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]