CONCERT REPORT: Helsinki, Finland, August 10, 2010

July 25 - December 11, 2010. Concert reports, set lists, photos, media coverage, multimedia links, recollections...
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jarkko
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Helsinki, August 10, 2010

Post by jarkko »

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Here is Miia Lindström's translation of the concert review in Helsingin Sanomat, the leading daily newspaper in Finland. Thanks to Miia!
The Maestro of Charisma Blindered Full-Packed Arena in Helsinki
by Veli-Pekka Leppänen

“We’ll give you all that we’ve got”, Leonard Cohen said and kept his promise.

A stooped man jogs on stage and a full-packed arena of 12 000 bursts into a storm of applause. The concert is started up with the tones of Dance Me to the End of Love. Having started his tour again, Leonard Cohen (born in 1934) returned to Finland less than two years after his previous concert. The singer’s physical condition is amazing; during his renaissance in the past couple of years he has sung on hundreds of stages for thousands of hours. The 29 songs in a three-and-half-hour concert in Helsinki represent an average-length concert during the tour.

Was it all as it used to be, or was something different? The band consisting of six men and three female singers made up as talented group of professionals as always. Their co-play has, if possible, become even more flourishing than two years ago and the tunes orchestrated by Roscoe Beck had rich tones. The Spanish guitar virtuoso Javier Mas kept a most beaded touch on his instruments, with Cohen instigating him into increasingly wild musical acrobatics. The solos by the one man’s wind section Dino Soldo were delicacies of the finest degree, and Sharon Robinson’s sensitive Boogie Street stroke a chord with the audience.

The sound, light and screen engineering were of such a high quality that the show came across to the gods of the large arena without a crack, without a need for inflated volumes.

Cohen’s charisma appealed to the audience with an increasing power. “We’ll give you all that we’ve got”, he declared in his first words like a top-athlete; no doubt, he kept his promise. The concert was strongly built on Cohen’s classics from the past 40 years. The hit parade was there: Bird on a Wire, Suzanne, Everybody Knows, Chelsea Hotel, Tower of Song, First We Take Manhattan… The fans got what they wanted.

But this is just a fraction of the magic. A demonstration of Cohen’s brilliancy is in his way of varying and interpreting even the most familiar songs into something fresh. A breath-taking turning point of the concert was The Partisan, a ballad that almost rolled like a march. And how can the awesome power of Famous Blue Raincoat enchant us again and again? Or the macho irony of I’m Your Man? His best songs just never fail, they never drain.
A thrilling surprise were the three new, yet unrecorded songs Cohen delivered. The bluesy The Darkness was expressed in subtle macabre (“my days are few”), and so was Feels So Good like an unrestrained celebration of emptiness (“no questions left”).

Year after year Cohen’s baritone has reached more profound tones. Again it stayed faithful to the singer, although after the concert Cohen revealed he had had a problem with his voice. Prompters were used to make sure the singer is constantly in tune with the lyrics [SEE FOOTNOTE!]

Cohen’s major problem in his concerts is nowadays of a surprising kind: the endless passionate demands for encores hinder prevent his attempts to end the concert. In Helsinki this took three encores and six extras, bringing the concert to an ecstatic climax at the end. The lyrics of the final song served as a humorous farewell: “good night, my darling, I hope you’re satisfied...” Well, it was midnight by then.
Footnote: The critic has got this totally wrong. Leonard does NOT use any teleprompters - he sings all the lyrics from memory! This has been clear to us from the beginning, but I re-confirmed this with Ed Sanders today!
1988, 1993: Helsinki||2008: Manchester|Oslo|London O2|Berlin|Helsinki|London RAH|| 2009: New York Beacon|Berlin|Venice|Barcelona|Las Vegas|San José||2010: Salzburg|Helsinki|Gent|Bratislava|Las Vegas|| 2012: Gent|Helsinki|Verona|| 2013: New York|Pula|Oslo|||
Dano
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Helsinki, August 10, 2010

Post by Dano »

Great job on the translation Miia- google translator is not able for Finnish (hilarious as the results can be) and well done too on spotting the error in the report ;-)
terok
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Helsinki, August 10, 2010

Post by terok »

Year after year Cohen’s baritone has reached more profound tones. Again it stayed faithful to the singer, although after the concert Cohen revealed he had had a problem with his voice.

I think the reporter got this wrong also. During his thanking words to Jarkko, LC didn't talk about having a problem with his voice, he said that there had been a time in his life when his voice couldn't been heard very often and in very many places, referring to more difficult period in his personal life. At least that's how I comprehended it.
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jarkko
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Helsinki, August 10, 2010

Post by jarkko »

Tero, you've got this right. Leonard was referring to his more silent period on Mt Baldy when internet was his channel to the world.
1988, 1993: Helsinki||2008: Manchester|Oslo|London O2|Berlin|Helsinki|London RAH|| 2009: New York Beacon|Berlin|Venice|Barcelona|Las Vegas|San José||2010: Salzburg|Helsinki|Gent|Bratislava|Las Vegas|| 2012: Gent|Helsinki|Verona|| 2013: New York|Pula|Oslo|||
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jarkko
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Helsinki, August 10, 2010

Post by jarkko »

Eija and I have made a photo gallery of the best concert photos (from the Helsinki concert). All photos are available in three sizes and as a dia show. The photos were shot by Maarten Massa and Vesa Tapiola. You may find the Gallery here: http://cohen.1g.fi/kuvat/Helsinki%20Con ... 0,%202010/ We selected those 50 photos so that there are at least 2 pix of every band member (total = 50 pix)
1988, 1993: Helsinki||2008: Manchester|Oslo|London O2|Berlin|Helsinki|London RAH|| 2009: New York Beacon|Berlin|Venice|Barcelona|Las Vegas|San José||2010: Salzburg|Helsinki|Gent|Bratislava|Las Vegas|| 2012: Gent|Helsinki|Verona|| 2013: New York|Pula|Oslo|||
Lii
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Helsinki, August 10, 2010

Post by Lii »

My first concert - I never want to forget this feeling of happiness, ecstacy, excitement, and peace.
I watched the band enter the stage, thinking the last one would be him, any moment now, any moment now, and it was. He looked just like he should to have a voice like his; elegant, sensual, sensitive, calm, and the right kind of mysterious. His backing singers looked just like they should be up there with him; elegant, and calm. And then they started playing and singing and swaying and I was so happy to be right there right then.
I watched the band leave the stage for a number of times, thinking one of them would be the last time, and it was.
My first concert was not my last - I want to experience that feeling again.
Gosh, I feel so strange and calm, as if everything had changed.
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Helsinki, August 10, 2010

Post by sturgess66 »

Good video from "HasseNyman" - Thanks!

"Closing Time"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk4qRSog9RU

"Feels So Good"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXZiRmVzLGs
chrissyb
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Helsinki, August 10, 2010

Post by chrissyb »

terok wrote:One possibility crawled into my mind, but I really wouldn't want to think about it. Just thought that maybe our tickets should have been in block B, but were just for some reason misprinted, as I did get them quite early from the pre-sale. The sale should have began at sunday 25.4. 8.00 am, and when I was checking that the connection was working, for my surprise the sale was already on 15 minutes earlier (7.46 according to the confirmation e-mail). When I received the tickets, I was a bit surprised that the tickets were to block A, but then I thought that it was just computer logic that the best seats would be in block A. At the concert the tickets were inspected by the couple sitting on our seats and two members of the security personnel, so I am quite sure they did say block A.

Now to think of it, I remember someone writing in the pre-sale-thread about getting tickets to seats 15 and 16 when there were only 14 seats in a row. Wonder how things turned out for them. Or perhaps they were the two ladies sitting next to us.

But from the happier side of the concert, another highlight for me was the little bit slower version of Chelsea Hotel #2 (or is it actually Chelsea Hotel #1, I remember reading somewhere the song was originally slower?). The change of tempo really added a cherry on top of that song. I really hope there will be some kind of publication from this tour also, so many songs had been re-arrenged from the 2008 tour. And the band really is getting better and better, something I wouldn't have believed to be possible after the 2008 concert.
Hi Terok - Dave (Daviewlz) & I were the one who queried seats 15 & 16 (seating plans only showed up to seat 14) - things turned out exactly as Jarkko had reassured - the seats were there right at the end of row 9 in block A - Great view!! Thanks again Jarkko and thanks Terok for all the help with travel tips.

That's us back home and at work again - last week a brilliant memory. My eyes moistened with the opening bars of Dance me to the End of Love - just over a year to the day that my son and his wife danced to Leonard at their first dance of their life together as man & wife - first time seeing him live since then and Leonard continued to play with all my emotions throughout - The Partisan was amazing and Anthem, Famous Blue Raincoat & Closing time are always good for me. There was old favorites that took me way back to my first time seeing Leonard (long time ago now) and the 3 new ones which leave me full of hope (and anticipation) that I'll see him again soon. Leonard was as ever, courteous, gracious and giving his all - he should be available to all on the National Health, we'd see a much calmer, beautiful world!! His musicians were superb and obviously enjoying themselves. TheSpice-BoxofEarth said it all so beautifully. Hesinki was lovely - I don't know what we expected but she far surpassed them - I want to visit again soon. All in all a fantastic few days - what more could I ask for (I know - another concert but alas that's not to be this year, hopefully 2011?!!).
Lii wrote:My first concert - I never want to forget this feeling of happiness, ecstacy, excitement, and peace.
I watched the band enter the stage, thinking the last one would be him, any moment now, any moment now, and it was. He looked just like he should to have a voice like his; elegant, sensual, sensitive, calm, and the right kind of mysterious. His backing singers looked just like they should be up there with him; elegant, and calm. And then they started playing and singing and swaying and I was so happy to be right there right then.
I watched the band leave the stage for a number of times, thinking one of them would be the last time, and it was.
My first concert was not my last - I want to experience that feeling again.
Gosh, I feel so strange and calm, as if everything had changed.
Lii - I envy you your first concert, really special but they each get better and better and that feeling of strangeness and calmness - it's addictive you know!!
1973-Glasgow; 1976-Portsmouth; 2008-Edinburgh, Glasgow x 2; 2009-Liverpool; 2010-Helsinki; 2012-Dublin
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Helsinki, Finland, August 10, 2010

Post by sturgess66 »

We have good video from "HasseNyman" - Thanks!

And - yes!
"Boogie Street" - nice! :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGstLR_GPGM

"I'm Your Man"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W1J7aIgggY

"Feels So Good"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXZiRmVzLGs

"Sisters of Mercy"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2QVmH0LkDg

"I Tried To Leave You" - partial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5Q_gp8bVe0

"The Partisan"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vsw6w1hVGE

"Take This Waltz"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5d01XGRcLY
Last edited by sturgess66 on Sat Aug 21, 2010 5:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
vanechkas
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Helsinki, Finland, August 10, 2010

Post by vanechkas »

I'm your man - new lines:

If you wanna try another kind of love
I'll wear an old man's mask for you
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Helsinki, Finland, August 10, 2010

Post by sturgess66 »

Two more excellent videos uploaded by "HasseNyman"

A wonderful -

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

-and-

"Closing Time"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk4qRSog9RU
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Helsinki, Finland, August 10, 2010

Post by sturgess66 »

All of HasseNyman's videos -
sturgess66 wrote:We have good video from "HasseNyman" - Thanks!

And - yes!
"Boogie Street" - nice! :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGstLR_GPGM

"I'm Your Man"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W1J7aIgggY

"Feels So Good"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXZiRmVzLGs

"Sisters of Mercy"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2QVmH0LkDg

"I Tried To Leave You" - partial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5Q_gp8bVe0

"The Partisan"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vsw6w1hVGE

"Take This Waltz"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5d01XGRcLY
-and-
Two more excellent videos uploaded by "HasseNyman"

A wonderful -

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

-and-

"Closing Time"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk4qRSog9RU
- and a few more -

"So Long Marianne" - at 4:50 a bouquet of flowers comes flying onstage :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7DE4wHpLE4

"First We Take Manhattan" - good capture of Leonard skipping/hot-footing it off stage at the end :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROohqxQzt-k

"Famous Blue Raincoat" - and partial/beginning of "If It Be Your Will"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3scupQ45ZpA

"The Gypsy's Wife"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzKs87f-fic

"Until Next Time" - Leonard's goodbye - including his thank you to Jarkko
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mzrQv8ovwc
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Helsinki, Finland, August 10, 2010

Post by sturgess66 »

More very nice videos from "HasseNyman" - Thanks!

"Heart With No Companion" :D :D -
I love Neil's part - always puts a smile on my face :) ;
Dino makes a quick switch from guitar for some cool harmonica playing;
and speaking of "cool" - Leonard's hand whistle! :D :D :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvFFeqIE2M0

"In My Secret Life"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HcLc60hxZs

"Anthem" - includes recitation of "The Flood"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJcnbaZs5JQ

"Suzanne"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYRv7RLFKgA

"Ain't No Cure for Love" - Leonard seems really positive about this :lol: :lol:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paeFBYWhQvY
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Helsinki, Finland, August 10, 2010

Post by sturgess66 »

Yet another excellent video from "HasseNyman" - Thanks!

"Born In Chains"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T493FPzk4UI
annmarie
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Helsinki, Finland, August 10, 2010

Post by annmarie »

Fantastic footage from Helsinki, thanks everyone.
Very touching tribute to Jarkko, and so well deserved.
Anne
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