CONCERT REPORT: San José, Nov 13

[friscogrl]

Hi Mutti, I also loved WHIRLING TOSSING/DERVISHES, very clever. Mary B had also told Sarah and I about the blouse caper. I went to Goodwill and bought two polka dotted tops for a total of 3.37$. At the concert no one had a real plan. We were told just to toss them up and those of us not in the first two rows to get someone to do it for us. We were in the 7th row stage left, so I asked two young women in the front row if they would throw them up on the stage for us. I suggested they time it when Leonard sang And the women tear their blouses off. Next thing i know as soon as Closing Time started the two blouses we gave to the women flew up on the stage off to left and then they just kept coming

Marsha

[jarkko]

60 photos from San Jose by John Roberts:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrr/sets/7 ... 875885193/

[Conny]

...Las Vegas & San José - nothing compares to those nights...
Celebration, laughter and tears, being a spot of green light, delivering a polka-dot-blouse and feeling to be part of this very special group, listening breathless to "A thousand kisses deep"...and meeting you!
AND the consciousness that there will be a TOMORROW: see you 2010 - at Strasbourg, Marseille, Krakow and who knows...

[Gary Singh]

People also came from Florida, Michigan, Alberta, Ontario, Finland, Belgium, France, Germany, England, Ireland, Russia and Israel.

Please accept my honest apologies. I had to jam that review out at the last minute, with pretty much no advance notice. Since I'm always getting slammed for exaggerating things, I guess I was just too scared to state the obvious -- that people from all across the globe were there that night.

It was a gorgeous evening all around and it was great to see that he's still writing new songs -- that this enterprise is nowhere near over. Leonard has always been a massive influence on me, even when I'm just writing newspaper columns. When he describes his creative process and inspiration, or when he says, "some things just need to be expressed in poems and songs, not conversation," -- I feel like it's me talking.

Peace,
-Gary

[ladydi]

In San Jose I delivered some flowers to Leonard. Grace (Misty Marie) had a beautiful arrangement complete with an adorable monkey, and Mirka and I both had bouquets of roses. Joey met us outside at will-call to pick up the flowers. In an effort to be helpful I did offer to assist him with them inside but hey, I tried.... As so many of us follow HIS photos, I thought you might like to see a photo of him!

IMG_2146-2.JPG

[astranger]

would a recording of this be anywhere besides dimeadozen? i've been checking everyday but nothing seems to have surfaced!

[MaryB]

After catching up on all my unviewed forum posts, I kept this thread to savor until the end. I have not been disappointed.

My thanks to Jarkko for arranging the presale so that we could get all these well-placed seats and for making sure there was a meet and greet pre and post concert.

To sharon.e for all her texting to Robert Kory to insure a post concert meet & greet .

To Maarten for his beautiful name tags - they are now part of my jewelry (does costume count as jewelry?) collection - I love wearing them and feeling a part of this wonderful community.

Linda - That you captured all the tweets for this concert and all the others is such a great preview of things to come and revelation of the rapture felt by the tweeters once they have witnessed these concerts. For posting all the media reviews and blogs - thank you. Your recap of 'Closing Time' after the 'pause' was so well analyzed.

Kim - thank you for capturing so many highlights through your photos.
susankr - your concert photos are perfect. #48 is an especially endearing shot of LC's famous grin

Thank you to all the videographers for giving us a rememberance of a very special concert;
Albert - for all the high caliber quality of your priceless videos - I'm so grateful you were there.
Arlene - in your '1000 Kisses Deep', the sound you recorded of his deep baritone voice went through me. How you managed a steady hand during such an emotional recitation and time is mind-boggling.
Jon - for accurately transcribing and posting all the words from Arlene's video.
Phillipe - for recording the uproarious reception upon LC's entry.
Linda - for all the video links which I would never have searched out on my own.
FanForLife - for all the videos. Yes, please do post the rest of them if you can.
Esther - your video of 'The Partisan' is so steady - wonderful.

Arlene - How apropos of you to start the thread on 'The Kid'. Joey prompted, but you actually put it into play. It is so entertaining and provides much amusement!

Esther -You go!! Just goes to prove that security/ushers cannot stop forum members on a mission!

Leslie - May not have been your original idea, but you carried the torch and it worked beautifully!

Diana - You had the gut's to say what we all feel and so desperately have always wanted to say (yes, including the men) - Kudos!!!

Mary/Mollydog -for all the hard work and time you put into the pre and post concert arrangements - the end result was perfection itself! Thank you so very much!

[sue7]

Linda, I watched Al's video again after reading your comments here. Obviously, as you say, no one will know for sure, and I wasn't there, but I really do think that you're most likely correct, that Leonard switched the verses because that verse really fitted, and was meant as a message back to the polka dot throwers.
Thanks for pointing it out. As you say, remarkable.
Sue

[IrishMar]

Still buzzing with the excitement of the night before , We began our trip from Las Vegas to San Jose by boarding the bus that Arlene had very kindly organised to the airport for Forum members. That in itself was fun, especially singing happy birthday to Maarten and discovering Jarkko and myself share a birthday. Tried to persuade Jarkko to have Leonard play in his home on his birthday. We were all on the plane ready to go only to be told we had to leave the aircraft, due to technical difficulties. We were lucky that Las Vegas wasn't our last concert! It was only a short delay though.

... We happened to arrive at our hotel at the same time as the band. As we were walking in I caught Leonard's eye and went over to say hi and to thank him for the previous night's concert. I told him how much I enjoyed the new songs. I said to him that I had to introduce my husband to the other man who occupies my thoughts and so, finally Albert met Leonard. I asked for a photo and he immediately put his arm around me and turned to Albert who was holding the camera. as what I wanted was a photograph of Leonard and Albert together he gladly posed for that too. When I saw Roscoe again I said he must really think I am following him at this stage, he was laughing.

Leonard the band were in great spirits. I was so happy to be part of the Closing Time antics, from my landlocked fifth row position I got to throw my polka dot blouse down to expert thrower Bonnie in the first row, who sent it on its way. Again it was great to hold the light for Suzanne, I had two extra lights and I gave them to the ladies sitting next to me, they were very pleased to participate. I love to see other people's reaction to the concerts and these two ladies were in raptures, it was their first show.

The after party at the Hotel was an extension of the fun filled evening we had all shared. Big thank you to Mary (Mollydog) for organising this. Great to see band members out chatting to everyone again. They certainly gave it theri all, both on and off stage.

As Leonard says, we will remember this one for a long time.

Marie

[MaryB]

Here's the story behind, in Mirka's words, the participants in 'Leonard Cohen's flying circus'.

Once upon a time, when we all kind of thought that SJ would be the final concert (of 2009 per Jarkko), I thought to myself, "We have to give him a memorable 'last' concert". After confirmation of a ticket for this concert, I contacted Esther/mnkyface. Since she was the original, clever gifter of a polka dot blouse in Oakland, I thought it appropriate to have her permission to continue with the plan. Her response? "LET'S DO IT! I'M IN!!!" Off we went.

Some members were in on it from the beginning; Diana, Leslie, Bonnie....., with strict instructions not to post anything on the forum (PM only) for fear that it would leak out before final plans were made. Even wives of moderators were not contacted for fear of the dreaded response (after telling their husbands), 'Let me check with the management' . So my deepest apologies to Eija and LindaS . It had to be a complete surprise! Based on reactions (some trepidatious, but still positive) and then further positive reactions from friscogrl/Marsha, Mollydog/Mary and Actually/Nico, in Barcelona because I knew they would be in SJ also, the ball started rolling. Many PMs between us.

The original plan - we would go out to garage sales/thrift stores, purchase cheap blouses ($1-$3), size of blouse or color of polka dots didn't matter, and bring them to SJ. After all, we all just wanted him to 'dance on the polka dots' .

The thread on 'Where are you sitting in San Jose' was crucial as it gave us an idea of where we would all be sitting. The ideal location was on the Javier/Dino/Bob side as it was looking like this is where our numbers were. Alas, at the time, other areas farther away seemed problematic (although in the end it worked out beautifully as blouses were flung from every direction !)

Meanwhile, between Esther and myself, we PMd all the ladies who would be attending, with our plan. Great positive reactions!
Here is a list of all involved;
a.ephroni/Annette and her friend Stephanie
Actually/Nico
bkmccalla/Bonnie
CinCin/Cindy
Conny
friscogrl/Marsha and Sarah
imaginaryfriend/Sheila and Aileen?
IrishMar/Marie
ladydi/Diana
lizzytysh/Lizzy
Mabeanie1/Wendy
MaryB (extra blouses - wish I had even more so Eija and LindaS could have had one )
mirka (brought extra blouse - thank you)
MistyMarie/Grace
mnkyface/Esther (thank you for the extra polka dot 'items' )
Mollydog/Mary
mutti/Leslie
novabella/Nova Bella
Rockchick/Karen
sharon.e/Sharon
tigrib/Birgit
annaraven?

Then another cog in the wheel ! The first few rows had no aisles between them. Out went the idea that during the standing ovation for 'If It Be Your Will', we would all stand up with our blouses in hand, calmly approach the stage and 'lay' our blouses onto it. Then horror of horrors, a barrier between the us and the stage - yet another impediment. Our mantra became 'it will be fine, will be fine, will be fine' . If one hadn't purchased a blouse already, heft of the blouse became an important component - it would fling farther .

End result - wait until we get to the venue, scope it out, and then finalize our plan. Knowing that Cindy, Sharon, Mary and Nico would be in the first row, they became our 'accomplices' in this scheme. If we couldn't get our blouse on stage, aim in their direction, and they would 'let 'em rip' from there.

Never in our wildest planning stage visuals did any of us expect that the end result would work so well. They just kept coming and coming and coming! The swirling blouses above the heads before release was not planned, but such a hilarious addition! The reaction from all on stage and laughs from the audience - PRICELESS! IMHO - I do think that with all these blouses flying onto the stage, the surprise of it overwhelmed him to the point that, yes, it did mess up his timing. Rather than think of this as a detriment to his performance, it seemed like such a touching, human moment.

I would like to thank all the ladies involved in this endeavor (please, if I have left someone out, let us know - it sure seemed like many more that 25 or so blouses were gifted). Your enthusiasm and final impromtu actions all made it work phenomenally. And if Paula is right, I hope 'He will never be able to sing that song again without thinking of San Jose' and us 'avid' (crazed?) forum members.

Loving regards,
Mary

If anyone has more to add or my version needs correction, please, feel very free to do so - I would welcome it!

EDIT - and now reading again what Linda had originally written and Sue has reinforced, Linda's version make all the sense in the world, but the timing was still off, but probably so that he could pull out that particular verse as Linda has so rightly said.

[MaryB]

Albert and Marie,

Absolutely beautiful photos!!!! So glad you managed to get them posted!!

[ladydi]

Hi Mary,

It was perfection itself! So many thanks to all of you for arranging the blouse toss!! We all knew it was secret, but as you said, when we suddenly found ourselves in our seats, the thought loomed "how the heck am I going to toss this on the stage?" Blouses are not heavy, and heft was required. Thank goodness for Bonnie, Mary, Nico and Sharon who became our "twirl and toss" gals in the front row! What a spectacle!! I'm trying to think back and I can't honestly remember ANY singer/musician/performer who was ever inundated like Leonard was! What a moment to remember!!!! I don't think he will EVER sing "Closing Time" without remembering San Jose and all the crazy women.... They ain't in Kansas City...they are with Leonard...forever and always!

[sturgess66]

Albert and Marie,

Absolutely beautiful photos!!!! So glad you managed to get them posted!!

Ditto!!! And glad you were able to make the trip!!



(Wish I had been there!)

[Mollydog]

When we all heard about Marie's meeting with Leonard in Las Vegas and that he had kissed her hand, we all joked that we should stick with her in case she met Leonard again! Well, luck was on my side and I ended up taking a taxi from the airport with Marie and Albert. As Marie has described, we arrived at the hotel as the same time as the band. I don't think I would have had the nerve to go up to Leonard if I hadn't been with Marie. I introduced myself (hello, I'm Mary from Ottawa, or something like that), told him I loved the concert the night before and how pleased I was that he had played both new songs. What luck too that I was with the world famous photographer Albert Noonan! I asked Leonard if he minded and when he said it was fine I walked over to him and he put his arm around me. Naturally, I felt it would be rude if I didn't put my arm around him too!! What I remember most is his voice. So soft.........

Mary

[mutti]

What a beautiful photo Mary!
Leslie