CONCERT REPORT: St. Louis, November 7

[bridger15]

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entert ... enDocument

Renowned singer-poet Leonard Cohen makes a rare St. Louis stop

By Daniel Durchholz

SPECIAL TO THE POST-DISPATCH
11/06/2009

Leonard Cohen's loss has turned out to be his fans' gain.

His financial loss, that is.

Earlier this decade, the renowned Canadian singer, songwriter, poet and novelist discovered that his former manager had fleeced him of nearly all of his savings. Without that incentive, it seems unlikely that Cohen, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee last year, would still be on the road at age 75.

But he is, performing a series of luminous shows in Europe and America that have allowed some of his supporters the chance to see the reclusive artist, who hasn't toured since 1994.

Despite a decadeslong career, wide critical acclaim and the near-universal respect of his peers, Cohen is not widely known to the general public.

At best, he is recognized as the composer of the song "Hallelujah," which was covered by Jeff Buckley on the late singer's 1994 album, "Grace." The song was subsequently associated with the film "Shrek" in two versions: John Cale's, which appeared in the movie, and Rufus Wainwright's, which was on the soundtrack album. It reportedly has been covered by more than 200 artists and was even performed on "American Idol."

But Cohen has dozens of notable songs to his name, including the prayerful yet sensual folk song "Suzanne," from his 1967 debut album, "Songs of Leonard Cohen." Others include "Ain't No Cure for Love," "Bird on a Wire," "I'm Your Man" and "First We Take Manhattan."

As with "Hallelujah," the cover versions are sometimes better known than the originals. Among the artists who have performed his songs are Judy Collins, R.E.M., Michael Bublé, Jennifer Warnes, Nick Cave, Willie Nelson and Elton John. He's been feted with several tribute albums and even a film, Lian Lunson's "Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man" (2006).

Stylistically, Cohen's albums have ranged from the stark minimalism of his early works to the full orchestrations of his 1977 album "Death of a Ladies' Man" (produced by "Wall of Sound" auteur Phil Spector) to jazz, synth pop and rock.

His songs trade on broad themes of relationships, politics, war, mental health and religion. Those last two items are of special interest to Cohen, who has said he sees no contradiction in being an observant Jew and a Zen monk who spent five years living in a Buddhist monastery. MORE
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In his recent concert film "Live in London," Cohen says that his search for faith and happiness has taken many wrong turns but that he continues to move onward and upward.

"I've taken a lot of Prozac, Paxil, Wellbutrin, Efexor, Ritalin, Focalin," he says. "I've also studied deeply in the philosophies and the religions. But cheerfulness kept breaking through."

[goldstei]

headed for pre-concert meet-up. concert in 3 1/2 hours.

i don't need to wait for the post-concert tweets/blurbs to know LC will knock another one out of the park and another crowd onto their collective backs.

[KaimiK]

Anxious to hear all your reports! We flew into Kansas City today and as we were driving, I saw the signs to St. Louis and thought, "hey, we could just keep driving and be there in time..."! But, the yak we used to haul all our luggage was tired, so we decided to just take a break 'til Monday...

[sturgess66]

People are tweeting - no pictures - but they are being whelmed and overwhelmed.

projectmelton Having a couple of martinis then heading down to the Fox Theatre for a night of Leonard Cohen. about 3 hours ago from web

alicekatl Just got back...chasing Willie for 4 out of 5 nights,and then saw Leonard Cohen in concert! Unbelievable! I love Leonard Cohen! & Willie! about 2 hours ago from web

rftmusic Prepping for Leonard Cohen! Can't wait for tonight's show. Wow. about 2 hours ago from web

ALpanda Waiting for leonard cohen to start, t-minus 17 minutes about 2 hours ago from twidroid

lonesometoast Is there such thing as a Leonard Cohen fangirl? Oh, I think so. about 2 hours ago from TinyTwitter

LucidContent If you have difficulty posting to Twitter without including an exclamation mark, try an hour or two of Leonard Cohen. Preferably alone. about 1 hour ago from Seesmic

mamarcus17 @toddsandends Hope the Leonard Cohen show lives up to the name! about 1 hour ago from web

stevekrzysiak @specialKevin we came here to see leonard cohen, @thetristan, nelly and find a magical oreo tree about 1 hour ago from TwitterRide

dutchpink Headed down to the Fox to see Leonard Cohen. Thank you Mama Jones for driving. You da best. #fb 30 minutes ago from txt

yanekm about to see Leonard Cohen @ Fox theatre St Louis 23 minutes ago from mobile web

7001 10th row center at the fox. Excited to see Leonard Cohen. 20 minutes ago from Echofon

sdkstl About to see Leonard Cohen at the fFabulous Fox in St. Louis. Expecting greatness. 9 minutes ago from Birdfeed

ct519 @LilHan Leonard Cohen. Speechless. Just amazing. 10 minutes ago from Twitterrific

phantomxii At the Fabulous Fox. I am underdressed. Leonard Cohen is the man. 7 minutes ago from mobile web

MarkEFenton At Leonard Cohen concert, guy is a phenom of poetry 5 minutes ago from Twittelator

milesgossett At the Leonard Cohen concert! 4 minutes ago from txt

kyranp Seeing Leonard Cohen at the Fox. Heaven must be a beautiful theatre filled with people who've been waiting all their lives to be there. less than a minute ago from txt

keepclimbing Is enraptured by Leonard Cohen at the Fox. 5 minutes ago from txt

sheafisher Leonard Cohen 1st half = awesome. 3 minutes ago from TweetDeck

rftmusic For once, speechless. Leonard cohen is stunning. 1 minute ago from txt

jimdunn For once, speechless. Leonard cohen is stunning. (via @rftmusic) 4 minutes ago from Twitterrific

milesgossett Leonard Cohen played for 3 hours! AMAZING! 3 minutes ago from txt

lonesometoast If I am as awesome as Leonard Cohen when I'm 75... oh, hell, I'm not that awesome NOW. What an incredible show. about 1 hour ago from TweetDeck

jonathanramsey So fun taking Cohen to see namesake Leonard Cohen @ Fox Theatre. Brilliant show! #stl about 1 hour ago from txt

JoelrlHall Leonard Cohen was incredible. A once in a lifetime experience. about 1 hour ago from txt

veganwordnerd Home from 3+hours of Leonard Cohen. And exhausted from the overwhelming emotional high. More remarkable than I can put into 140 characters. about 1 hour ago from TweetDeck

sdkstl Home from 3 hours w/ Leonard Cohen. Everything we hoped for & then some. His energy level would be amazing at 50, but at 75 ... #stl 38 minutes ago from web

erinsometimes Leonard Cohen was amazing and I'm so, so glad I went. 34 minutes ago from Echofon

sheafisher Still processing Leonard Cohen show. 75 yrs old & 3+ hours. Springsteen is going to have to do 5 hour shows to keep pace. 34 minutes ago from HootSuite

sdkstl @mikeorren the backflips (and their vocals) were spot on. The quality of the tour band is incredibly high. #Leonard Cohen 32 minutes ago from web

[Misty Marie]

Heaven must be a beautiful theatre filled with people who've been waiting all their lives to be there.

I love that quote. Sounds about right. Looks like Leonard and the team have done another first class job. Wonderful!

[goldstei]

The big news tonight--aside from House passage of the health reform bill--waiting for the miracle to come!--is that LC unveiled another new song tonight, apparently called "I've had the darkness." A very dark, bluesy song, including the lines, "I've had the darkness, drinking from your cup," and ending with something like, "I've had the darkness, even worse than yours." Definitely different than the "other blues" song unveiled at recent concerts in the south, much less Dylanesque sounding. It wasn't quite my cup of tea of first hearing, but my seat neighbor, at his first LC concert liked it very much, so mine could be a minority view or one that will change on more hearings.

Otherwise, just the usual sensational concert, drawing people from Dublin, Maine, New Orleans, Arkansas, MIchigan (me) among other places. The crowd was one of the best I've experienced in my 8 concerts--reverentially enthusiastic I would say. Aside from the standing ovation on entrance, another when LC thanked them for their warm reception and before he could do the "it is our intention to give it all we've got." During the course of the evening, at least a total of six standing ovations. The concert was consistently good, tho I heard reports that the sound was problematic way up close and on the main floor under the mezzanine/balcony (I was front row balcony where the sound was very good). Virtually no one got up and bothered folks going for drinks or anything else during the entire concert and I saw hardly any cell phone photography (a few flashes). The crowd knew they were seeing a living legend and clearly drank it in fully. As in other recent concerts I've been to, LC closed with "I tried to leave you" and the great closing line "here's a man still working for your smile." No end blessings, but he did thank the crowd for the warm reception and said, "We won't forget it," which I haven't heard him say since Hamilton, Ontario 2008 concert when he closed with, "Every artist dreams of a reception like this. We won't forget it."

Good night all!

[bridger15]

Just to add a few things to Bob's report.

I have a set list which I will post soon, another one of Leonard's again, YeeHaw.

LC recited lines from "The Flood" leading into Anthem.

Sharon Robinson received a standing ovation for her Boogie Street

Dino tried to be funny in the ending song, but personally I did not catch on and Tony/Bill's Bar had to explain it to me afterwards. When it was time for his featured solo in "I tried to leave you", he blew only one note on his sax and then doffed his cap as if taking a bow. The audience laughed a little bit. Then he threw his cap in the air and grooved on his sax in his usual fabulous jazzy style.

At the end of Famous Blue Raincoat, LC reverted to signing off, Sincerely, L. Cohen.
Other than in Nashville, where he added, "Sincerely, A Friend", has he ever changed that last line?

At the beginning of the concert, I was stopped from shooting videos which surprised me. So, alas, I have no clip of LC reciting from "The Flood". At the intermission I questioned this. A decision came back from on high, video is permitted, along with a gracious apology by the head security man. People in Missour-ah are ever so nice. As it turned out, even though I was sitting in a wonderful Pit seat, it was in the 4th row, on a flat floor (apparently situated over the old Wurlitzer organ) which made for bad camera angles. The guy in front of me was a fusser, scratching his ear etc. I will have to review the few clips I do have to see if any of them are worth posting.

Even though the sightline was flawed, I did feel the sound was excellent. The effect was a softer, richer sound than in Nashville (which was quite good) and therefore more "romantic", for lack of a better word at 1am.

Many thanks to lilifyre for arranging the dinner meet-up before the concert. There were about 15 people at the dinner. I took some pics and will post them with names later.

Time to pack up, say farewell to St Louis and off to Kanas City.

---Arlene

[Lilifyre]

What a show! I'm no longer a "Leonard Cohen Virgin" as this was my first time I was next to Bridger15 and I can attest that the sound was excellent! The Fabulous Fox is an excellent venue as I suspected it would be. Sorry, Louie but the reports of poor sound on the main floor were in error. Accoustically, it's hard to beat the Fox. It was built for Vaudeville about a century ago in the days before electronic sound systems. As a native St.Louisan, I grew up seeing movies there in the 50s when Stan Kahn played that Mighty Wurlizter organ we were sitting on.

I thought it was quite ironic that as a native of St.Louis, transplanted to Birmingham, AL, I ended up sitting next to a woman and her grown son who are natives of B'ham...son living in St.Louis now. I was also amazed at how many people were celebrating a recent birthday at this particular concert. This was my b-day gift to myself (b-day on 10/25). The woman next to me from B'ham was celebrating her b-day and the guy in front of us (the one who blocked most of Bridger15s shots) was also a b-day boy. I know I counted at least 10 or so b-day people either at the meet up or in the crowd near us. Hmmmmmmmm, lots of Scorpios

Well, my friends are gone (for the night anyhow) and my hair's still grey. I ache in the places where I used to play....so I'm off to bed.

Lili

[DrHGuy]

by goldstei » Sun Nov 08, 2009 12:50 am
The big news tonight ... is that LC unveiled another new song tonight, apparently called "I've had the darkness." A very dark, bluesy song, including the lines, "I've had the darkness, drinking from your cup," and ending with something like, "I've had the darkness, even worse than yours." Definitely different than the "other blues" song unveiled at recent concerts in the south, much less Dylanesque sounding.

It looks as though this is "Darkness," which was first recorded during the Venice soundcheck and officially played for the first time in concert at Nashville. See viewtopic.php?f=3&t=19863&start=0

[goldstei]

i clearly missed the nashville postings about "darkness"...but i'm quite that many of the lyrics were very different in st. louis, so i guess LC's experimenting with it. glad to hear sound was good for some people up close, but someone in the third row came up to where i was in the balcony and complained to my neighbor that he couldn't hear anything except for the monitors and that the sound was terrible for him. my neighbor said he'd been to the fox many times and picked his seat (next to my cheapo) on the basis of long experience.

[bluesimp]

Sorry, Louie but the reports of poor sound on the main floor were in error. Accoustically, it's hard to beat the Fox. It was built for Vaudeville about a century ago in the days before electronic sound systems. As a native St.Louisan, I grew up seeing movies there in the 50s when Stan Kahn played that Mighty Wurlizter organ we were sitting on.

Actually, the Fox was built as a motion picture theatre and, while it is an amazing setting, acoustically it does have it's problems. The Sheldon, next door, has much better acoustics. But then, not so many of us would have been able to enjoy this wonderful concert. Cohen was simply amazing. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to see him perform. He puts performers 50 years younger than him to shame.

[Lilifyre]

Sorry, Bluesimp. Check your St.Louis history. The Fox, the St.Louis and the Missouri theaters were all built on Grand for Vaudeville back in the early part of the 20th century. The Fox is the newest of the 3. Of the St.Louis and Missouri, one has been torn down (can't recall whether it was the St.Louis or the Missouri). The 3rd is now Powell Symphony Hall just up a block north of the Fox. My grandfather was one of the workmen who did the plaster work on what is now Powell when it was originally built. According to my mother's account, the workers would go after the last show (Vaudeville) of the evening, erect their scaffolding, work all night and then tear down the scaffolds in time for the matinee. After the last show of the evening they'd start up again.

All 3 theaters, Fox, St.Louis and Missouri were converted for use as movie theaters later, but all 3 started with Vaudeville. As for the Sheldon, unless it has changed considerably in the years since I moved away from St.Louis, it has way too many hard surfaces....hard wood, plaster and stone/marble....for optimum acoustics and it is tiny. I believe it was originally a church.

[sue7]

http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/atoz/2 ... _dates.php

St. Louis Music Blog
Show Review + Setlist: Leonard Cohen at the Fabulous Fox, November 7
By Aimee Levitt in Show Reviews
Sun., Nov. 8 2009 @ 3:55AM


​At the Fox Theatre on Saturday night, in the middle of "Tower of Song," Leonard Cohen intoned, "I was born with the gift of a golden voice." The audience applauded enthusiastically, even though the line was not strictly true. Actually, it was not true at all, and it never was. Cohen was originally a poet who occasionally strummed a guitar. But over the years, his voice has tarnished and deepened, and he's transformed it into a remarkable instrument. Other singers may have done prettier versions of some of his songs -- Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah," Rufus Wainwright's "Chelsea Hotel #2" -- but nobody sings Cohen like Cohen.

His lyrics combine wordliness, wisdom, sly self-deprecation, biting sarcasm and the righteous rage of an Old Testament prophet, sometimes all at once: Who else could pull off a line like, "Everybody knows what you've been through/From the bloody cross on top of Calvary/To the beach of Malibu"?
Cohen's touring band provided a perfect setting for his voice -- the literal and the literary. His trio of backup singers, occasional collaborator Sharon Robinson and the Webb Sisters, made up for his lack of vocal range. The six musicians, all of whom play multiple instruments, provided a harmonious backdrop that enhanced, rather than overshadowed, Cohen's words (particularly the guitar and mandolin player Javier Mas). They also rescued the songs from the cheesy overproduction that nearly ruined his albums from the eighties. During the show, they each took generous solos, and Cohen listened, holding his hat humbly in his hand.

St. Louis has been waiting for Cohen for a very, very long time. Saturday night was the first time in his 40-year career that he visited here. The crowd at the Fox ranged from young hipsters to people who probably bought Cohen's first LP when it came out back in 1967. Many of them had dressed up (some of the men wore fedoras, just like Cohen himself) and they all greeted him with a standing ovation and punctuated the concert with several more. This was not just a show -- this was a pilgrimage. One woman left a dozen roses at the foot of the stage and gasped audibly when Cohen picked them up and cradled them against his shoulder.

Cohen seemed to know and appreciate this. He accepted the adulation by removing his hat and bowing his head. "I don't know when we'll pass this way again," he said, "but it's our intention tonight to give you everything we got." He wasn't kidding.

He and the band played for more than three hours. His impeccably-cut black silk suit remained unwrinkled (Cohen's father was a tailor) and he barely seemed to break a sweat. Bear in mind the man is 75 years old, though he might not believe it himself: In "I'm Your Man," he sang, "If you want a different kind of lover, I'll wear an old man's mask for you." He didn't merely walk on- and offstage for intermission -- and the encores, he pranced.

(Combined with Bruce Springsteen's set two weeks ago, this is shaping up to be the season when the geezers give the young punks a thorough ass-whupping.)

Since this was a pilgrimage, Cohen gave the audience exactly what they wanted: the old hippie favorites "Suzanne" and "So Long, Marianne," and the more recent "Everybody Knows," "First We Take Manhattan" and "Dance Me to the End of Love," all of which he must have performed thousands of times by now, but which sounded as fresh as if he and the band had come up with them that morning.

"Chelsea Hotel #2" in particular acquired extra resonance live. The audience chuckled when Cohen sang, "You told me again you preferred handsome men, but for me you would make an exception", but the song, in his old-man voice, came off like an elegy, particularly the ironic final line, "That's all, I don't even think of you that often."

There was new music, too: "The Darkness," which Cohen introduced earlier on this tour. He delivered it in his Old Testament prophet mode, though its apocalypticness was marred somewhat by the band's jazzy noodling. (They did not make that mistake with "Who By Fire," which is adapted from a prayer Jews say during the High Holidays when they speculate about their fate for the coming year. It was far more scary and sobering in the splendid, luxurious Fox than it ever was in synagogue.)

And yes, there was "Hallelujah." After Jeff Buckley, after its endless replaying in the movies and on TV (and, yes, in college dorm rooms and twentysomething apartments when the inhabitants are feeling particularly torn up and self-pitying about love affairs gone bad), one would expect the song to have lost some of its power.

But when Cohen dropped to his knees and sang, "Remember when I moved in you and the holy doubt was moving, too, and every breath we drew was Hallelujah," it all came rushing back: the mixture of love and lust and God and doubt and loss. Like the best poetry, Cohen's songs make connections and drive your thoughts someplace unexpected and even shocking and on Saturday night, "Hallelujah" could still bring on a chill.

"Good night my darling," Cohen intoned at the very end, surrounded by his band. "I hope you're satisfied....Here's a man working for your smile."

And the crowd was satisfied. And everyone left smiling.

Setlist:
"Dance Me to the End of Love"
"The Future"
"Ain't No Cure for Love"
"Bird on a Wire"
"Everybody Knows"
"In My Secret Life"
"Who By Fire"
"Chelsea Hotel #2"
"Waiting for the Miracle"
"Anthem"

Intermission

"Tower of Song"
"Suzanne"
"Sisters of Mercy"
"The Gypsy's Wife"
"The Darkness"
"The Partisan"
"Boogie Street"
"Hallelujah"
"I'm Your Man"
"A Thousand Kisses Deep" (recitation)
"Take This Waltz"

Encore:
"So Long, Marianne"
"First We Take Manhattan"
"Famous Blue Raincoat"
"If It Be Your Will"
"Closing Time"
"I Tried to Leave You"

[bridger15]

here is my raw video of DARKNESS
not visually pleasing
but sound is good
can at least compare the lyrics with its debut in Nashville

it is still processing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB_lq_HUp64

i feel like a WIRED BIRD

gotta fly, literally

---Arlene

[bluesimp]

Sorry Lili, but you should really check your history, or at the very least the Fox's own website. I'm a long time resident of the St. Louis and have family members who worked at the Fox back in it's heyday. It was built to showcase Fox movies not vaudeville.

As for the Sheldon, it was built as a lecture hall for the Ethical Society of St. Louis, not a church, and has near perfect acoustics.