CONCERT REPORT: Weybridge, July 11

Europe and Israel (July 1 - September 24, 2009). Concert reports, set lists, photos, media coverage, multimedia links, recollections...
Rock Chick
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue Jul 01, 2008 6:44 pm

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Weybridge, July 11

Post by Rock Chick »

I adore your photo's Chrissie! Thank you so much for sharing them! :D
Mordy
Posts: 130
Joined: Sat Nov 29, 2008 9:43 pm
Location: UK

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Weybridge, July 11

Post by Mordy »

chrissie01 wrote:and, next morning, There was Leonard himself, snatching a bite before moving on.
Fab pictures, Chrissie - what a wonderful experience! But I hope he was stoking up on a Full English Breakfast before moving on - he's looking a bit thin.
User avatar
chrissie01
Posts: 33
Joined: Fri Jul 17, 2009 4:30 pm
Location: Eastbourne, Sussex, UK

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Weybridge, July 11

Post by chrissie01 »

I am thrilled that so many of you have found your way to my pics...I cant believe it was now a week ago...I have been on an absolute high since the concert.I have done nothing this week!! Well, I have.I have read about Leonard, his son and his daughter, found pics, bought a novel, ordered some poems, used the computer obsessively...

Someone asked about what Leonard wrote in my weather beaten programme....just his name, he chose appropriately enough to place that just below the quote: " Just a kid with a crazy dream..."
...and for breakfast?...well, I dont know..but it was in a bowl... I have a feeling he does not seek out the high life and luxury, not after all his years of studying the Buddhist faith. Maybe he doesnt really like recognition when he is being a private person, which is partly why I felt I was intruding by speaking to him. luckily the hotel was quiet apart from his band that morning.

The book of Lorca poems in my pic was Leonard's, not mine. However i looked Lorca up on Google, found some translations, and this poetry is clearly his inspiration...and I will definitely read it. It has multi layered images such as we have come to love in Leonard's writing.

My hubby organised this concert for my birthday present. He didnt think he was a fan. "Music to slit your wrists' to, sort of sums it up...However he was blown away by everything that evening and despite the weather, Leonard, his persona, and the depth of meaning in his songs, the band and their talents with a range of instruments (Dino and the Spanish guitarist especially) all respectfully showcased, and the backing singers, so beautiful, melodic, and perfect.

I have never found Leonard's music depressing.I know he has suffered from depression in a major way, and so have I, but I had always felt he has the wryest sense of humour, and the most wicked glint in his eye, he has journeyed, faced some demons and is now continuing to entice us with his music and his wisdom.
And you want to travel with him
And you want to travel blind
And you think maybe you'll trust him
For he's touched your perfect body with his mind
User avatar
Womanfromaroom
Posts: 1024
Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2007 7:25 pm
Location: Germany

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Weybridge, July 11

Post by Womanfromaroom »

chrissie01 wrote:I am thrilled that so many of you have found your way to my pics...I cant believe it was now a week ago...I have been on an absolute high since the concert.I have done nothing this week!! Well, I have.I have read about Leonard, his son and his daughter, found pics, bought a novel, ordered some poems, used the computer obsessively...

Someone asked about what Leonard wrote in my weather beaten programme....just his name, he chose appropriately enough to place that just below the quote: " Just a kid with a crazy dream..."
...and for breakfast?...well, I dont know..but it was in a bowl... I have a feeling he does not seek out the high life and luxury, not after all his years of studying the Buddhist faith. Maybe he doesnt really like recognition when he is being a private person, which is partly why I felt I was intruding by speaking to him. luckily the hotel was quiet apart from his band that morning.

The book of Lorca poems in my pic was Leonard's, not mine. However i looked Lorca up on Google, found some translations, and this poetry is clearly his inspiration...and I will definitely read it. It has multi layered images such as we have come to love in Leonard's writing.

My hubby organised this concert for my birthday present. He didnt think he was a fan. "Music to slit your wrists' to, sort of sums it up...However he was blown away by everything that evening and despite the weather, Leonard, his persona, and the depth of meaning in his songs, the band and their talents with a range of instruments (Dino and the Spanish guitarist especially) all respectfully showcased, and the backing singers, so beautiful, melodic, and perfect.

I have never found Leonard's music depressing.I know he has suffered from depression in a major way, and so have I, but I had always felt he has the wryest sense of humour, and the most wicked glint in his eye, he has journeyed, faced some demons and is now continuing to entice us with his music and his wisdom.
Chrissie,

I know exactly how you are feeling. My mum and I met Leonard and Sharon in Cologne two and a half weeks ago - we were very concerned about disturbing them, too, but if we did, they did not give us that impression for one second; I am still particularly impressed with Leonard's modesty, his immense kindness and the way he managed to make us feel not like intruders, but in fact really special - I was a little embarrassed about asking, but he almost anticipated my wishes for an autograph and the inevitable picture, amazing! And I still find it very hard to just concentrate on daily life, too. For no doubt, the short meeting has made me incredibly, incredibly happy - until I also realized that that was easily one of my greatest dreams that became true all of a sudden, when I never really had believed in earnest it would. So I thought - what else is there to wait for and to expect? Can it become better than this? Yes, I know, this sounds a little extreme, all the more so because I am "only" 33, so there no doubt is a lot more to come; but sometimes I still couldn't help the feeling... Now, of course, that I have booked my trip to Barcelona, I really have something quite extraordinary to look forward to again! ;-)

About Lorca: Yes, he definitely has had a huge influence on Leonard. You probably know that Leonard's daughter is named "Lorca" after the poet, and that "Take This Waltz" is also a translated Lorca poem? There is a lot of information on Lorca on the forum, for example in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=16&t=8850

Nice you have converted your husband, too!
Last edited by Womanfromaroom on Sat Jul 18, 2009 7:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"You thought that it could never happen / to all the people that you became"...
Love Calls You By Your Name
User avatar
chrissie01
Posts: 33
Joined: Fri Jul 17, 2009 4:30 pm
Location: Eastbourne, Sussex, UK

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Weybridge, July 11

Post by chrissie01 »

Barcelona sounds just fabulous, and you are really fortunate to have that to look forward to!!
Dreams that have come true, and dreams to come, should waft you through this summer quite wonderfully!!
I am 61, and have loved his music since my university days, but never so much as now that I appreciate the complexity of his words, and the seductiveness of his performance.
As you say, a very kind and modest man for whom his fans have such huge respect.
thank you for sharing your joy!! We are just so lucky.
And you want to travel with him
And you want to travel blind
And you think maybe you'll trust him
For he's touched your perfect body with his mind
Mazal
Posts: 23
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 2:51 pm

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Weybridge, July 11

Post by Mazal »

mnkyface wrote:This is old news by now but I am just catching up on the Summer 09 threads and I am FREAKING OUT (seriously hyperventilating) about Lover, Lover, Lover in the sound check.
*thunk*
Could they be rehearsing it for the (possible) fall dates in NA?? Well, hopefully they will play it soon on the current leg too and we can see/hear on YouTube... I love that song and the mature voice adds so much.

So much great YouTube footage uploaded from Europe lately. Thanks to everyone who takes the time to do this.
'Lover, lover, lover' may have been rehearsed for the - hopefully upcoming - Tel Aviv/Ramat Gan + Rammalah concert, since LC wrote it for Egyptians and Israeli's during the 1973 Yom Kippur war, or as he calls it 'the Sinai war':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfqNb28z ... re=related

Wikipedia includes some remarks LC made about writing the song:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Cohen
User avatar
bridger15
Posts: 2068
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2009 8:49 pm
Location: Los Angeles - ex Toronto
Contact:

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Weybridge, July 11

Post by bridger15 »

A blogger's report
http://ratporchrico.blogspot.com/2009/0 ... -benz.html
The Benefits of a Mercedes Benz
Friday, July 17, 2009

I'm just now, one week on, descending from the euphoric cloud to which I was elevated last Saturday after watching Leonard Cohen and a bunch of musical virtuosi entertain a packed venue at Mercedes Benz World at Brooklands in Surrey. I was the brief owner of a MB, not I hasten to add in my inverse snobbery, one of their oh-so competent cars, but a van-like vehicle more mobile PortaCabin than sex-on-a-stick like their saloon or sports car output. Because of this minor aberration I was offered the opportunity of an early crack at the tickets for this concert and jumped at the chance to see one of the sounds of my early years made manifest.

Now, my introduction to Mr Cohen was from the early CBS samplers, possibly The Rock Machine Turns You On, and consisted of either Suzanne Takes You Down or Bird On A Wire I forget which. I'm at that sort of age. It was, I thought then, music to slit your wrists to. Dirge like, undoubtedly poetic but not my main musical staple diet. Many years later I clocked First We Take Manhattan and Dance Me To The End of Love and woke up to the fact that I had missed out on years of a major musical talent. So when MB made this offer I jumped at it. After all he's not getting any younger and neither am I. There might not be another chance.

So I, my better half and two friends braved the light drizzle and headed for the outdoors and what a night it was. To say we were blown away by his enthusiasm, joie de vivre, charisma and pure unadulterated talent is an understatement. A week later I'm still stoked by the experience and I would recommend it unhesitatingly to anyone even a non-Cohen addict. Apart from Cohen himself, his musicians were brilliant in their own right and the performance was a tight-knit one with some spectacular soloing. Watching this 74-year old skipping on and off stage between encores and the obvious joy and pleasure he showed in the music was one of the most exhilarating experiences I ever had at a gig. Although he was the centre of the show, he was more of a pivot round which his band revolved and he introduced them twice during the performance much to the audience's approval. By the end of the evening the light drizzle had developed to a steady downpour but it couldn't have mattered less and the whole crowd went away more than satisfied, me included.

Opening the show was Susan Vega who was good but seemed two-dimensional compared to the richness of the words and music that followed.
2009-San Diego|Los Ang|Nashville|St Louis|Kansas City|LVegas|San Jose
2010-Gothenburg|Berlin|Ghentx2|Oaklandx2|Portland|LVegasx2
2012-Austinx2|Denver|Los Ang|Seattle|Portland

Arlene's Leonard Cohen Scrapbook http://onboogiestreet.blogspot.com
Mordy
Posts: 130
Joined: Sat Nov 29, 2008 9:43 pm
Location: UK

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Weybridge, July 11

Post by Mordy »

chrissie01 wrote:I am 61, and have loved his music since my university days, but never so much as now that I appreciate the complexity of his words, and the seductiveness of his performance.
As you say, a very kind and modest man for whom his fans have such huge respect.
Chrissie - I so agree with you. I'm also of the baby-boomer era, and it's been almost like a re-awakening this last year! Knocks years off you :lol: The gigs last year were the best I've ever been to and afterwards I felt that I didn't ever want to go to anything else, as nothing could ever compare. I wasn't at Weybridge, but having read all the posts, I feel as if I was. (Have to admit though, - in the knowledge that we're going to see Leonard in Nimes next month, I did actually go to something else on the 11th - Herbie Hancock and Lang Lang at the Albert Hall, which was terrific - and dry :!: )
User avatar
howthelightgetsin
Posts: 199
Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2008 10:51 pm
Location: Brighton, UK.
Contact:

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Weybridge, July 11

Post by howthelightgetsin »

Hi Chrissie,Great story of meeting Len and pics. He is lovely isn't he, such a genuine nice man :)
Aymi Derham photography - http://www.flickr.com/takenby1
stargazer61
Posts: 123
Joined: Wed Nov 19, 2008 2:36 am

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Weybridge, July 11

Post by stargazer61 »

There is an excellent concert report entitled 'Only Cohen can make you love a car park' in todays Mail on Sunday. Hopefully, someone more technologically minded than I, will be able to scan it to this thread!
1970 IOW
2008 Birmingham
2009 Liverpool. Weybridge. Paris. Barcelona
2012 Paris.The Hop Farm.
User avatar
lightasabreeze
Posts: 601
Joined: Fri Jul 17, 2009 6:55 pm
Location: London

Yesterday's Tomorrow

Post by lightasabreeze »

Started to re-read Yesterday's Tomorrow, marc Hendrickx, and got to the page that says
After coming to England Leonard decided to travel 'because he could not get used to the English climate'
I wonder what he was thinking when he seemed to be getting as wet as us at Weybridge !
Somebody must have died for you
A Thousand Kisses Deep

London 02 x 3..... Radio city New York... Wet Weybridge..... Wembley Arena... Brighton..
Evie B
Posts: 572
Joined: Sun Nov 23, 2008 8:07 pm
Location: Cambridge, England

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Weybridge, July 11

Post by Evie B »

stargazer61 wrote:There is an excellent concert report entitled 'Only Cohen can make you love a car park' in todays Mail on Sunday. Hopefully, someone more technologically minded than I, will be able to scan it to this thread!
Oh please do Stargazer 61, I would love to read that item in the Mail on Sunday. I have missed buying a copy as I have only just got home and read your post.

Evie
...he shows you where to look amid the garbage and the flowers
Evie B
Posts: 572
Joined: Sun Nov 23, 2008 8:07 pm
Location: Cambridge, England

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Weybridge, July 11

Post by Evie B »

Hi again Stargazer61 - I went out and found a copy of the newspaper, tried to scan the article but it was difficult to read because of the coloured background so I have typed it out below. Apologies for any typos. Evie B

++++

ALSO PLAYING by David Bennun

Only Cohen can make you love a car park


No wonder Leonard Cohen (Mercedes-Benz World, Weybridge, Surrey)  (five stars) looks so pleased. He is now in the second year of a world tour whose existence, let alone its scale and success, would have seemed improbable when his career hit its commercial nadir 25 years ago.
The tour has generated a huge groundswell of affection of Cohen, but he’s shown no complacency in riding it. He has seized the opportunity to take stock of, and refashion, the astonishing oeuvre that has brought him widespread, if overdue, recognition as a titan.
His return to the stage has confirmed him as a marvellous showman, too. It takes a magician to enchant this most charmless of venues, a sodden, windswept car park – but Cohen is up to the task. His fans have always known how misbegotten was his wrist-slitting reputation; but the wry élan and sheer melodic joy in this performance would sway even the most prejudiced doubter.
His band combines the sleek dexterity of a superior cabaret turn with the soulfulness of a gipsy folk troupe. Cohen himself, at 74 a droll, dapper sparrow with a voice fetched up from the deepest wells of experience, has spent four decades achieving something unique in English language pop: layering dark humour, philosophy, heartache and sentiment upon one another with uncanny precision. We shouldn’t be surprised that he does it so well for a mere three hours.
Cohen substantially revises numbers from the wonderful but tinny I’m Your Man set, and follow-up The Future. Here are chilly, prescient lyrics (Everybody Knows, Democracy) which, as apocalyptic pop broadsides, are rivalled in power only by Dylan’s Idiot Wind.
You’ll listen to Prince for a long time before you hear as delicious a combination of the sacred and the libidinous as the much misread Hallelujah. I’m Your Man, a close to perfect love song, comes even closer here. Even Bird On The Wire is unusually winning in its creator’s own care. And few artists have offered to piercing a critique of their own art as Tower Of Song. Applauded for its rudimentary, two-finger keyboard solo, Cohen drily responds: ‘Thank you, music lovers.’ The gratitude is ours.

****
...he shows you where to look amid the garbage and the flowers
Undertow
Posts: 154
Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 1:30 am

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Weybridge, July 11

Post by Undertow »

Thanks for taking the effort to type that out :)
stargazer61
Posts: 123
Joined: Wed Nov 19, 2008 2:36 am

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Weybridge, July 11

Post by stargazer61 »

Thanks Evie B for typing the article out....you must have more patience than I do!

I particularly like the phrase 'the astonishing oeuvre that has brought him widespread, if overdue, recognition as a titan.'
1970 IOW
2008 Birmingham
2009 Liverpool. Weybridge. Paris. Barcelona
2012 Paris.The Hop Farm.
Post Reply

Return to “The Summer Tour in Europe 2009”