CONCERT REPORT: Zagreb, Croatia, July 25, 2010

[tomsakic]

Jutarnji list again, but this time the leading classic music critic Branimir Pofuk announces his conversion into the Cohen religion.
http://www.jutarnji.hr/bliski-susret-ne ... om/849988/

[dick]

Again many thanks to all of you for making it so wonderful for we poor souls not in attendance. You can live vicariously and enjoy it!

Am especially thrilled that all went so well forTom, who works very hard and is indeed one of the ones deserving Sharon's scholar label. CONGRATS TOM!

[sturgess66]

Jutarnji list again, but this time the leading classic music critic Branimir Pofuk announces his conversion into the Cohen religion.
http://www.jutarnji.hr/bliski-susret-ne ... om/849988/

Well Tom - an article like this - I just have to print out - even if it is a Google translation. Mr. Pofuk was blessed. He "experienced a divine revelation."

Author: Branimir Pofuk
July 26, 2010

Close encounter of another kind with the same perfection

Just as the rock critic of the Morning Alexander Dragaš, preksinoćnjim concert in the Arena Zagreb is keen and his colleague spoiled the biggest concerts of classical musicians

Discouraged concert in Varazdin, I missed the Dylan Salata . And obviously difficult sin of commission. I sought redemption with Cohen. I found it . Associated Dragaš and I finally have the same place in the same evening, experienced a divine revelation.

In my personal treasures of magnificent concerts of the Berlin , Munich or Vienna Philharmonic , superb opera performances at La Scala , Met , Mariinsky or Bayreuth, the best editions I've Pogorelić and Bonovih spectacles with U2 from Kosevo the Maksimir , in all this mild elation and perfections , Cohen Zagreb became jednan of the brightest gems.
Compositional credo in the song

"It goes like this , the fourth, the fifth , the minor fall , the major lift ... "the voice of Cohen's composing an extremely simple credo , expressed in a verse anthology poems 20th c. "Hallelujah . " Like Jacob's ladder to heaven in the biblical dream, Cohen's voice rises to a simple melody in C major from the fourth to Quintus , to fall into a minor step in F -dur ... all to the throne of God. And love . The song is Psalm najpobožniji Cohen and mystical erotic Song of Songs.

Several my people, not just women, after the concert , shy admitted that on this particular track " broke "and found it encrusted with tears. So, I was not rare, let alone only in the ecstasy.

Thousands of people around a fire
Superior sound is loud and foolishly wasted no single tone virtuoso musicians and the angelic vocals. Cohen charisma turned into a huge hall in a warm log cabin in the middle of the vast wasteland of ice and heartless . flared around the fire in the fireplace there were special, comfortable and safe place for every one thousand twelve of us lucky . In order to express uniqueness and wonder of such occurrence and people often say that they are not of this world . But when you consider better, beauty is the very earthly origin and nature of phenomena such as Leonard Cohen. From these concerts the world truly becomes a better and more beautiful simply because they remind us of the angels and the divine within ourselves .

In the era of the worst incarnation of evil bešćutnog not need to explain to us how such experience is needed and valuable.

The whole arena , as one, rose to their feet as soon as he got in front of us a voice that accompanies us , razgaljuje , sad and brave for decades. We Prostajali entire last half -hour three-hour concert. Not better and better able to express respect and admiration - a virtue that so beautifully represents I Cohen.

The verses in honor musicians
Said a great connoisseur and admirer of his work , Cohen is wearing a hat just to get it taken off . Presenting them twice during the evening , he is poetically sung each of virtuosos who followed him . That's a phenomenal player of wind instruments Dina Soldo fully justified called "master of breath " , while drummer Rafael Bernard Gayol said : "This is our time saver . "

No one is so nice to not slaughter their own musicians, no one takes off his hat with such touching humility , no one knows so frankly to kneel on the stage as it does Cohen.

"I came to Zagreb in order to fool you "- sung by Cohen , paraphrasing the verse is exactly the song " Hallelujah . " Indeed, there has never cheated on us, not two nights ago, live. If we could, as a sign of respect and gratitude to remove him from his head before the whole Arena. Deep, the deepest reverence and a big thank you, maestro Cohen.

[tomsakic]

Associate Dragaš is his colleague rock critic Aleksandar Dragas, his review was published this morning, and Pofuk's is from tomorrow's edition.


muzika.hr reports at http://www.muzika.hr/clanak/27329/izvje ... erlin.aspx and gallery at http://foto.muzika.hr/thumbnails.php?album=376

All reviews are linked at Facebook by other fans and some by me (I am sharing all I see on other accounts) so I hope Marie is following them there.

[tomsakic]

No one is so nice to not slaughter

...

"I came to Zagreb in order to fool you "

Lost in Google... It says "No one bows in front of his musicians as Leonard Cohen does, no one removes his hat with such touching humbleness" and of course "I didn't come all this way to Zagreb to fool ya" is the line we know:)

[MaryB]

Take This Waltz was brilliant too, as Leonard interacted with first one, and then the other, Webb sisters.

I have been waiting for this miracle and the miracle has come Reminiscent of the interaction between LC and Julie and Perla.

Aw geez, I just watched the beautiful video link Linda posted (TU) and I was hoping that the interaction included LC walking over to the Webbs, standing between them, and then doing the duets - lovely harmonizing nonetheless .

[tomsakic]

Dance Me... All the reporters were thrown out before The Future so I kinda didn't see the first song from the first row. What was L thinking here...

[tomsakic]

One thing I noticed in the arrangements, somebody correct me if it was introduced already in the uS tour before Xmas: The Gypsy Wife ended with Rafael hitting the big gong behind him. I have many bootlegs from 2009 tour and never heard this nor I saw it in Venice. The gong was used only that time during the whole show.
You can see the gong behind him on the pic in previous post.

[sturgess66]

Another video from "o5b" -

Hallelujah - no one sings this song like Leonard Cohen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1Ybmxu69ik

Tom - very good view of Rafael - and the gong behind him - at the end of this video, starting at 6:05. The gong has been in the wonderful arrangement of "The Gypsy's Wife" previously - and Rafael usually stands up to strike it.

And Mary - I know - I love to be able to see the "back and forth" between Leonard and Hattie - but we do have good audio in the video.

BUT - this is what I am looking forward to - and I swiped this quote from another thread -

I can't recall any line, except the chorus about "blessed one" and "born in chains". The song went like: LC's verse, Sharon's verse, Hattie's verse, Charley's verse, Leonard, with chorus in the between. It reminded me on black gospel songs I know from US movies, a little touch of Joe Cocker also.

"Born In Chains" is listed as an alternate song - so we might be hearing it soon.

[sturgess66]

And more video -

Uploaded by "VeniaMagTv" -

"In My Secret Life"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDMz5w7bmYg

And by "wania13" -

"Boogie Street"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYxCMtLK2Hw

"In My Secret Life" -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75D8xdr5VCE

[Davido]

One thing I noticed in the arrangements, somebody correct me if it was introduced already in the uS tour before Xmas: The Gypsy Wife ended with Rafael hitting the big gong behind him. I have many bootlegs from 2009 tour and never heard this nor I saw it in Venice. The gong was used only that time during the whole show.
You can see the gong behind him on the pic in previous post.

Tom,
The gong is not new - I noticed it at UK shows. I think in early shows it was low down behind Raphael and then later higher up more 'on display'. I have watched a few random vids on youtube of Gypsy's Wife and early ones you can see Raphael stand up and strike the gong. Here (Tel Aviv) it is higher up and clearly visible at around 0.23 :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbrBaOu9EBM
Dave

[scocoh]

One thing I noticed in the arrangements, somebody correct me if it was introduced already in the uS tour before Xmas: The Gypsy Wife ended with Rafael hitting the big gong behind him. I have many bootlegs from 2009 tour and never heard this nor I saw it in Venice. The gong was used only that time during the whole show.
You can see the gong behind him on the pic in previous post.

Tom,
The gong is not new - I noticed it at UK shows. I think in early shows it was low down behind Raphael and then later higher up more 'on display'. I have watched a few random vids on youtube of Gypsy's Wife and early ones you can see Raphael stand up and strike the gong. Here (Tel Aviv) it is higher up and clearly visible at around 0.23 :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbrBaOu9EBM
Dave

Hi Dave, how are you?

Which shows are you going to?
We're waiting to see what happens in regards to HI but we are talking about traveling somewhere. Not sure yet.
Scott

[scocoh]

Thanks to all for posting the reports, thoughts, links, tweets, pics, vids.

Very much appreciated!

[astranger]

One thing I noticed in the arrangements, somebody correct me if it was introduced already in the uS tour before Xmas: The Gypsy Wife ended with Rafael hitting the big gong behind him. I have many bootlegs from 2009 tour and never heard this nor I saw it in Venice. The gong was used only that time during the whole show.
You can see the gong behind him on the pic in previous post.

yeah, pretty sure this isn't new. I've always noticed the gong behind him and when I saw him Durham he hit the gong after Gypsy Wife; even though it wasn't that audible

[bridger15]

There is a very sweet "Rafael and the gong" story in the Calgary Concert Report, April 2009. The story mentions that Rafael used the gong in the very first concert in Fredericton.

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