CONCERT REPORT: Cologne, July 1st.

[Wissmann6]

I usally do not write reviews, but as there is no report about yesterdays´s show yet, I have to.

The Cologne concert was the my fourth Leonard Cohen Show on this tour, after Oberhausen and Cardiff last year and Detroit this May.

As the set-list remained mainly the same compared to the set-list during the North American shows (Democracy and Gypsy´s Wife missing, but including Closing Time), Leonard was much more powerful than I have seen him before.

During the whole show the delivered the concert with lot of passion, energy and emotion what I partly missed in the shows before, especially in Cardiff and Detroit. Well, he seemed to be very relaxed and energetic after nearly one month off.

The first part of the show until intermission was a very "solid" performance with Anthem as the main highlight for me. Leonard was quiet between the songs, except before Anthem. He told us that the was using the time before the show to walk over the bridge (over the river Rhine) to visit Kölner Dom to light a candle. Even the wouldn´t know what this candle was for, he hopes for something good.

The second part of the show had so much energy and passion that transferred to the audiance which was amazed and full of love for that 74 year old man that played a show most young performers are not able to. Leonard seemed to enjoy himself and the show very much. I saw a lot of smiling on his face, much more than during the other shows I saw.

Highlights of the second part were: The Partisan, Famous Blue Raincoat and for me all of the three encores. The show took about 3 hours 15 minutes and left a happy crowd at a warm summer night in Cologne.

For all of you planning to go to one of the forthcomming shows: Enjoy
And for all of those not yet planning to go: Do whatever you can to see this show.

Thank you Leonard!

[Wissmann6]

As good as I recall the setlist:

Dance Me to the End of Love
The Future
Ain't No Cure
Bird on the Wire
Everybody Knows
In My Secret Life
Who By Fire
Chelsea Hotel
Waiting for the Miracle
Anthem

Intermission

Tower of Song
Suzanne
Sisters of Mercy
The Partisan
Boogie Street - Sharon Robinson
Hallelujah
I'm Your Man
1,000 kisses recitation
Take this Waltz

First Encore

So Long Marianne
Manhattan

Seconde Encore

Famous Blue Raincoat
If it Be Your Will - Webb sisters
Closing Time

Third Encore

I Tried to Leave You
Whither Thou Goest (with crew)

[BerlinBerlin]

Thank you very much! I´m in the o2-World tonight

[dannycarey]

thanks!
the concert was...GREEEEEEAT!
hopefully this wasnt the last time to see Leo in Germany...

[tina]

Thank you for the report.
And I think, you are right! It was a great evening and Leonard Cohen was, like you have said, very powerfull this time. I have seen him in Cologne, Oberhausen and Brugge, and I loved his performance everytime, but I also think, that - specially in comparison to Oberhausen - he was full of energy, he smiled a lot yesterday and his voice was just great. Yesterday, I had the impression, that the whole audience around me, was touched and in the same time honored, that they could be there!
It's difficult to compare it to Brugge, since this was a little open air concert, and the ambiance was total different.


So, what can I say - again, it was just a great evening, I love his music, his voice, his lyrics and his whole being! I hope, I will see him again!

[crystal]

Thank your very much for the report. Even after three concerts last year I am once again so excited and can hardly wait for 8 o'clock tonight.
Have a very nice day, Christel

[ronald1956]

Thank you so much for the report. I was very curious what the concert would be after a month of well deserved rest for Leonard and the crew. I saw that the set list didn't changed much. Is the band also still the same?
I'm counting days now until the Paris concert. Hope everyone enjoys the upcoming concerts.

[tina]

Is the band also still the same?

The band is still the same - and again all did a great job!
Espacially the soli from Dino Soldo and Javier Mas have been quiet impressiv! It's a great privileg to see a such number of great musiciens working and making music together!

[Heike]

What I will always remember about last night's concert:

- the standing ovations when Leonard entered the stage
- all the musicians looking very happy and even younger than last year
- Leonard reciting "A Thousand Kisses Deep" to a spellbound audience (for the first time in Germany!)
- Sharon singing "Boogie Street" a little differently than usual
- 15,000 (?) people singing along to "So long, Marianne"
- everyone working backstage and Roscoe's son being introduced by Leonard during "Whither Thou Goest",
- Leonard's blessings at the end.

It was the best night I have ever had in Cologne !

Thanks also to Henning for arranging the meetup before and after .

[Okudzhava]

Thanks for the review and the setlist, Wissmann6.

2 more months and Belgrade here we go!

[rupert]

It was a fantastic evening yesterday.

We and nearly all other audience were standing for the last 30min or so...

Leonard was in very good shape, his voice clear and absolutely unique.

Coming back for the encores he danced and jumped forward and backward like 30 years younger...

He was obviously very pleased by the reaction of the audition since he smiled a lot during applause. We could see on the large tv screen next to the stage.

Great artist.

Get your tickets!

[sturgess66]

All right Okudzhava - I fell for it - wondering how I was going to get that damn bug out of my LCD screen.

But - haha! We have a bit of video - some clips - from "marjonvis" on YouTube.

Leonard looks and sounds fantastic. They all do!

Famous Blue Raincoat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKYpq7Kh4tI

Chelsea Hotel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbdPy6M2kJ4

Hallelujah
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbdPy6M2kJ4

And a few more from "ccdrum" - mainly little audio clips :

Who By Fire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL0uwsFGz3I

In My Secret Life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypAT-sYYKPA

The Future
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odFcGYrFD4g

[bridger15]

Great reviews everyone! Enjoyed them all. Nice to see the videos too.

Does anyone remember what Leonard's Blessings were - usually four - following Whither Thou Goest?

I am considering compiling LC's "Priestly Blessings" from as many concerts as possible.

Thanks in advance to all you lucky concert goers who were there.
---Arlene

[Chubi]

The blessings started with "be careful, be kind - that one can be tricky" (or something similar). I have forgotten the rest...
As for changes in the songs which Heike mentioned, I had the feeling that there were several, but have no idea whether they have been introduced now or maybe during the American leg of the tour. I was particularly happy to hear A 1000 kisses deep again, which was reserved to the audiences more fluent in English until then It was my sixth concert since Manchester last year and it's also one of the best I've seen (definitely better than Oberhausen, which had made me wary of big and cold arenas; I've changed my mind again). A friend who finally got curious after hearing me raving about last year's concerts came along - she knew only the bigger hits - and enjoyed it greatly, which is excellent since we both have another one to look forward to, in a month in Istanbul, with a smaller audience I believe.

[Womanfromaroom]

The absolute highlight for me - although I have got the impression that, on the whole, Leonard is getting better and better the longer the tour lasts! - was "The Partisan". Tears in my eyes... Even if "A Thousand Kisses Deep", recited by Leonard, was also some unique experience that will resound for a very, very long time - maybe forever!