not overtly religious either.

How would we know if the reply was really Leonard, or just an imposter? This is one of the traps the web lays for us. Assuming it is Leonard, I'm quite tickled by the ripost.