CONCERT REPORT: Ft Lauderdale, October 17

October 17 - November 13, 2009. Concert reports, set lists, photos, media coverage, multimedia links, recollections...
JSA
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Ft Lauderdale, October 17

Post by JSA »

I noticed last night that during the French (I presume) portion of The Partisan, there was scattered applause and cheering at a certain point. (This is evident in scrutnise's YouTube video.) Can any French speakers who were at the show or who watched the YouTube video illuminate whether there was a change of lyrics, or whether this is just a popular line, or maybe I misread it and there was something cool instrumentally or visually happening that I missed. Thanks.
ssan
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Ft Lauderdale, October 17

Post by ssan »

hehe you beat me to it - my own videos. the third one is also up now. it's 'i tried to leave you' audio with the pictures i already posted as video. enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6PeyZNAljM

ssan
aka scrutnise
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Ft Lauderdale, October 17

Post by sturgess66 »

ssan wrote:hehe you beat me to it - my own videos. the third one is also up now. it's 'i tried to leave you' audio with the pictures i already posted as video. enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6PeyZNAljM

ssan
aka scrutnise
Apologies ssan!! I always worry about scooping a forum member - but I get excited about new video and - well - different names, etc. :lol:

And thank you, thank you - for "I Tried To Leave You" - I should be hitting the sheets but I'm going over "there" to watch it now. :lol: :lol: :lol:
ssan
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Ft Lauderdale, October 17

Post by ssan »

sturgess66 wrote:
ssan wrote:hehe you beat me to it - my own videos. the third one is also up now. it's 'i tried to leave you' audio with the pictures i already posted as video. enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6PeyZNAljM

ssan
aka scrutnise
Apologies ssan!! I always worry about scooping a forum member - but I get excited about new video and - well - different names, etc. :lol:

And thank you, thank you - for "I Tried To Leave You" - I should be hitting the sheets but I'm going over "there" to watch it now. :lol: :lol: :lol:

no problem. they're out there to be shared one way or another.

my dilemma now is whether to video record more tunes in tampa, or audio record the entire show or do a mixture of video, audio, and pictures. i'm not first row anymore.
Rian Fike
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Oct 17, 2009 10:35 pm

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Ft Lauderdale, October 17

Post by Rian Fike »

ssan wrote:
sturgess66 wrote:my dilemma now is whether to video record more tunes in tampa, or audio record the entire show or do a mixture of video, audio, and pictures. i'm not first row anymore.
If you are taking requests, I would love to see Closing Time on video. :lol:

May I use your still photographs on my blog when I post my full review? If yes, how should I credit them? (They are fabulous.)
sue7
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Location: New York City

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Ft Lauderdale, October 17

Post by sue7 »

Article in the South Florida Sun Sentinel:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertainme ... 9496.story
Leonard Cohen holds first-ever Florida concert in Sunrise
By Sean Piccoli South Florida Sun-Sentinel

8:09 p.m. EDT, October 18, 2009


Singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, 75, considered himself a retiree not long ago. He had not planned on the tour that has occupied the last two years of his life: It was a response to the discovery that he was broke, and by now it has probably met its financial goals, or at least lifted him out of poverty.

Add it up, and circumstances point to Cohen's first-ever concert in Florida -- about 40 years in the making -- also being his last. There was an undeniable sense of hello-and-goodbye to the old pop laureate's performance on Saturday night at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise.

"I don't know when we'll pass this way again," he said early on, "so we're going to give you everything we've got."

What followed was a remarkable performance lasting more than three hours (intermission included), during which Cohen applied his droll personality and low-key grace to a life's worth of music.

Backed by nine players, all skilled and closely attuned to their frontman, Cohen sang more than two dozen of his emotionally eloquent songs, the centerpiece of every one of them being his unusual voice. Cohen's dusky baritone is anything but trained, but in concert it helped give his confessional lyrics the weight of experience -- good, bad and ambiguous.

Inside the slow, soulful waltz of "Bird on the Wire," Cohen managed to sound both rueful and philosophical -- perched between "I'm sorry" and "Oh, well"-- when he sang, "I have torn everyone who reached out for me." His singing was frank, but not without guile.

Cohen's voice had several uses on Saturday. It was a kind of low musical constant -- a steady undercurrent for compositions that ranged across folk, gospel, blues, cabaret, country-western and classical. It exerted a gravitational tug on the winding-staircase melodies of "Hallelujah" and "I'm Your Man," adding tension to both songs.

It had a way of authenticating language that could be considered archaic ("If It Be Your Will") or abstract ("Famous Blue Raincoat"). To create a vocabulary for his spiritual self, his inner life, Cohen has dipped into poetry and scripture, and chosen words that might sound florid and dated in other contexts. Here -- and partly because he's been so good at getting every syllable to fit his voice -- the lyricism is solid and durable.

Cohen's physical resiliency should be the envy of people half his age. Trim and wispy in a dark suit, buttoned shirt (no tie) and fedora, he trotted on and off stage looking like the Rat Pack's resident beat poet. What's more telling, though, is how well the songs hold up. It's not just trendiness that draws younger musicians to his catalogue for covers and inspiration.

Cohen was also a pleasure to hear between numbers, and an absolute gentleman who kept finding inventive ways to thank the audience -- "for climbing the vertiginous heights to your seats … for braving the menacing, psychotic, abrasive qualities of people you don't know … for the warm and welcoming reception."

He created about as much intimacy as could be had in a converted hockey arena with several thousand empty seats. (A theater or performing arts center would have made more sense.)

He finished up by introducing his technical crew -- a gesture that usually accompanies closing night.

Cohen does have future dates lined up in other cities. And it's not inconceivable that he would play Florida again. But his worldview, as spelled out in his songs, is about the fleeting nature of things. Whether or not he returns here, his thinking on Saturday seemed to be: Play like it's your last time, because after that it's all just memory and hindsight.

Sean Piccoli can be reached at spiccoli@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4832.

Copyright © 2009, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
ssan
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Ft Lauderdale, October 17

Post by ssan »

[ok i'm not sure where this fits, and i apologize if it's already been posted but i just stumbled upon a video shot by Dino on the day they travelled from Miami to Tampa, which is today. i would love to see more. any idea where the rest of the videos are?]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE9fYX2QyWM
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Ft Lauderdale, October 17

Post by sturgess66 »

More video -

From "MaxSenn" Thanks!

Anthem - nice up close video (captures only Javier's solo at the end)
From "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGZgDCGnTU0

From "gocvel. Thanks!

I'm Your Man - Roscoe does a bit of pleading with his right hand after the "pleeeeeeeease" at 4:19 :lol: :lol: :lol:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNE1Mdgi8JE

Bird On The Wire - such a wonderful performance of this song!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjczdP6HtKQ
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Ft Lauderdale, October 17

Post by sturgess66 »

ssan wrote: aka scrutnise

my dilemma now is whether to video record more tunes in tampa, or audio record the entire show or do a mixture of video, audio, and pictures. i'm not first row anymore.
Rian Fike wrote: If you are taking requests, I would love to see Closing Time on video. :lol:

May I use your still photographs on my blog when I post my full review? If yes, how should I credit them? (They are fabulous.)

I vote for video of "Closing Time" as well! And "Take This Waltz" and - and - and -

Ahhh! I like video. :lol: :lol: :lol: But whatever you have to offer is wonderful - and your generosity is much appreciated!

Most important of all - enjoy the show!! :D :D

Wish I were there.
Rian Fike
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Joined: Sat Oct 17, 2009 10:35 pm

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Ft Lauderdale, October 17

Post by Rian Fike »

Speaking Cohen has a spiffy summary page started here: http://webheights.net/speakingcohen/tourrevfall9a.html

Sweet.
jglBB
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Joined: Sat Oct 20, 2007 5:13 pm

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Ft Lauderdale, October 17

Post by jglBB »

JSA wrote:I noticed last night that during the French (I presume) portion of The Partisan, there was scattered applause and cheering at a certain point. (This is evident in scrutnise's YouTube video.) Can any French speakers who were at the show or who watched the YouTube video illuminate whether there was a change of lyrics, or whether this is just a popular line, or maybe I misread it and there was something cool instrumentally or visually happening that I missed. Thanks.
You presume well JSA. I heard nothing new in the lyrics. I suppose it was some early arrived French-Canadian "snowbirds" who spend the winter in Florida and that they were just happy to hear Leonard singing a few lines in French.
crujonez
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Location: Reading, Pa

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Ft Lauderdale, October 17

Post by crujonez »

"my dilemma now is whether to video record more tunes in tampa, or audio record the entire show or do a mixture of video, audio, and pictures. i'm not first row anymore.ssan "

Oh man an AUD source recording of the whole show would be so cool.
Tristan Williams
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Joined: Fri May 22, 2009 12:53 pm

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Ft Lauderdale, October 17

Post by Tristan Williams »

It has been my good fortune over the past thirty years to see Leonard Cohen in concert three times, initially in December 1979 in Birmingham, England and twice now on his World Tour, as I saw him at the beautiful Academy of Music in Philadelphia in May of this year and now again in Ft. Lauderdale. Words cannot express the joy and love his poetry and music have brought to countless millions around the globe and Saturday in Sunrise "the city of Sunshine" Florida, was no exception. After his collapse on stage in Spain I truly worried and feared for the health of our beloved Canadian troubadour. I needn't have, however, because even though he looked like he'd lost weight since I saw him last in May, he skipped on and off stage, like a new born lamb and appeared to be the picture of health. At 75 years of age, he puts those whippersnappers of us that are twenty years his junior, to shame and his personal expression of giving it everything he's got, proves beyong a shadow of a doubt he has lived a wonderful life and has shared it with us, through his boundless creativity. Saturday's concert was another vintage performance, a masterpiece from the grand master, with a magical accompaniment from his classical singers and musicians, something that brought tears of joy and reflection to us all. Perversely enough, Leonard's financial misfortune could in fact turn out to be his greatest fortune and the fortuity of it all is that he has graced the world with perhaps his greatest defining moment. This eighteen month World Tour has seen him circumnavigate the globe, giving us another opportunity to enjoy his gift of a golden voice. "Thank-you, sincerely L.Cohen."
Rian Fike
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Joined: Sat Oct 17, 2009 10:35 pm

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Ft Lauderdale, October 17

Post by Rian Fike »

Okay gang, this is it.

Our full review has been posted:

http://fullbodytransplant.wordpress.com ... dy-review/

It features the wonderful photos of ssan, and some seriously metaphysical madness. Enjoy!
naf nehoC dranoeL
Posts: 86
Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2009 5:30 pm

Re: CONCERT REPORT: Ft Lauderdale, October 17

Post by naf nehoC dranoeL »

People stumbled about me posting "getting bored of the same old blessings after each concert" or "every single concert duplicating the former one" :roll:

Now I am sure you guys read here as well .

Thanks a lot for improving to another scale .

Way to go :D
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