Thursday, 7 May 2009
I caught Leonard Cohen in Chicago last night. It was his second night at the Chicago Theatre, and, over the course of three hours, he did not disappoint. I went in expecting to be amazed and I was. That doesn’t always happen when lofty expectations are on the line. I’d forgotten what a troubadour Leonard Cohen is. His always present or just out of reach muse remains the revolving door of his creativity and mastery. Then there’s faith. There’s a duality in the make up of his catalog, equal parts heart and faith. There’s little here that I can write that would cut close to the pure enjoyment I got out of being in the audience last night. Watching people in disbelief each time Cohen skipped back out on stage. People cried, bottled up with joy, long contained and now released.
For years Leonard Cohen’s name sat amongst a list of artists whose live show I thought would never present an opportunity to be seen. Thankfully, that’s not the case.
Discuss: Have you seen any shows on this tour? Please leave your thoughts/reviews of the shows in the comments. Favorite album and songs are welcomed discussion as well.
May 7th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I live in Madison, but went to see him in Minneapolis rather than Chicago. Longer drive, but I thought I’d have a better shot at getting good seats.
Anyhow, while the show seemed pretty standard to what is on the Live in London DVD/CD (down to some of the jokes, in-song references, set list) it was still a very special time. Cohen was on my “must see” list of acts and definitely worth the money. It will be hard to top, so I’ll have to try and treat other shows I see in the next few months as their own thing, so as not to diminish them by comparing them to Cohen
I wonder why no songs from his most recent album, Dear Heather, made the set? Favorite songs of the show were songs that really didn’t stick out much on albums for me: The Gypsy’s Wife, The Partisan, and Anthem come to mind.
May 7th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
I caught the Tuesday night show at the Chicago Theater and it was nothing short of awesome. It was the most I’ve ever paid for a concert ticket but it was soooooo worth it. When a 74 year old can deliver a nearly 3 hour set, it makes me think that a lot of bands and artists are just being lazy. Of course I’m also a big Guided By Voices fan (saw them 52 times!) and they regularly played for 3 hours, so I guess I’m spoiled.
See Leonard if you have the chance and the means!!!
May 10th, 2009 at 10:54 am
I appreciate your review of lenards performance. I have not had a chance to see/hear recordings of the recent shows, but I feel your remarks on equal parts heart and faith is a beautiful description. Thanks.
May 19th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Leonard Cohen New Images – Radio City Music Hall
http://www.msg.com/photos/leonard-cohen-live-at-radio-city-/slide/1/
This guy is awesome!
October 30th, 2009 at 4:09 am
Certainly very few shows are beyond expectations. I am expecting Cirque Du soleil in theaters of Chicago. They also exhibit shows that are always beyond expectations.