Sunday, November 21, 2010

United Hearts...

I recently had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Leonard Cohen in concert. Ordinarily I can't afford concert tickets even the half of the price of these babies, but luckily I scored them for free (my luck is never usually this good, so believe me, I took advantage). At first I was worried that I'd have to go solo - worried only because such an experience should be shared - because a lot of my friends are in Europe (my Leonard-Cohen-fanatic-friends, that is), or at least, they were at the time. But I managed to rope someone in, and we ended up having a lovely time together.

Leonard Cohen

It's difficult to describe a live Leonard Cohen show...his voice is so deep, and so powerful, that even though it was held in a gigantic stadium, it felt like an intimate venue. The loudest applause came, of course, when the audience realised Mr. Cohen was about to play his most well-known number, the ever-covered Hallelujah. But my personal favourite moment of the evening was when the music died right down to a very low hum, and the stadium was silent, as Mr. Cohen played a very special and personal track, 1000 Kisses Deep. I can't describe the chills that went up my spine...
Mr. Cohen and the band came back for two encores, much to the crowd's enjoyment. I absolutely loved how every time he exited the stage, he would skip and raise his hands to the music. I laughed and cooed at the same time. After 2 hours or thereabouts, the show ended, and my friend and I were getting ready to put our VIP passes to good (backstage) use. On our way to the backstage area, who did we run into? Only little miss Alannah Hill, fashion designer extraordinaire. We had a little chat to her about the show, and boy is she a sweetheart. And incredibly funny. I've always thought she didn't need to get as dolled up as she does, but man does she work it!


Eventually we got to the greenroom, where we chatted to Debra Conway and husband Willy Zygier, who were the support act for the night, and might I add very entertaining. We worked our way around the room, mingling with various members of the band and crew, and at one point Leonard Cohen, himself, popped his head in as he was heading off for the night. We took this opportunity to tell him that the show was great, which he appreciated. Such a sweet man...
After a little while, all of the Cohen Camp had to leave, and we managed to get a ride in their van. We were taken to their hotel (at which point I found out that the Webb sisters, Leonard Cohen's backup singers, are also big fans of the Cocteau Twins, a favourite band of mine), at which point we said our thank you's and goodbyes, and headed off on our way to a bar where we got smashed and danced for hours on end.

All in all, a very good night...

Tell me, what has been a memorable live music experience?


Romany


[photos courtesy last.fm and leonardcohen.tumblr.com]

12 comments:

jen said...

that feeling that i get from a live show is breath-taking and it makes me feel all weird whenever i think back to that moment.

reply to your comment:
i don't really like movies cause i get bored easily, and movies don't keep me intact all the way through. so when i watch movies at home, i like to do other things on the side, like fold laundry. but i LOVE tv shows lol!

Lexy @ QUIRKY EXPLOSION said...

Just stumbled on your blog! AH WOW INCREDIBLE. My parents love him and constantly play his CDs in our car. I've grown to like his music as well, hehe.

And live music is always incredible; I love how you can tell that everything that you're hearing came from pure passion! I'm not sure if that sentence made sense. Basically = music = passion = beautiful.


QUIRKYEXPLOSION.blogspot.com

misslikey said...

leonard is THE man and I love his music. every time I hear so long marianne i fly to some other universe
and you talked to him!!!!I am so jealous..in a good way of course :)

Josie said...

This sounds like an absolutely lovely time, my dear! So glad you had a good time.
xo Josie
http://winksmilestyle.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

wow, I envy you so much. The last time I went to a concert was in the dead of winter. It was so awful icy..and we are driving down to the hall and my friend, who was driving, maybe a 180* degree turn and we slid in to the parking space. It was so close and in the opposite direction. So we get in there to see Cursive. (local boys who used to be a part of Bright Eyes.) This time the balcony was open so we got situated there. I guess I was fasinated more with a Native American guy stomping around in his stomping boots with the fringe. Oh, and then there was the Jamie Bell guy who was in complete spandex. And of course, the drunk girl who had to get in front of us during the main show to act like an idiot. My friend almost got in a shoving match with her. But the music was not bad. Anyway, when we left the venue, steam poured out around us and off our clothes, it was the coolest thing ever.

I so adore the cocteau twins.

Oh, thanks for your comment too...made me smile.

F.M. said...

Actually, it was a Leonard Cohen concert that was one of my most memorable... I recall at one point looking around me and seeing that everyone had tears in their eyes. émouvant!

Siru said...

Hi, thanks for visiting me!

juliet xxx

LyddieGal said...

Wow, certainly nothing as memorable as that!
Your evening sounds like something you'd see in a movie.
What an amazing experience; I hope your good luck continues.

Berlin said...

I have only been to one concert, and that was Tokio Hotel. It was just a promo so it was free. Tickets are so costly :(

Have a pleasant day!

On a cloud,
Berlin

ANDWHATELSEISTHERE said...

must be the time when we were in a rock concert and the lead singer was swinging his neck too hard until he broke his own neck on stage. that one made the front news in every local newspaper on the very next day. painful, and yet memorable. lol

ANDWHATELSEISTHERE

SHOP

kaitlin monroe said...

hmm well i have had many amazing live music experiences. I think its a tie between panic at the disco, my very first concert or the kills.
panic was amazing because it was back when they were doing the whole circus thing and they had ballerinas, contortionist, guys on stilts and eating fire. visually it was just amazing.
performance wise the kills was just pure genius. the energy they expelled was just phenomenal. i encourage you to see them live someday, pure magic.

style-haus said...

wow, sounds like you had an amazing experience at this concert! i'm sure you'll remember it forever.

http://style-haus.blogspot.com/