CONCERT REPORT: Hamburg, Germany, July 14, 2013

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surrender
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: HAMBURG, JULY 14

Post by surrender »

I really do hope that Anthem and Tower make their comeback; I miss them dearly - the message of Anthem as a seal of the first set, the wisdom and humor of Tower as a strong opening of the second one.
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susanne30072009
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: HAMBURG, JULY 14

Post by susanne30072009 »

surrender wrote:I really do hope that Anthem and Tower make their comeback; I miss them dearly - the message of Anthem as a seal of the first set, the wisdom and humor of Tower as a strong opening of the second one.
I miss them too... I was wondering, why he doin' this since Lucca....
Must have a reason. And I'm sure, he knows...
I would take all the Songs... I think it's hard to decide which is in and which is out....
I love to hear every single one of theme....
So every one is welcomed and "wanted" from one guy or another...
Maybe something to do with the "routine"... I don't know...
Uwe + Suzanne
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Hartmut
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: HAMBURG, JULY 14

Post by Hartmut »

I don't like to criticize newspaper reviews of concerts (mainly because it's too easy, and unfair), but a bit of this one struck me as quite funny.

They quote the usual farewell greetings as:

"Möget ihr stets in guter Gesellschaft sein und nie den Schrecken der Einsamkeit ins Auge blicken."

Which, in a rough translation, means: "May you always be in good company and never look the horrors of loneliness in the eye."

http://www.shz.de/nachrichten/deutschla ... cohen.html

Well, it's not laugh-out-loud funny; but I found it amusing that it's almost the opposite of what he actually said.
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: HAMBURG, JULY 14

Post by anny »

it is funny :) the German quote is almost like Google translation
Last edited by anny on Tue Jul 16, 2013 5:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Hartmut
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: HAMBURG, JULY 14

Post by Hartmut »

Did anyone else notice that during 'The Partisan' he added the line 'with me right here tonight'? - Which he doesn't do very often in Germany ...

And as far as I remember, he did the same thing in Hamburg in 2008. So either he likes Hamburg a lot - or sometimes he forgets in which country he is ... :-)
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Hartmut
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: HAMBURG, JULY 14

Post by Hartmut »

A short TV report about the Hamburg concert:

http://www.ndr.de/fernsehen/sendungen/n ... 15501.html
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: HAMBURG, JULY 14

Post by crista »

Two reviews, the first from a Hamburg newspaper, the second from a newspaper in the surrounding region.
German reviewers in the "Culture" part of the newspaper never just review the concert, they always try to come up with some kind of original angle, which often has not much to do with the concert they visited... See what you think. I'll translate the second review when I have more time.

Hamburger Abendblatt
http://www.abendblatt.de
Kultur & Live

16.07.13, 09:03
Konzert in der O2 World
Leonard Cohen ist der ewige Verführer
Der Musiker öffnete bei seinem Konzert in der O2 World so manches Herz mit Klassikern wie "Suzanne" und "Hallelujah". Dabei ist der Tanz ein wichtiges Element in Leonard Cohens aktuellem Programm.
Von Heinrich Oehmsen

Hamburg. Bei "I'm Your Man" hält es eine junge Frau nicht mehr auf ihrem Sitz. Selbstbewusst geht sie vor die Bühne und beginnt langsam-lasziv zu tanzen. Von Leonard Cohen wird sie nicht wahrgenommen, weil er den Song mit geschlossenen Augen singt, doch eine Ordnerin eilt schnell herbei und schickt die Frau zurück auf ihren Platz in Reihe sieben. Noch ist tanzen verboten, doch bei "Take This Waltz" gibt es kein Halten mehr. Dutzende von Frauen, vom Teenager bis zur Seniorin, erheben sich von ihren Plätzen und strömen nach vorn, um ihrem Idol zu huldigen, Blumensträuße auf die Bühne zu legen und sich im Rhythmus der Musik zu wiegen. Diese Tänze haben etwas von Hingabe, es wirkt, als sei ein Ventil geöffnet worden, als werde nun all den Gefühlen freier Lauf gelassen, die sich während der vergangenen zweieinhalb Stunden bei den Fans aufgestaut haben.
Der Tanz ist ein wichtiges Element in Leonard Cohens aktuellem Programm. Mit "Dance Me To The End Of Love" hat er das Konzert in der O2-Arena eröffnet, mit "Take This Waltz" endet er vor dem Zugabenteil, als letzten Song covert er von den Drifters "Save The Last Dance For Me". Immer, wenn er von der Bühne abgeht, springt, tanzt und hüpft er auf eine putzige Art, die so gar nicht zu dem eleganten Anzug und dem schwarzen Fedora-Hut und erst recht nicht zu seinem Alter passt. Der Kanadier ist immerhin 78 Jahre alt.
Solch intime Momente gelingen nur einem Ausnahmekünstler wie Cohen
Wer Cohen während dieser drei Stunden auf der Bühne beobachtet, bei dem müsste jede Angst vor dem Alter verfliegen. Er bewegt sich federnd, geht beim Singen oft in die Knie und erhebt sich wieder mit der Leichtigkeit einer Gazelle. Trotz einiger jovialer Einlagen bleibt er Grandseigneur durch und durch. Er ist immer noch der charmante Ladies' Man, der Frauenversteher und Verführer.
Wenn er die ersten Takte von "Suzanne" auf der akustischen Gitarre zupft, ist im Saal zu spüren, wie so mancher Frau das Herz bei diesem ergreifenden Liebeslied aufgeht. Mit seiner poetischen Gabe beschreibt der singende Schriftsteller darin die platonische Beziehung zu dieser "Suzanne". Das Lied erschien 1967 im Jahr des "Summer Of Love", der Zauber dieses Liebesbekenntnisses hat sich aus der Hippie-Zeit bis in die Gegenwart gehalten. Die große Arena verwandelt sich plötzlich in einen intimen Ort. Jeder, der sich intensiv in dieses Lied hineinfühlt, ist nun ganz allein mit Leonard Cohen. Solche Momente schaffen nur Künstler mit einer mächtigen Aura.
Während der drei Stunden gibt es noch mehr magische Momente. Cohens zarte Interpretation von "Hallelujah" wird zu einem der Höhepunkte des Abends und ist der von Jeff Buckley ebenbürtig. Von den vielen Coverversionen, die Cohens Lied erfahren hat, ist die von Buckley die schönste. Im Programm hat er eine Reihe weiterer Klassiker wie "Bird On The Wire", "First We Take Manhattan" und "The Future". Auch "Lover Lover Lover" gehört bei der aktuellen Tournee zum Repertoire.
Dass Cohens Konzert zu einem grandiosen Abend wird, verdankt der Poet auch seiner exquisiten Band und den drei Sängerinnen, die ihn stimmgewaltig unterstützen. Rafael Gayol trommelt angemessen dezent, Bassist Roscoe Beck hält die Band auf Kurs, Neil Larsen (Orgel) und Mitch Watkins (Gitarre) musizieren auf hohem Niveau, die Soli von Javier Mas (Gitarre, Laute) und Alexandru Bublitchi (Geige) jedoch machen sprachlos – zumindest diejenigen, die nicht nur herzförmige Augen und Ohren für Leonard Cohen und seine samtene Stimme haben.

My translation

Concert at the O2 World
Leonard Cohen is the eternal seducer
The musician at his concert in the O2 World opened many a heart with classics like “Suzanne” and “Hallelujah”. In the process, dance is an important element in Leonard Cohen’s current programme.
By Heinrich Oehmsen

Hamburg. During “I’m Your Man” a young woman can’t stay at her seat anymore. Self-confident she walks up in front of the stage and begins to dance in a slow, lascivious way. Leonard Cohen will not have noticed her because he sang the song with closed eyes, but a security person rushed up and sent the woman back to her seat in row seven. Dancing is still prohibited, but during “Take this Waltz” there is no holding back anymore. Dozens of women, from teenager to senior, get up from their seats and surge forward to pay homage to their idol, to place bouquets of flowers on the stage, and to sway in the rhythm of the music. These dances exhibit something like surrender, it appears as if a valve has been opened, as if now all those feelings are given free rein that accumulated during the past two and a half hours.

Dance is an important element in Leonard Cohen’s current programme. With “Dance Me To The End Of Love” he opened the concert in the O2-Arena, with “Take This Waltz” he concluded before the encores, as last song he covers the Drifters’ “Save the Last Dance For Me”. Whenever he leaves the stage, he jumps, dances, and skips in a cute way that is not at all in line with the elegant suit and the black fedora and even less with his age. The Canadian after all is 78 years old.

Only an exceptional artist like Cohen succeeds in creating such intimate moments

Any fear of aging must evaporate among anybody who observes Cohen on stage during these three hours. He moves resiliently, during singing often goes down on his knees and gets up again with the effortlessness of a gazelle. Despite a few jovial interludes he remains grand seigneur through and through. He still is the charming ladies’ man, the one, who understands women, and the seducer.

When he picks the first bars of “Suzanne” on the acoustic guitar, one can feel in the room how the heart of many a woman opens up during this poignant love song. With his poetic gift the singing writer in it describes the platonic relationship to this “Suzanne”. The song was released 1967 in the year of the “Summer Of Love”, the magic of this confession of love has endured from the hippie-era till the present. The big arena suddenly turns into an intimate place. Everybody, who feels oneself intensively into this song, is now completely alone with Leonard Cohen. Only artists with a powerful aura [can] create such moments.

During the three hours there are more magic moments. Cohen’s subtle interpretation of “Hallelujah” becomes one of the highlights of the evening and is on a par with that of Jeff Buckley. Of the many cover versions that Cohen’s song has experienced, Buckley’s is the most beautiful. He has a number of other classics in the programme like “Bird On The Wire”, “First We Take Manhattan”, and “The Future”. Also “Lover, Lover, Lover” is part of the repertoire of the current tour.

That Cohen’s concert turns into a terrific evening, the poet also owes to his exquisite band and the three female background singers who support him strong-voiced. Rafael Gayol plays drums adequately restrained, Roscoe Beck on bass keeps the band on track, Neil Larsen (organ) and Mitch Watkins (guitar) make music at a high level, the solos by Javier Mas (guitar, lute) and Alexandru Bublitchi (violin) however make you speechless – at least those of you, who don’t have only heart-shaped eyes and ears for Leonard Cohen and his velvet voice.


shz.de - Nachrichten aus Schleswig-Holstein und der Welt
KULTUR

Ein "Hallelujah" für Leonard Cohen
16. Juli 2013 | 00:00 Uhr | Von Alexander Bösch

Hamburg. Gott höchstpersönlich, singt Leonard Cohen (Foto) augenzwinkernd in "Going home" vom aktuellen Album "Old Ideas", habe ihn im Zwiegespräch als "faulen Bastard im Anzug" bezeichnet. Die 7000 Besucher in der Hamburger O2 World aber lieben den Meister aller Songpoeten, der sie an diesem Abend mit seiner unverwechselbaren alttestamentarischen Grabesstimme auf einen dreieinhalbstündigen Streifzug durch sein 45-jähriges Schaffen mitnimmt.

Im schwarzen Anzug kniet der Sohn eines jüdischen Textilfabrikanten weihevoll vor seinen Musikern, versenkt den Kopf in den knorrigen Händen und lässt mit knarzendem Bariton Klassiker wie "Bird on a Wire", das treibende "First we take Manhattan" oder das in jeder Castingshow von Kandidaten vermurkste "Hallelujah" erklingen.

Der 78-Jährige, der erst mit 34 Jahren sein erstes Album aufnahm und mit der Musik ursprünglich seine Tätigkeit als Schriftsteller absichern wollte, hat wie kein anderer seine zahllosen erotischen Begegnungen lyrisch verdichtet. Der ewige Verführer verzückt auch im Herbst des Lebens das Publikum mit der verklärten Rückschau auf die junge Tänzerin Suzanne Verdal ("Suzanne") oder auf Marianne Jensen ("So long Marianne"), die er einst auf der griechischen Insel Hydra kennen- und lieben lernte. Selbst der Umstand, dass die Fans den grollenden Bariton des Altmeisters seit einigen Jahren wieder live erleben dürfen, ist einer Frau geschuldet. Da Cohens langjährige Vertraute Kelley Lynch mit der Altersvorsorge des Brummbarden durchbrannte, sah sich der Kanadier gezwungen, den entstandenen Schaden durch ausgiebiges Touren auszugleichen.

"Amen" und das elegische "Darkness" aus dem hochgelobten Album "Old Ideas" schlagen düstere Töne an, verhandeln Themen wie Einsamkeit, Sühne und die unerbittliche Erkenntnis, dass die eigenen Tage gezählt sind. Demütig zieh Cohen immer wieder den Hut vor seinen Musikern, die er in Zwischenansagen mit Superlativen überhäuft.

Cohens kongeniale Songwriterin Sharon Robinson und die "Webb Sisters" Charley und Hattie sorgen mit engelsgleichen Stimmen und betörendem Harfenspiel für den Kontrapunkt zum brummenden Bass des charismatischen Mannes im schwarzen Anzug. Der aber gibt bei schummrigem Licht und anheimelnder Wohnzimmeratmosphäre vor dem wallenden Vorhang nochmal alles. Nicht weniger als acht Zugaben erklingen, bevor der magische Maestro seinen berauschten Anhängern mit auf den Heimweg gibt: "Möget ihr stets in guter Gesellschaft sein und nie den Schrecken der Einsamkeit ins Auge blicken."
Last edited by crista on Sun Jul 21, 2013 12:06 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Doris
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: HAMBURG, JULY 14

Post by Doris »

Which he doesn't do very often in Germany ..[Hartmut]
@ Hartmut: He sang the same sentence in Mannheim 28.6.13.

PS. I have a nice critique from Mainzer Allgemeine Zeitung about this concert, but I can not manage to set it in the Forum. It is in form of a photo. Can someone help me about this?

Thanks
Doris
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Hartmut
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: HAMBURG, JULY 14

Post by Hartmut »

Doris wrote: @ Hartmut: He sang the same sentence in Mannheim 28.6.13.
Really? Thanks, I somehow missed that.
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: HAMBURG, JULY 14

Post by Hartmut »

Doris wrote:@ Hartmut: He sang the same sentence in Mannheim 28.6.13.
Well ... I don't want to split hairs, but according to my memory and to this video (1:20 m), he didn't.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t8WX2PUnJI
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: HAMBURG, JULY 14

Post by SeventhSon »

crista wrote:
German reviewers in the "Culture" part of the newspaper never just review the concert, they always try to come up with some kind of original angle, which often has not much to do with the concert they visited... See what you think. I'll translate the second review when I have more time.
So true... I once read a concert critique of a Springsteen show I attended in one of these big German newspaper with a "Feuilleton" section. I read the review twice and didn't understand it. Yes, I didn't understand a concert review! Ridiculous... :lol:
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: HAMBURG, JULY 14

Post by Doris »

Oh, I´m sorry.

I was sure to have heard it that way. But obviously my memory serves me.
And all I´ve said
was just instead of
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: HAMBURG, JULY 14

Post by B4real »

surrender wrote:I really do hope that Anthem and Tower make their comeback; I miss them dearly - the message of Anthem as a seal of the first set, the wisdom and humor of Tower as a strong opening of the second one.
Me too!! When he comes to Australia in a few months (yeah, that's what I said :razz: ) I hope he re-instates them!
Also I think Anthem is a better song for all the band intros.
Keep Lover Lover Lover and leave out Sisters Of Mercy.
Doris wrote: PS. I have a nice critique from Mainzer Allgemeine Zeitung about this concert, but I can not manage to set it in the Forum. It is in form of a photo. Can someone help me about this?
Thanks
Doris
Doris, this should help you.
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Last edited by B4real on Wed Jul 17, 2013 12:34 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: HAMBURG, JULY 14

Post by Doris »

Hartmut wrote
[quote
Well ... I don't want to split hairs, but according to my memory and to this video (1:20 m), he didn't.][/quote]

I also do not want, but I looked at the video and around 1:23 he sings our sentence.
And all I´ve said
was just instead of
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Re: CONCERT REPORT: HAMBURG, JULY 14

Post by crista »

Here the translation of the second review in my earlier post:

shz.de - news from Schleswig-Holstein and the world
Ein "Hallelujah" für Leonard Cohen
16. Juli 2013 | 00:00 Uhr | Von Alexander Bösch

My translation

A "Hallelujah" for Leonard Cohen
By Alexander Boesch

Hamburg. God himself, Leonard Cohen sings with a wink in “Going Home” from the current album “Old Ideas”, has in dialogue called him “a lazy bastard in a suit”. But the 7,000 visitors in the O2 World in Hamburg love the champion of all song poets, who this evening takes them with his unmistakable, Old Testament, sepulchral voice along on a three-and-a-half hour ramble through his 45-year-long producing.

In a black suit the son of a Jewish textile manufacturer kneels solemnly in front of his musicians, buries his head in his gnarled hands and lets sound with creaking baritone classics like “Bird on a Wire”, the driving “First we take Manhattan” or that “Hallelujah” botched by candidates in every casting show.

The 78-year old, who recorded his first album only at 34 years and who with music originally wanted to hedge his activity as a writer, like nobody else has lyrically intensified his countless erotic encounters. The eternal seducer ecstasizes even in the autumn of his life the audience with the misty-eyed retrospect at the young dancer Suzanne Verdal (“Suzanne”) or at Marianne Jensen (“So long Marianne), whom on the Greek island of Hydra he once got to know and learned to love [literal translation; in German, these are parallel constructions: “kennenlernen” (getting to know) and “liebenlernen” (learning to love)] Even the fact that since a few years the fans can again experience live the thunderous baritone of the old master is due to a woman. Because Cohen’s confidante of many years, Kelly Lynch, eloped with his retirement provisions, the Canadian was obliged to make good the damage by extensive touring.

“Amen” and the elegiac “Darkness” from the highly praised album “Old Ideas” strike gloomy tones, debate themes like loneliness, atonement and the relentless insight that one’s own days are numbered. Humbly, Cohen again and again doffs his hat to his musicians, whom he showers with superlatives in his announcements.

Cohen’s congenial songwriter Sharon Robinson and the “Webb Sisters” Charley and Hattie with angelic voices and beguiling harp play provide the counterpoint to the droning bass of the charismatic man in the black suit. He, however, in dim light and homey living-room atmosphere in front of the flowing curtain, gives once more everything he has. No less than eight encores sound before the magical maestro gives his besotted fans to take on their way home: “May you always be in good company and never look the horrors of loneliness into the eye.”
**********
I agree with Hartmut's earlier post, that the writer seems to have gotten the 'Blessings' at the end mixed up. I tried to look them up in the Forum - I have seen them several times, but couldn't find them today.
Last edited by crista on Sun Jul 21, 2013 12:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
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