Shoot me if you want

naf nehoC dranoeL · Post by **naf nehoC dranoeL** » Tue Sep 01, 2009 10:24 pm

"May you be surrounded by family and friends and if this is not your lot, may the blessings find you in your solitude."

Believe me, I am a true fan, but this sentence is starting to get on my nerves now.
Heard that phrase during the past tour at every single performance.
How come a great poet like LC is not capable of refreshing a one-liner once in a while?

I see nothing new during the 2008/2009 tours.
Except maybe the Webb sisters doing some acrobatics (lasting 2 seconds).

Only Dino seems to understand me

Dona Nobis Pacem ....

In the Prague 2009 review,I got this comment upon posting by bridget15:

Leonard Cohen has been invoking his adaptation of the Priestly Blessings for only 15 months.

As if he were to live for another 60 years.
He wasted 30 years on a depressive state of mind.
Then invoking his adaptation to Zen and Bhudaism for a mere 15 years.
At the moment he is cashing, because he needs to.
I am glad to have contributed to his welfare in my own way, because he deserves it!

My first concert in Amsterdam 2008 (non-expecting to ever see him perform irl) was a magic thoughdown for me.

But now I feel a little disappointed, because every single concert is the same.
Smells like gold-digging to me now.

Forgive me if these lines offend you cohenists. they are just my feelings atm.

Greetz

Neophyte · Post by **Neophyte** » Tue Sep 01, 2009 11:24 pm

No interest in shooting anyone, but I never understand this complaint. Wish I had Mr. C's eloquence in explaining why he chooses just what he wants to impart , but all I can say is he's speaking from his heart to many thousands at each concert; almost all of these people are hearing it for the first time and deserve to hear just what LC wants to say in the way he wants to say it, not some version altered just for variety's sake. (I love and appreciate the blessings.) Those fortunate enough to attend many concerts should expect repetition; certainly that's been the case with any artists I've seen multiple times. Artists I don't appreciate are those that babble away and barely get any songs out; Leonard has some excellent lines he reuses, wastes no time between songs, puts out twice the music of most, and, actually, never seems to do the same show twice!! Why else would we collect so many performances (of the same songs!!), whine when he doesn't include our favorite and joyously delight when he does??!! Leonard Cohen presents a professionally tuned show, and I can't wait to see it again!!!

mnkyface · Post by **mnkyface** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 1:47 am

Not going to argue this point because I'm so biased...the man could stand onstage and recite the phonebook. The banter, scripted as it may be, is so carefully crafted it becomes poetry to me. And I'm so grateful he's performing at all... yadda yadda yadda. It's all been said before here.

I am curious about one thing: when you said (you said) Dino understands you, I wonder what you meant.

friscogrl · Post by **friscogrl** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 1:55 am

nafneowhatever, I think you just like getting a rise out of us here.

M

MaryB · Post by **MaryB** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 10:50 am

To me, every concert is different. Seek and ye shall find.

John Etherington · Post by **John Etherington** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 11:08 am

I think the only way that Leonard could manage a tour of this magnitude, and at his age, is to treat each show like a military manouevre and plan every moment with Virgoian precision. It's true that the six shows I've seen in the past couple of years have been virtually identical. However, I've never had a sense that Leonard is going through the motions; rather that every song comes from the heart, and he is forever trying to give the best performance of his life.

All good things, John E

Parsifal · Post by **Parsifal** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 12:00 pm

I don't think this is a totally new phenomenon. Correct me if I'm wrong, but his early live shows seem to have contained more in the way of impromptus and improvisations. With time, they have become more regimented (some would argue more 'professional') and as long ago as 1988, I believe, the between-song patter had become duplicated every night.

Personally, I'm not bothered by it.

bridger15 · Post by **bridger15** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 8:24 pm

naf nehoC dranoeL wrote:they are just my feelings

Captain Kate posted a beautifully translated Budapest concert review that explains the feelings of most Cohenites.
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17350#p191500
(in part)

The event is like theatre, but in the good sense. It feels like the excellent band plays to support the reward performance of the actor king. One expects from a theatre performance no original texts, but that it should be inspired and inspirational.
...
Theatre, as we know, is a ritual. Certain words are said and sung in a specific order so that every member of the audience can connect to something that is hidden so deeply inside them that they have no awareness of it.

naf nehoC dranoeL · Post by **naf nehoC dranoeL** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 9:31 pm

If and when you perform on the level LC and his fellow musicians do, I would expect a surprise now and then.
Dino is the only one truely interacting with the audience.
I am not a follower of Christ or LC in the sence of praising the lord.

I listen or view (on youtube) daily some of Leonard's songs.
Masterpieces and one of a kind!
He is and will always be a hero to me.

My problem is that I always check the threads of every single concert during the past 15 months.
I see nothing new at all.

Getting tired of repeating the same quotes over and over again.
Getting tired over the miniscule differences in the set/play-list over and over again.
Getting tired over the clothing part of the entire crew. Feel fed up with the suit and hat performance.

The management does not seem to care at all.

If only LC would once wear some jeans and a nice sweater!

Turning this into another thread right away

tinderella · Post by **tinderella** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 9:44 pm

Ah now c'mon.... no 75 year old looks good in jeans. I always thought Leonard was a snappy dresser and I still do.

I like the way you spell leonard cohen fan backwards for your forum name but its a killer to read. By the way, less is always more... I don't think checking the you tube vids every day is a good idea..... it is nice to get a break now and then from them and then when you do go back to them , they appear fresh and new.

margaret · Post by **margaret** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 9:47 pm

naf nehoC dranoeL wrote:
My problem is that I always check the threads of every single concert during the past 15 months.
I see nothing new at all.

Getting tired of repeating the same quotes over and over again.
Getting tired over the miniscule differences in the set/play-list over and over again.
Getting tired over the clothing part of the entire crew. Feel fed up with the suit and hat performance.

The management does not seem to care at all.

If only LC would once wear some jeans and a nice sweater!

Turning this into another thread right away

If it bothers you so much why don't you just stop reading reports and watching the youtube clips?

LC has never been a wearer of jeans! Why should he change what he feels most comfortable wearing?

and yes, Tinderella, older men look silly in jeans!

iveta · Post by **iveta** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 1:01 am

Believe me, I am a true fan, but this sentence is starting to get on my nerves now.
Heard that phrase during the past tour at every single performance.

You don't have to go to every single performance.
Go just once. Give me the rest of the tickets. Promise I won't complain.

Just joking

somewhat_nifty · Post by **somewhat_nifty** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:40 pm

I won't shoot you down - I don't think people should be made to feel as if they can't post anything remotely critical

. However, I do find it a strange thing to pick up on. Mounting a tour like this is a huge undertaking and requires a lot of planning and rehearsal - it's not the kind of operation that lends itself to off the cuff and spontaneous performances. That said, I've been to four of the shows now (soon to be five!), and though a lot is the same, there have been differences at each one - the set list has varied by one or two songs, there's been different comments made by LC, and the atmosphere and ambience, caused by the different locations, has always been varied. I miss the longer chats that he was having with the audience at the beginning, which I suppose allowed for more variety, but I have always taken away something different from the shows. And, realistically, outside the diehard fans, most people are only going to go once, twice tops, so why would they put all that effort into creating a different show each night? And things like LC's blessings etc are exactly what many fans want to hear again

(plus, he didn't say that particular phrase at the early concerts I went to).

naf nehoC dranoeL · Post by **naf nehoC dranoeL** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 8:57 pm

leonard LISTENING ?

Come on coward, wear a nice jeans and a white sweater on your birthday.
Prove the ladies above me to be wrong.

If you would not follow these instructions now, I consider you to be a flushed-out poet, retired poet,
demented poet, not a poet at all.

Save your soul LC, leave all the drama behind you.

Dance your dance as it should be danced (remember the sixties?)

Peel of your skin master tada .... always look on the bright side of life - Monthy P

Neophyte · Post by **Neophyte** » Mon Sep 07, 2009 11:20 pm

Don't agree with much you say, naf, but Leonard would look mighty fine in jeans and a white sweater...

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