I came back from Venice-Verona 4 hours ago and am now in my office. It was great, the great fun with Ta Ken and Henning and Elke and Kerstin and Andrea and Marco and Paola, plus few others on the concert itself. The show was great (although I was little sleepy) - you know that I don't like covers, but Veronica Marchi and Flavio's production, it's great. I liked the attachment to Ten-New-Songs-songs (we heard Here It Is, A Thousand Kisses Deep, The Letters) and that was near the masterpiece. The originals were speaking thru Italian language, it sounded profound and probably was supported by congenial arrangements (one girl was seating on wooden resonating box, drumming it - I think it's called Cajon - and she was giving the rhythm honestly following Sharon's rhythms. Supported by violin and Veronica's own guitar and voice, I guess that's what made it great). The songs were sensual, rhytmical, dreamy-like, meditative, melodic. The appreciation of original drums and rhytmical arrangements - now produced live on that drumm-box - is what probably blew my head, and I think Sharon would be happy as it seems she was tributed there as much as Leonard was. Namely, Waiting for the Miracle was alse greatly rearranged to piano solo (played also by Veronica while singing). (Maybe somebody could suggest to Sharon to get that box instead of Pro-Tools?) That impression was supported by the choice of rest of the songs - Story of Isaac, Bunch of Lonesome Heroes, The Law - their arrangements were different (guitar only, exc. maybe for The Law, I can't recall) and the complete mood and setting different than those of Sharon's songs. Those didn't strike the chord with me as the previous ones. I was also not sure are these songs appropriated for a girl in her 20s - I could hear that she can attach herself to A Thousand Kisses Deep or The Letters (in great duet with a guy which name I didn't hear), but I couldn't imagine 20-years-old girl lighting the cigarette and singing this to the crickets, before she turns into gold ... you know
To make it short, I was glad to see that Ten New Songs are becoming the sort of a cult; it's popularity and sales in Central Europe were in any case great. Good show, we heard Henning & Kerstin's work with Book of Longing (which was previewed on Hydra in June) - the CD is in plan for 2009, says Henning - we had great sight-seeing in Verona (I believe there's a photo of me as Romeo and my Giulietta
), Ken and I walked thru Venice for few hours before that, I will say only that the venue maybe should be different for the next Verona show (cold, cold, pizza, pizza ...), and that I hope that Flavio will bring the girls and songs to the 2010 Event as he announced. In the end, the smaller meet-up is, it becomes more interesting ... I like to seat with local Cohenites in their houses and browse thru their Cohen collections on bookshelves and to see all the posters on the walls, and to hear their life stories, like Ken's about his involvement in the famous Liverpool dock strike ... Mucho grazie to Lucca for the ride, Marco & Andrea, and to Flavio for the accomodation and the very special preview to the next tribute CD during the breakfast at his village house (and particularly for that English A Thousand Kisses Deep cover, completely programmed, played, and sung by Valentina, which is not going to be released) !!!
(ps.
http://www.myspace.com/veronicamarchi)
. Did anyone get a photo of the wooden box that was being used to keep the rhythm?