CONCERT REPORT: Auckland, New Zealand, October 28 & 29,2010

July 25 - December 11, 2010. Concert reports, set lists, photos, media coverage, multimedia links, recollections...
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neo
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Auckland, New Zealand, Oct. 28-29,2010

Post by neo »

Thank you for posting this nice story of how this photo happened, sturgess66!
I don't know what went wrong with my posting above. I attached the picture to the posting. No idea why it isn't shown... :(
What sad religions they want us to believe.
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Auckland, New Zealand, Oct. 28-29,2010

Post by sturgess66 »

:lol: :lol: :lol:
Image
Band & Crew loaded up and ready to head to the airport. Due to the long travel distances down under, the crew and band are traveling together, in other words; hello party plane.
* Auckland, New Zealand
http://leonardcohen.tumblr.com/post/143 ... ead-to-the
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bridger15
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Auckland, New Zealand, Oct. 28-29,2010

Post by bridger15 »

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
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Auckland, New Zealand, Oct. 28-29,2010

Post by sturgess66 »

mwestern wrote:And another review...

http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/mu ... n-Auckland
There are now 16 comments to the "review" written by Michael Field - worth a read.
The reports about the concert most definitely are positive. The retorts about the review most definitely are not. :lol: :lol:
dce
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Re: Travel Around Australia and New Zealand

Post by dce »

Photos from Auckland 29 October

For the second night at Vector Arena, I was sitting further back and at the far right side of the floor-level seating area. Cathy (from Adelaide) snapped quite a few interesting photos from this location. Here are a few of them:

Our Man looming large on the Big Screen:
Image

Javier and his giant shadow play the intro to Who By Fire:
Image

Rafael, bring it home .... and cutting its toenails (???):
Image

Wearing an impish smile, Leonard waits just a bit too long to respond to the crowd's thunderous applause for his keyboard solo ... and provokes an even bigger cascade of cheering:
Image

Everything on TV is larger than life ... the real LC and his on screen image:
Image

Photographic proof: last night LC introduced them as the "incandescent Webb sisters", and here they are glowing:
Image


Dean (from Adelaide)
(For most of November 2010, I followed Leonard and the band as they toured around Australia and New Zealand. You can read about my wanderings on the blog I created to collect them all in one place: http://lcdownunder2010.wordpress.com/)
dce
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Auckland, New Zealand, Oct. 28-29,2010

Post by dce »

Clementine wrote:I was in the second row and it was really disconcerting as 'celebrity' guests in front of us left after 'Hallelujah,' and a couple more after 'Take this Waltz'. By the time 'Closing Time' finished the audience was all over the place - rather like Brown's cows really!

It was devastating when the band didn't come back at this stage. It felt so wrong to end without 'I Tried to Leave You.' Has this ever happened before?

I did think he was fading a little when the Webbs were singing 'If it be Your Will,' and the audience hadn't engaged with him nearly as well, so he wasn't as chatty as on the previous night. I hope that wasn't what led him to pack it in early though!
I know what you mean, Clementine ... when the house lights went up, both my gf and me let out simultaneous loud cries of "Oh No!". Personally, I didn't really notice Leonard flagging particularly ... although if he was, I guess this would have contributed to the decision not to do a third encore. But I really think ultimately it was down to the way a sizeable proportion of the audience bolted from their seats after the last strains of Closing Time were done. If I was a performer, I wouldn't have come back on either ...

I definitely agree that LC was nowhere near as chatty ... but I'm not sure that was a direct response to the audience. He genuinely seemed to be touched by the big cheers and roars of applause he was getting ... saying several times that the audience had given the band a night they would remember for a long time. He usually only says that at shows where the crowd response has been something special. So, I think the audience had engaged him in that sense ... But that makes the crowd response at the end seem even more paradoxical to me.


Dean (from Adelaide)
(For most of November 2010, I followed Leonard and the band as they toured around Australia and New Zealand. You can read about my wanderings on the blog I created to collect them all in one place: http://lcdownunder2010.wordpress.com/)
Clementine
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Auckland, New Zealand, Oct. 28-29,2010

Post by Clementine »

Ahhh well Dean, I'm being consoled now by 'Born in Chains' on YouTube. It's truly lovely!

Also kicking myself to see the shot of the bus above and to realise they must have been at the Hyatt Hotel. I was there for a function on Thursday and should have hung around in the lobby for a while. Sounds like they all had a great time in Auckland. So maybe he will come back one day........
Evie B
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Auckland, New Zealand, Oct. 28-29,2010

Post by Evie B »

Waiting patiently here on the other side of the world for some more recordings from Auckland to appear on YouTube. Surely somebody took a few movies?? Just one so far, Who By Fire.

Evie B
...he shows you where to look amid the garbage and the flowers
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Auckland, New Zealand, Oct. 28-29,2010

Post by sturgess66 »

Yeah - some video!!! :D :D

From October 29th

Uploaded by "PinderTwins" - Thanks!!

"Famous Blue Raincoat"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJg8RCL1jYk


Very grateful for this but -
Any chance the other twin got more?
Like "Night Comes On" :lol: :lol:
susienz
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Auckland, New Zealand, Oct. 28-29,2010

Post by susienz »

Re Clementine's comments:
I, too, was devastated when the Friday night concert finished after "Closing Time". This was my last opportunity to see the Master and it ended too soon - I hadn't yet said my goodbye to the man who has been and still is my inspiration. I was sitting up front but a lot of the people around me did not seem engaged which was very different from the last concert in January 2009. The whole vibe this time was quite different - not nearly as reverential.
Leonard was wonderful - with so much energy, humour and tenderness.
Thank you very much Mr Cohen, for sharing your gift with us.
(This is my first post so I hope I've done it right!)
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mnkyface
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Auckland, New Zealand, Oct. 28-29,2010

Post by mnkyface »

Okay. If someone doesn't post YouTube video of the "sexy at 76" banter and/or Night Comes On within the next few hours, I'm going start to hurting small animals.
:lol: :lol: :lol:
"In this world of shallow, he is the abyss."~ YouTube commenter greg450318
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Lyon, July 2008 / Oakland x2, April 2009 / San Jose, November 2009 / Oakland, December 2010 / San Jose, November 2012 / Oakland, March 2013
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Sasha K
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Auckland, New Zealand, Oct. 28-29,2010

Post by Sasha K »

Still sexy at 76 ? Of course he is. Every day the man is more youthful, better-looking, more irresistible, and
(deservedly ) richer. Not that money is necessarily sexy, but racy elegance is - and that does come at a price.

He's always had charisma and genius, but, like mature wine, he just gets better and better. I was at the concert on 28th October, and this show, for me, was by far the best I have seen so far. Previously, on this tour, they've seemed just a tad too perfect, in my opinion - but this time Leonard has achieved new depths of passion, power and focus that astonished me and left me in awe.

He spends the first half with his eyes closed - meditating, perhaps, or focussing, or praying for his recalcitrant Auckland audience, who, for the most part, didn't even know to stand when he came in. I'm sorry, Leonard. Perhaps you enjoy a challenge. You certainly won them over, once again. New Zealanders are an unsophisticated lot.

This was a miraculous show, in more ways than one. You performed Avalanche, an answer to my most secret, unspoken prayers. I had been longing to hear you sing that song - and also to see you performing alone on stage ( much as I love your band ). The song is so powerful it makes my hair stand on end. It seems to me that G-d is actually speaking to you through that song, even as you sing to Him. To me it is pure prophecy - although it also works on other levels - and I loved your reiteration of the final line. It was moving to hear you perform that song, not with a young man's rage, but with the gentleness that comes with learning to forgive.

Eye contact with Leonard - another answer to prayer. Last year he noticed my binoculars - I could not see him clearly without them, and as a visual artist I needed to see him with crystal clarity. And he was kind enough to open his eyes wide and to gaze at me for a whole ten seconds while the band played on. It was not at all romantic - I was shocked at the attention, and he, I think, may have been a little embarrassed by the binoculars, as he made himself
" transparent " - a technique I also use - so that although I could see his face clearly, in a way he was not really there. But it was staggering to share eye contact with him all the same, and I so appreciated his generosity.

This year it was even better.During a sweep of the audience, he saw my binoculars again, paused - and then sang The Partisan looking entirely in my direction throughout - it was almost sung just to me, but with a more general focus. No relaxing techniques this time, it was more personal - his eyes open, a sexy tilt to his head at times. Our eyes did not lock, but there was no need to - I felt he actually was singing to me in spirit. I lip-synched all the words with him, a way of making love. No separation, just you and I in the room ( and who cared if everyone else felt the same ?) Dear Leonard, did you know how much I adore that song ? It was a great piece of synchronicity, our two souls coming together like that. I love you, Leonard - and I do NOT want to come back down to earth !

Unforgettable images of that beautiful face - still more beautiful, even as he ages, just as his focus becomes even stronger, more powerful, more otherworldly, and yet more present.

The mood of this show was very different from others I have seen in the past three years - even more intense, more magisterial, with even greater depth of feeling. Utterly passionate, his basso profundo even richer, sexier, more frequent and more spiritually moving - it goes straight to the core of my being, never misses.

I am so used to having a camera in my hands at concerts - but the binoculars were the next best thing. They brought you closer and I needed to be close to you. Images that sear into my very soul, engrave themselves in my heart, my spirit, and my memory. Leonard smiling with his eyes. Looking a little older, and at the same time more youthful - by the second half it was clear he wanted to dance all over the stage, the boy in him coming to the fore, and as Leonard sang to Javier, I saw him, too, transformed into a teenager, then a boy.

Dear Leonard, if it had been Lorca on stage and you in the audience - you, too, might have used those binoculars. It was a joy, a privilege, and a dream come true to share eye contact and one of my favorite songs with you. You sang all of my favorites. FBR sounded completely new - a stunning arrangement and so evocative. And I loved your spoken words at the end ! Please record this version for us !!!

I loved the new songs. Leonard, you sang The Darkness like a Black man, I can think of no higher praise. And the band was spectacular, Neil Larsen and Xavier Mas standing out, for me, with their sensitivity and depth. Sharon, you are the most beautiful woman in the world, and so is your voice !

I would follow this tour around the globe if I could. I wish I lived in Europe so I could go to more of the concerts. ( I did catch the one in Montreux ). I wish I could film and photograph you, Leonard - Dominique's work is superb, but it seems to me senseless not to be using my own talents as a musicians' photographer with my favorite artist of all time. Perhaps one day...
Thank you so much for coming to New Zealand - please come back next year ( if not sooner ) with a hug, a kiss and a smile for me ! You are indeed an alchemist as well as a prophet, teacher, and great artist. It was a sublime evening. My love goes with you forever. G-d bless you.

Sasha K
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Auckland, New Zealand, Oct. 28-29,2010

Post by sturgess66 »

sturgess66 wrote:Yeah - some video!!! :D :D

From October 29th

Uploaded by "PinderTwins" - Thanks!!

"Famous Blue Raincoat"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJg8RCL1jYk

Very grateful for this but -
Any chance the other twin got more?
Like "Night Comes On" :lol: :lol:
"PinderTwins - they have more. :D :D

"If It Be Your Will"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdVnTYEG7sA
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LadyLilley
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Auckland, New Zealand, Oct. 28-29,2010

Post by LadyLilley »

In the process of uploading a few videos taken at the Friday night concert in Auckland.
If only I'd had the forethought to ask what the majority of you would have liked me to record.
Hindsight is such a wonderful thing.
However, I hope you enjoy what I did get.
A written report to follow once my feet return to the ground. :D

Lilley

A Thousand Kisses Deep

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzxervBoe7A
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LadyLilley
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Auckland, New Zealand, Oct. 28-29,2010

Post by LadyLilley »

And a short clip of Mr Cohen's final words spoken after singing Closing Time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KthWvSWcv60
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