CONCERT REPORT: Hamilton, Ontario, May 19

USA and Canada (April 1 - June 4, 2009). Special concert for fans in NYC (February 19). Concert reports, set lists, photos, media coverage, multimedia links, recollections...
da2008
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Hamilton, Ontario - May 19

Post by da2008 »

I'll try to post some photos from the last night in a few days for those who were there, but section 114, which was at the very opposite end from where Leonard was, wasn't quite a vantage point for photography.
krewechief
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Hamilton, Ontario - May 19

Post by krewechief »

Dasia
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Hamilton, Ontario - May 19

Post by Dasia »

Having returned home to my computer, it has been a pleasure to read the comments by others who enjoyed last night's concert as much as my friend and I did. The Partisan, which I did not hear at the Toronto concert last year, was a particular highlight for me, but I also loved the ending ("Whither thou goest...) with the crew when Leonard paid tribute to his team including the people who care for the instruments ("fine musicians in their own right") and sent us home with what felt like a benediction, wishing us luck and the warmth of family and friends...I wish I could remember his generous and eloquent words more accurately.

Reading in the Spectator review this morning that Leonard did not engage in enough "patter" made me wonder if the critic left before the concert ended...how could he not have felt the warmth in those final moments of the concert?

At least we can thank the Spectator for the picture on the front page. As my friend and I walked around downtown Hamilton this morning, there was Leonard smiling and tipping his hat from every newspaper box:

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/568749

Many thanks, again, to Jarkko for the fan presale which enabled us to obtain seats with an excellent view, and to Leonard and his company for an evening which was a delight to the senses and the spirit.
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Hamilton, Ontario - May 19

Post by sturgess66 »

This is good. Someone (enervatingpeople) has posted a compilation of songs from the Hamilton concert on YouTube - excellent video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo2Wvzq0Nxk

Back in here to say - this is just terrific video - it captures close up of LC's facial expressions! The man looks happy. :) And some terrific close-ups of Javier. I wonder if this person has whole video of all the songs! The quality is excellent.
Last edited by sturgess66 on Thu May 21, 2009 7:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
da2008
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Hamilton, Ontario - May 19

Post by da2008 »

Thank you so much for posting links to the audio and video from the show, guys - this is terrific! Glad there's a few of us who loved last night. Let's do it again next year ;-)
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Hamilton, Ontario - May 19

Post by sturgess66 »

Here is "Part II" from "enervatingpeople." From the show in Hamilton, Ontario on May 19, 2009.

It is not whole songs - another compilation - but it is a terrific video!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o56LZbDKJ_E
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Hamilton, Ontario - May 19

Post by sturgess66 »

Here's another Hamilton video - the closing moments of the show - uploaded by "cwispas"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lZ722HllDI
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Hamilton, Ontario - May 19

Post by sturgess66 »

And "enervating" people has treated us with yet another wonderful video from Hamilton. Terrific capture of Leonard in "A Thousand Kisses Deep." And later - the "skip" off the stage. :lol: :D 8)

Part III

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjJ06ERUVKE

I gotta start doing some work :lol: - but this is so much fun. Leonard looks like he was having a great time!
Last edited by sturgess66 on Thu May 21, 2009 8:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Dream Warrior
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Hamilton, Ontario - May 19

Post by Dream Warrior »

Here's the deal with all this talk from some critics about 'static' material and patter. When actors perform in plays they do the same material over every night, word for word, for as long as two years, depending on the show's success. What the best actors say is that this does NOT get boring or repetitive. Each night is a fresh experience with a new audience. Rather than becoming stale, the material, if its really good, allows actors to go DEEPER into the material and discover something a little different in it each time. Of course, human is human and sometimes even the most brilliant, talented, superhuman will be tired. But that's life.

My personal opinion is that the nightly repetition, sometimes verbatim, permits the Maestro and his hardy band to explore the material deeper. It also helps create the ritualistic (in the real sense of that word) quality which so many people have called transporting and transcendent. I think this enriches the experience.

Crass critics who are paid to find fault are a dime a dozen. This tour flies too high and runs too deep for their meager minds.
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bridger15
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Hamilton, Ontario - May 19

Post by bridger15 »

Thank you, sturgess66, for posting the Hamilton youtube clips by "ennervatingpeople".
All of them are indeed outstanding! Is there a way to send our appreciation to this industrious and very talented individual?
2009-San Diego|Los Ang|Nashville|St Louis|Kansas City|LVegas|San Jose
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Arlene's Leonard Cohen Scrapbook http://onboogiestreet.blogspot.com
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Hamilton, Ontario - May 19

Post by sturgess66 »

bridger15 wrote:Thank you, sturgess66, for posting the Hamilton youtube clips by "enervatingpeople".
All of them are indeed outstanding! Is there a way to send our appreciation to this industrious and very talented individual?
A good way is to leave a comment on the YouTube page about their video. I always try to do that and it is usually appreciated by the person uploading the video. I left comments thanking this person - and they have responded and said "you're welcome."

And I also "rate" the video. 5 stars - of course!!! :lol: :D

And Part IV is coming. Terrific video.

btw - You can also send people e-mails on YouTube. If you click on this person's name on the video site "enervatingpeople" - it will take you to their page - and there is a link there under "Connect With This Person" to "Send Message."
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Hamilton, Ontario - May 19

Post by sturgess66 »

All right!! Part IV from "enervatingpeople" is now on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoibSvXI_08
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sturgess66
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Hamilton, Ontario - May 19

Post by sturgess66 »

Good article from NowToronto.com

Seems like Leonard and the gang "took Hamilton." :lol:

And there are links to click within the link:

http://www.nowtoronto.com/daily/story.c ... ent=169574

And then he'll take Hamilton
Leonard Cohen's words still rule 50 years later


Joshua Errett

One way to ensure a long career in music is to follow the path of Leonard Cohen.

He started his career sounding like an old man - the likes of Suzanne and So Long, Marianne were released in his early 30s, but the songs could've easily been written while in his 70s.

So now that he is in his 70s - turning 75 this year - he's only catching up to his music. (Think of it this way: how ridiculous do older men sound singing about teen angst? Perhaps a good question for Roger Daltrey, if I ever interview him.)

But in Hamilton this week, on his first tour in 14 years (the tour itself has spanned two years), Cohen is once again sounding like a man beyond his years. His entire career has been put through a smooth jazz filter, with his band jazzing up his already jazzy later hits.

He began a three-hour, career-spanning concert with those latter hits - Ain't No Cure For Love, Secret Life, and other post-Death of a Ladies' Man output.

In their original form, the songs had sharp poetic turns and classic Cohen imagery (anonymous sex, both empty and full relationships, and don't forget longing). But with the full band - including a bevy of wind instruments and a 12-string Spanish guitar - the sharpness turned to schmaltzness.

Still, my two personal favourites - Tower of Song and Famous Blue Raincoat, both performed pretty much solo - were worth the near prohibitive cost of admission (tickets were selling well into the hundreds). On those songs, Cohen seemed to stick to the script, and delivered each as they were meant to be heard: stripped down.

Another example of Cohen this way was his show-stopping poem A thousand kisses deep, which has been rolling around my head more than any other song he played that night.

It reminded me that though Cohen's jazzercized take on old songs made me occasionally roll my eyes, his songs were never about the instruments, but bare emotion and the deep, dark and cool way he expresses it.

See a video of Famous Blue Raincoat here.

Also of interest: I found out that Cohen once appeared on an episode of Miami Vice. Watch it here.

MaryB
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Hamilton, Ontario - May 19

Post by MaryB »

Thank you sturgess66,

I had never seen the Miami Vice LC appearance, so the link provided was a real treat! Was that the extent of his appearance?

Best regards,
Mary
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evewaldman
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: Hamilton, Ontario - May 19

Post by evewaldman »

Dream Warrior wrote: "My personal opinion is that the nightly repetition, sometimes verbatim, permits the Maestro and his hardy band to explore the material deeper. It also helps create the ritualistic (in the real sense of that word) quality which so many people have called transporting and transcendent. I think this enriches the experience."

Thanks for the insight, Dream Warrior. I hadn't thought of it that way, and I wondered how Leonard and his band could stay so fresh and transcendent, night after night for better than a year. This makes perfect sense. A ritual, a meditation, going deeper into the material, and each night a different experience with a different audience. Thank you.

Eve
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