(no subject)
I saw Leonard Cohen at the Paramount theater in Oakland last night.
This was kind of huge for me because I've loved his poetry and songs since I found his first record on vinyl in my dad's collection when I was fifteen. I really didn't expect to ever get to see him perform though, because the man is seventy-whatever, reclusive, and had stopped touring shortly after I discovered him.
Anyway the show was magnificent. It is hard to know what to say, because unless you already have a feeling for the depth and heart in his work, whatever I say will probably be meaningless. But here are my impressions. Cohen is one of those true artists who seems to continually deepen through the arc of his career. The songs weren't new songs, but he has given them new instrumentation and subtle shifts in feeling and lyrics that brought many of them to life for me in a way that was new. "Who By Fire" became a sweeping chant of mystery emerging from a rich weaving of sound, where the original suggested this feeling in a more embryonic way. Just an example; there were many like that.
He was surprisingly spry and did this cute thing where he skipped on and off stage between encores, tipping his hat. He had a very warm, intimate presence that made you feel as if he appreciated you not just as a mass of audience, but a collection of individuals that in some way touched him by showing up.
One of the things I have always loved about Cohen's work is that many of his songs can stand alone as poetry, and are just as powerful and beautiful read that way as they are in music. That's kind of rare in popular music. I think that maybe the most moving part of the evening for me wasn't any of the songs he sang, it was when he stood in the island of light on the darkened stage and spoke "A Thousand Kisses Deep". No music, just the man and his heart speaking the words. He has a raw, honest way of speaking his poetry that cuts right into you. It was great.
Something beautiful kept happening when he would sing some of the well-beloved classic songs. A hush of sound would start rising from the hall as people began to whisper along with the words and then it would sometimes swell to a soft, sweeping chorus as more voices joined in. On "Hallelujah" it took on a tidal quality as if almost everyone there was singing with him at the choruses. It really was beautiful.
I hear there is a recording out of this show at another venue. Must get that!
This was kind of huge for me because I've loved his poetry and songs since I found his first record on vinyl in my dad's collection when I was fifteen. I really didn't expect to ever get to see him perform though, because the man is seventy-whatever, reclusive, and had stopped touring shortly after I discovered him.
Anyway the show was magnificent. It is hard to know what to say, because unless you already have a feeling for the depth and heart in his work, whatever I say will probably be meaningless. But here are my impressions. Cohen is one of those true artists who seems to continually deepen through the arc of his career. The songs weren't new songs, but he has given them new instrumentation and subtle shifts in feeling and lyrics that brought many of them to life for me in a way that was new. "Who By Fire" became a sweeping chant of mystery emerging from a rich weaving of sound, where the original suggested this feeling in a more embryonic way. Just an example; there were many like that.
He was surprisingly spry and did this cute thing where he skipped on and off stage between encores, tipping his hat. He had a very warm, intimate presence that made you feel as if he appreciated you not just as a mass of audience, but a collection of individuals that in some way touched him by showing up.
One of the things I have always loved about Cohen's work is that many of his songs can stand alone as poetry, and are just as powerful and beautiful read that way as they are in music. That's kind of rare in popular music. I think that maybe the most moving part of the evening for me wasn't any of the songs he sang, it was when he stood in the island of light on the darkened stage and spoke "A Thousand Kisses Deep". No music, just the man and his heart speaking the words. He has a raw, honest way of speaking his poetry that cuts right into you. It was great.
Something beautiful kept happening when he would sing some of the well-beloved classic songs. A hush of sound would start rising from the hall as people began to whisper along with the words and then it would sometimes swell to a soft, sweeping chorus as more voices joined in. On "Hallelujah" it took on a tidal quality as if almost everyone there was singing with him at the choruses. It really was beautiful.
I hear there is a recording out of this show at another venue. Must get that!