Would you pay to meet and greet Leonard Cohen?!
Re: Would you pay to meet and greet Leonard Cohen?!
I only now found this thread. Rauli got married with his Jenni last weekend, and this has kept Eija and me occupied for some time (although they arranged about everything themselves).
Looks like there are many misunderstandings about the last night in Las Vegas. Before Las Vegas, we didn’t know about any special plans at all. On the first concert day we heard that there might be a small-scale backstage occasion after the concert. It was not going to be any real meet and greet happening. We also learned that Leonard is not going to be there. It was his last minute decision to make a short visit to the backstage room, and I was pretty surprised to see him enter the room. The crew, the band and the tour management had a separate, closed event for themselves only, but several band members came out later to greet fans both downstairs and upstairs.
There were also gaps in the communication between the venue and the organizers – even the room for the meeting had changed in the last minute, according to the venue security; it was not going to happen downstairs but in the entrance hall, but nobody had been informed about the change, and therefore people tried to get downstairs.
There were much more people downstairs than the venue or tour management had plans for. Later I found out that backstage tickets had been handed out by a number of band/crew members, tour management, AEG people and the venue staff. I think this happened quite randomly during the day and the night before. I was given a few, too, and tried to give them to some moderators who also have arranged the big LC Events, and to some people in Avi’s project. Many had already got tickets from those other sources. It also turned out that the venue security did not let all ticket holders go downstairs at the same time but kept people waiting in the hall. I also noticed downstairs that there were members and maybe others who didn’t have any tickets at all. They had managed to go around the security by using a detour. The guards were standing only in front of the elevator in the entrance hall!
The whole situation was pretty chaotic, and there were moments when it was not in control by anyone. Leonard was surrounded by a lot of people who wanted to shake his hand or say a few words. The situation was much more chaotic than let’s say his visit to the Green Note Café in London or his meeting with Polish fans in Warsaw after the Blue Alert promotional concert. Probably many who were present thought that this is their last chance to see Leonard from close up, after all Las Vegas was supposed to be his last concert.
I also want to underline that we sold our Forum members more than 300 tickets to Las Vegas at our presale. With so many big fans, it is impossible to have something arranged for everybody. I guess the main issue here is that, in the chaos of the last day, the tickets indeed were distributed more or less randomly, by so many givers, and without any advance plan. Also I wonder how a very limited number of tickets could ever be distributed to a crowd of some hundred big fans so that everybody would feel happy??
Looks like there are many misunderstandings about the last night in Las Vegas. Before Las Vegas, we didn’t know about any special plans at all. On the first concert day we heard that there might be a small-scale backstage occasion after the concert. It was not going to be any real meet and greet happening. We also learned that Leonard is not going to be there. It was his last minute decision to make a short visit to the backstage room, and I was pretty surprised to see him enter the room. The crew, the band and the tour management had a separate, closed event for themselves only, but several band members came out later to greet fans both downstairs and upstairs.
There were also gaps in the communication between the venue and the organizers – even the room for the meeting had changed in the last minute, according to the venue security; it was not going to happen downstairs but in the entrance hall, but nobody had been informed about the change, and therefore people tried to get downstairs.
There were much more people downstairs than the venue or tour management had plans for. Later I found out that backstage tickets had been handed out by a number of band/crew members, tour management, AEG people and the venue staff. I think this happened quite randomly during the day and the night before. I was given a few, too, and tried to give them to some moderators who also have arranged the big LC Events, and to some people in Avi’s project. Many had already got tickets from those other sources. It also turned out that the venue security did not let all ticket holders go downstairs at the same time but kept people waiting in the hall. I also noticed downstairs that there were members and maybe others who didn’t have any tickets at all. They had managed to go around the security by using a detour. The guards were standing only in front of the elevator in the entrance hall!
The whole situation was pretty chaotic, and there were moments when it was not in control by anyone. Leonard was surrounded by a lot of people who wanted to shake his hand or say a few words. The situation was much more chaotic than let’s say his visit to the Green Note Café in London or his meeting with Polish fans in Warsaw after the Blue Alert promotional concert. Probably many who were present thought that this is their last chance to see Leonard from close up, after all Las Vegas was supposed to be his last concert.
I also want to underline that we sold our Forum members more than 300 tickets to Las Vegas at our presale. With so many big fans, it is impossible to have something arranged for everybody. I guess the main issue here is that, in the chaos of the last day, the tickets indeed were distributed more or less randomly, by so many givers, and without any advance plan. Also I wonder how a very limited number of tickets could ever be distributed to a crowd of some hundred big fans so that everybody would feel happy??
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|||
- leonardmtl
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Re: Would you pay to meet and greet Leonard Cohen?!
I feel compelled to point out how fortunate we are to have Jarkko bring this balanced focus to the actual facts surrounding the backstage passes.
At this epic time, a very few acted badly, but overall we came together with a "decent intention" .
And, along the way, the reality is there is no way to have avoided spilling a little, albeit, unfortunately, at the emotional expense of those who did not participate.
Thank you, Jarkko, for clearing this up and congratulations on the marraige!
leonard from Montreal
At this epic time, a very few acted badly, but overall we came together with a "decent intention" .
And, along the way, the reality is there is no way to have avoided spilling a little, albeit, unfortunately, at the emotional expense of those who did not participate.
Thank you, Jarkko, for clearing this up and congratulations on the marraige!
leonard from Montreal
We're all on one road....we're only passing through....
1967 Montreal / 2008 Toronto/ 2009 New York Beacon /Boston 2x /New York MSG / Chelsea Hotel Plaque Celebration /San Jose / 2010 Las Vegas 2x / 2012 Montreal 2x /Boston 2x
1967 Montreal / 2008 Toronto/ 2009 New York Beacon /Boston 2x /New York MSG / Chelsea Hotel Plaque Celebration /San Jose / 2010 Las Vegas 2x / 2012 Montreal 2x /Boston 2x
- somewhat_nifty
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Re: Would you pay to meet and greet Leonard Cohen?!
Thanks Jarkko - I agree that I don't think it would be possible to have avoided disappointing some people as there would always be limited access to an event like that, and I don't think that most people's intention was to exclude or make people feel bad about not getting in, but that's what did happen in some cases. Perhaps if there had been more advance notice of it there could have been a lottery or something? But never mind, it is over now and cannot be undone.
Congratulations to Rauli and Jenni!
Congratulations to Rauli and Jenni!
I'm chained to the old masquerade...
2008: London O2 14th Nov, RAH 18th Nov; 2009: NY RCMH 16th May, Weybridge MBW 11th July, Barcelona 21st Sept; 2010: Sligo 31st July, Lille 25th Sept, Las Vegas 11th Dec; 2012: Wembley Arena 8th Sept, Dublin 11th Sept 2013: London O2 21st June, London O2 14th Sept
2008: London O2 14th Nov, RAH 18th Nov; 2009: NY RCMH 16th May, Weybridge MBW 11th July, Barcelona 21st Sept; 2010: Sligo 31st July, Lille 25th Sept, Las Vegas 11th Dec; 2012: Wembley Arena 8th Sept, Dublin 11th Sept 2013: London O2 21st June, London O2 14th Sept
Re: Would you pay to meet and greet Leonard Cohen?!
Thank you, Jarkko, for clarifying some of the details about what happened, and thanks to those who have offered their stories. It does sound like the chaos may have outweighed the joy for many who were there that night (including Leonard), and I am so sorry to hear that. Also, I certainly harbour no ill-will towards people who received passes, they simply received a lovely gift. It is an unfortunate reality that more people could not have been included in what should have been a wonderful experience.
Nevertheless, I am thrilled to have been at those two LV concerts, and to have met with so many great people, and I will cherish those memories forever. They are very happy memories!
Lisa
Nevertheless, I am thrilled to have been at those two LV concerts, and to have met with so many great people, and I will cherish those memories forever. They are very happy memories!
Lisa
Re: Would you pay to meet and greet Leonard Cohen?!
Actually, I'd prefer to meet LC at a book signing or something. There's no way you could have a meaningful discussion with him in 2 seconds backstage. You'd have to have a chance meeting in a coffee house or something like that.
Those backstage disasters stress everybody out...who gets picked, people that have passes but STILL don't get in, etc. I've had a few really nice backstage experiences (sounds risque but it isn't ) and was very fortunate that the artists and promoters were very generous and accomodating (excuse the name dropping here--Joan Baez, Arlo, Alice Cooper... all very nice) Then I've had other times when I've had an actual pass, and got "culled from the herd". So it's just pure luck......not who you know, or who you are, or having front row seats.
Keep in mind too, as has been stated in other posts here, Mr. Cohen's age factor, even though he's in phenomenal shape for 76. He deserves to get off the stage and be driven STRAIGHT to his hotel room after a 3 hour show!
--Rain
Those backstage disasters stress everybody out...who gets picked, people that have passes but STILL don't get in, etc. I've had a few really nice backstage experiences (sounds risque but it isn't ) and was very fortunate that the artists and promoters were very generous and accomodating (excuse the name dropping here--Joan Baez, Arlo, Alice Cooper... all very nice) Then I've had other times when I've had an actual pass, and got "culled from the herd". So it's just pure luck......not who you know, or who you are, or having front row seats.
Keep in mind too, as has been stated in other posts here, Mr. Cohen's age factor, even though he's in phenomenal shape for 76. He deserves to get off the stage and be driven STRAIGHT to his hotel room after a 3 hour show!
--Rain
Re: Would you pay to meet and greet Leonard Cohen?!
I read all this with complete and utter dismay.
The average age of the audience from what I have seen on this last tour has been I believe, over 45, so time enough for his supporters to have matured. I once lived near Heathrow airport and as a youth, saw on TV the Beatles return from the USA and there were mobs of young kids there, I saw on TV when David Cassidy came over and also the Monkees and again lots of screaming young kids were there, all in tears and screaming for their idols.
What I didn't expect to read about, is something similar to happen, albeit in a smaller way (thank goodness, heaven knows what a large gathering of LC devotees might have done to the poor man) to a poet, a singer and a gentleman. I made my point sometime ago, that Las Vegas was never going to be player in us going to see LC. I never believed that Vegas should have been a place to see LC, it just didn't sit right to me, that Leonard Cohen, his poems and songs could be seen as a Vegas product.
I have seen what can happen when there are larger gatherings, even in Barcelona but I'll say no more on that score but suffice to mention that a smaller gathering in Caen was delightful, no backstabbing from those who never met LC, even though some of us were lucky to do so on a few occasions but none deliberately.
This has been a rather bizarre thread, it has put some people, not necessarily those that have posted but some of the people pointed out by the posters, in a strange light. Why, why, why, did they act in such a way ?
All I know is, if Leonard tours again, I dread to think what might happen between the Forums front rows supporters. Will the brollies be out, the nails sharpened, retribution sought, accusations thrown around like confetti, if so, I will be looking to purchase seats from Row 5 back
The average age of the audience from what I have seen on this last tour has been I believe, over 45, so time enough for his supporters to have matured. I once lived near Heathrow airport and as a youth, saw on TV the Beatles return from the USA and there were mobs of young kids there, I saw on TV when David Cassidy came over and also the Monkees and again lots of screaming young kids were there, all in tears and screaming for their idols.
What I didn't expect to read about, is something similar to happen, albeit in a smaller way (thank goodness, heaven knows what a large gathering of LC devotees might have done to the poor man) to a poet, a singer and a gentleman. I made my point sometime ago, that Las Vegas was never going to be player in us going to see LC. I never believed that Vegas should have been a place to see LC, it just didn't sit right to me, that Leonard Cohen, his poems and songs could be seen as a Vegas product.
I have seen what can happen when there are larger gatherings, even in Barcelona but I'll say no more on that score but suffice to mention that a smaller gathering in Caen was delightful, no backstabbing from those who never met LC, even though some of us were lucky to do so on a few occasions but none deliberately.
This has been a rather bizarre thread, it has put some people, not necessarily those that have posted but some of the people pointed out by the posters, in a strange light. Why, why, why, did they act in such a way ?
All I know is, if Leonard tours again, I dread to think what might happen between the Forums front rows supporters. Will the brollies be out, the nails sharpened, retribution sought, accusations thrown around like confetti, if so, I will be looking to purchase seats from Row 5 back
I guess it all started for me sometime around Christmas 1967 and now, goodness me, it's.........2018 and over fifty years later.
No one ever listens to me. I might as well be a Leonard Cohen record.
Neil from The Young Ones
No one ever listens to me. I might as well be a Leonard Cohen record.
Neil from The Young Ones
Re: Would you pay to meet and greet Leonard Cohen?!
Me too, Vicomte....me too
Re: Would you pay to meet and greet Leonard Cohen?!
Friends can disagree without fighting, and we are mostly among friends here. I can only speak for myself but my only fights are with people who offended me personally, and those are very few .Vicomte wrote:...All I know is, if Leonard tours again, I dread to think what might happen between the Forums front rows supporters. Will the brollies be out, the nails sharpened, retribution sought, accusations thrown around like confetti...
Columbia May 11, 2009; Boston May 29, 2009; Durham November 3, 2009; Las Vegas December 10 & 11, 2010; Austin November 1, 2012; Boston December 15, 2012; Brooklyn December 20, 2012
- joyezekiel
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Re: Would you pay to meet and greet Leonard Cohen?!
"It's over now, it's done and it has been paid for."
Joy
Joy
1976 Leicester 2008 London O2/Cardiff 2009 NYC/Austin/Weybridge/Nashville 2010 Ghent x 2/Las Vegas x 2 2012 Ghent x 2/Austin/Montreal/Quebec City/Boston x 2 2013 Memphis/New Orleans/Winnipeg/Birmingham/London O2/Amsterdam/Auckland
Re: Would you pay to meet and greet Leonard Cohen?!
Vicomte wrote: All I know is, if Leonard tours again, I dread to think what might happen between the Forums front rows supporters. Will the brollies be out, the nails sharpened, retribution sought, accusations thrown around like confetti, if so, I will be looking to purchase seats from Row 5 back
Me three.ladydi wrote: Me too, Vicomte....me too
"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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Lyon, July 2008 / Oakland x2, April 2009 / San Jose, November 2009 / Oakland, December 2010 / San Jose, November 2012 / Oakland, March 2013
Re: Would you pay to meet and greet Leonard Cohen?!
This is a big Forum, and in any community of this (or any other) kind there will also be occasional conflicts between individual members. That’s something that cannot be avoided. Our Forum is usually pretty peaceful in comparison with many other Internet Forums that look more or less like battle fields.
Just like in the “real” life, the online conflicts are so often based on uncertainty, misunderstandings, differences in cultural backgrounds, or individual characteristics. In my humble opinion those quarrels should be kept out of the Forum, it’s something that should be communicated privately (or just ignored). Attacks or insinuations only make the members feel uncomfortable.
Leonard Cohen speaks about love, peace and harmony. I think we all are reaching for the same goals in our lives, otherwise we wouldn’t be here, on this Forum, and in the Leonard Cohen community of very special people gathered around his work!
I know that nobody got backstage tickets in an unscrupulous way. The tickets were presented by a number of people of the tour management, AEG, band, crew and venue management, out of their own initiative, although indeed randomly. Both the givers and the receivers had only good intentions. As I said before, we had sold 300 concert tickets, and with such a very limited number of backstage tickets it was impossible to make everybody happy.
I’d like to suggest that we turn the page and start looking forward to the next big things, waiting for us just around the corner.
Just like in the “real” life, the online conflicts are so often based on uncertainty, misunderstandings, differences in cultural backgrounds, or individual characteristics. In my humble opinion those quarrels should be kept out of the Forum, it’s something that should be communicated privately (or just ignored). Attacks or insinuations only make the members feel uncomfortable.
Leonard Cohen speaks about love, peace and harmony. I think we all are reaching for the same goals in our lives, otherwise we wouldn’t be here, on this Forum, and in the Leonard Cohen community of very special people gathered around his work!
I know that nobody got backstage tickets in an unscrupulous way. The tickets were presented by a number of people of the tour management, AEG, band, crew and venue management, out of their own initiative, although indeed randomly. Both the givers and the receivers had only good intentions. As I said before, we had sold 300 concert tickets, and with such a very limited number of backstage tickets it was impossible to make everybody happy.
I’d like to suggest that we turn the page and start looking forward to the next big things, waiting for us just around the corner.
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|||
Re: Would you pay to meet and greet Leonard Cohen?!
Thank you Jarkko. Once again your wise words bring us back to calm and common sense. Now, about those last few words: I'm sensing we may be ready soon for another "two little dots" sort of thread????jarkko wrote:I’d like to suggest that we turn the page and start looking forward to the next big things, waiting for us just around the corner.
Wendy
Re: Would you pay to meet and greet Leonard Cohen?!
Aha, firstly, wise and calming words, bravo jarrko.jarkko wrote:
I’d like to suggest that we turn the page and start looking forward to the next big things, waiting for us just around the corner.
Like others I don't think for one minute, that you and your fellow Mods on the Forum would ever have done anything to harm the man you all so clearly wish only good things for (like most of us of course), so the problem lies only with those who wished to have "a lock of his hair" or something more intimate
Having said that, of course we must move on and my last paragraph was quite obviously only meant to lighten up what happened between fellow Leonard Cohen fans but I think I shall still watch out for any people who have a grudging look in their eyes and sitting in the front rows
Which leads me on to this, jarrko ......."waiting for us just around the corner" Do I see a glimmer of an upcoming tour in those words, like Wendy has ? I look back to the days when Mr Cohen followed a new release with a tour and I am adding two + two and am I coming up with four............... or is it five?
I guess it all started for me sometime around Christmas 1967 and now, goodness me, it's.........2018 and over fifty years later.
No one ever listens to me. I might as well be a Leonard Cohen record.
Neil from The Young Ones
No one ever listens to me. I might as well be a Leonard Cohen record.
Neil from The Young Ones
Re: Would you pay to meet and greet Leonard Cohen?!
joyezekiel wrote:"It's over now, it's done and it has been paid for."
Joy
jarkko wrote: I’d like to suggest that we turn the page and start looking forward to the next big things, waiting for us just around the corner.
Well spoken words. Sometimes we find it easier to forgive than to forget, but no matter what it may be in life there is a time for dusting off and looking ahead, which is what I plan on doing. Jarkko, you once again have managed to pique our interest!
All best wishes to Rauli and Jenni!!
Diana
Re: Would you pay to meet and greet Leonard Cohen?!
Now then M. le Vicomte. Don't try to interpret what i might or might not see glimmers of - far too dangerous. I just thought we might start to guess when the new album might be coming out and what it might be called ......Vicomte wrote: ...waiting for us just around the corner"[/i] Do I see a glimmer of an upcoming tour in those words, like Wendy has ? I look back to the days when Mr Cohen followed a new release with a tour and I am adding two + two and am I coming up with four............... or is it five?
Wendy