CONCERT REPORTS: Oakland, California, December 5 & 6, 2010

[ladydi]

Thanks for your thoughts Marie and Leslie!!

Not long now!! On my way to the meetup in just over an hour. Not even the rain is keeping me from smiling!!

[sturgess66]

All day Tumbir has been saying this -

We'll be back shortly.

We're working quickly to recover from an issue in one of our database clusters.
We're incredibly sorry for the inconvenience.

http://leonardcohen.tumblr.com/post/2103224836

So - no updates from Joey. They will probably start to flow in all at once - tomorrow - after the fact!

[sturgess66]

FROM TWITTER -

RareArtists - just when I thought life couldn't get any better, all of a sudden, I have a pair LEONARD COHEN tickets for tonight. now for dinner plans

crackedactor -Leonard Cohen! — at Paramount Theatre http://gowal.la/c/34iFH

billyverde - Leonard Cohen. Fifth row. May spend half the night crying like a baby.

hemuzak - Oakland's Paramount Theatre is a killer venue. Catching Charley and Hattie's show with Leonard Cohen.

chloedancer - Waiting for Leonard Cohen. http://plixi.com/p/61275359

_victoria_w_ - Leonard Cohen at the Paramount Theatre. http://yfrog.com/2h3pd01j

aimperial RT @bilbeny: A la cita pendiente con Leonard Cohen @ Paramount Theatre http://bit.ly/fiiRhT <- envidia de la güena

SanFranPlaces - Latest buzz for Fox Theatre: http://sch.mp/05dKf - RT @poshlost The line-cutting in the women's bathroom line at the Leonard Cohen show (...

chezzasf - Leonard Cohen. Still the Master. Paramount Theatre Oaktown http://yfrog.com/mtdf10j

moyalynne - Leonard Cohen. Wow. http://twitpic.com/3de5xq

anigregorians - Backstage at Leonard Cohen playing Angry birds

GojaSF - tonight: at Leonard Cohen at the Paramount in Oakland http://yfrog.com/64f81hj

bdubdrum - At Paramount in Oakland enjoying Leonard Cohen.. Life is good right now.

ebfmark - Leonard Cohen at the paramount "started the tour 3 yrs ago - just a kid with a dream at 73". Bet he'd do great tweets

winnig - The incomparable Leonard Cohen is rocking the Oakland Paramount incomparably. And he's such a class act.

OJShadmon - Leonard Cohen was really good!

Kcecelia - @LazyBuddhist Leonard Cohen totally still has it.

LazyBuddhist - You know Leonard Cohen still has "it" when at 76 years old women are woo-hooing at him while singing "I'm Your Man"

[Mabeanie1]

Wow, what a show!!!! By all accounts, last year's Oakland shows were pretty special but Sunday's concert was up there with the best shows anywhere. I didn't write the setlist down but I believe it was broadly the same as Vancouver, with First We Take Manhattan in the first set, just before Waiting for the Miracle, both Avalanche and A Singer Must Die following Suzanne and Democracy following So Long Marianne in the first encore. Oh yes, and we also got Famous Blue Raincoat at the start of the second encore. The show started late and ran late so they skipped I Tried to Leave You at the end though Closing Time was in its rightful place after If It Be Your Will. Hopefully someone will be able to confirm the full setlist for Maarten's records.

Leonard was on fine form and his recitation of A Thousand Kisses Deep was superb, as were the versions of the acoustic songs. The audience was also on great form. They were very responsive to the "set piece" jokes e.g. in Tower of Song and they also gave Leonard and band several standing ovations. It was good to see Sharon get a standing ovation for Boogie Street. I can't tell you how good it was to see Sharon back in her rightful place and looking very well. Hopefully she is now fully recovered.

Really looking forward to Monday's encore show.

Finally, many thanks to Esther for organising the pre-show meet up a couple of blocks away from the Paramount. I'm only sorry that she isn't able to go to the second show. We'll miss her.

Wendy

[sturgess66]

Dayna Macy is an author/writer - and wrote a bit at her blog after attending the show last night -
http://daynamacy.com/blog/

Leonard Cohen
December 6th, 2010 — 9:04am



I saw Leonard Cohen last night at the beautiful Paramount Theater in Oakland. He was astonishing. He is such a generous, visceral performer. He contains a stillness that makes his words that much more valuable.

His Chelsea Hotel was remarkable. And Hallelujah, was, of course, insanely moving and deep. He also surrounds himself with virtuoso musicians, and gives them time and space to shine. No one hogged the stage, not even Leonard, who, at 76, performed for 3-1/2 hours. It is inspiring to see someone at any age be fully who they are and share that with the world. At 76, with his gifts, it borders on the miraculous. Hallelujah.

[friscogrl]

tumbler is back up but no new pictures yet! it was a bit disappointing not being able to access notes from the road since I I couldn't go to the Oakland shows and was looking for some coverage of the cocnerts from Joey. Hopefully those of us not going to these shows will be able to see photos and comments of tonight's show as well as from last night's.
I have enjoyed reading people' comments here and it sounds like it was a great show. Here' wishing an encore performance for all those going tonight!

Marsha

[sturgess66]

Me too friscogrl - I hope "Notes From The Road" is back tonight - but so far nothing.
Maybe Joey fired them.

A good review of last night's show - spinner.com
http://www.spinner.com/2010/12/06/leona ... w-oakland/

Leonard Cohen Is 'Just a Kid With a Dream' in Oakland

Posted on Dec 6th 2010 7:11PM by Benjy Eise

Stephen Lovekin, Getty Images

When Leonard Cohen brought his tower of song to Oakland, Calif. for the opening night or a two-night stand on Sunday, it represented the beginning of an end. After just two more tour stops, the production will go dark and Cohen will retreat back to his much-protected private life.

"Thank you for the honor of letting us play for you," Cohen told the captivated audience at the sold-out Paramount. "When we started this tour three years ago, I was 73. I was just a kid with a dream," he joked. "I don't know when we'll be back through here but, even though it's a school day tomorrow, we're going to give it all we've got tonight."

He meant it, too: Cohen filled three and a half hours with gems from his entire catalog, running down the classics -- such as 'Hallelujah,' 'Suzanne' and 'Bird on a Wire' -- while weaving in healthy doses from his newer releases as well. And while fans may argue that there's a divide between the two eras, Cohen effectively closed that gap on Sunday, as he offered a spoken word reinterpretation of 'A Thousand Kisses Deep,' as well as an emotional rendering of 'In My Secret Life' -- tunes from his 2001 release, 'Ten New Songs.' They fit seamlessly alongside nuggets like 1971's 'Famous Blue Raincoat' and 1988's 'I'm Your Man.'

Cohen used each song as a meditation, infused with all the cathartic passion of their original intent, while using their legacy as a vehicle to give the crowd a night of solid entertainment.

"It is a real pleasure to gather in places like this and play music when there's so much trouble going on in the world," he said, gravely. "Let us ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack, a crack in everything -- that's how the light gets in."

He borrowed some of those words from the song 'Anthem,' which the band then launched into, as Cohen leaned into the music, fell on bended knee, and seduced the audience yet again. Every move he made was with dignity and grace. Every bow he took was sincere and genuine -- all the way through the fourth encore.

We hope, of course, that this is goodbye but not farewell. Because the next time he feels like singing... we're all ears.

[sturgess66]

Maybe NFTR is going to start trickling in.
A new one from Joey - from yesterday afternoon -

Rainy Sunday.
* Oakland, California

http://leonardcohen.tumblr.com/post/212 ... california

And another -

Paramount theatre.
* Oakland, California
(tumblr make up posts)

[sturgess66]

Not good news about NRFT again tonight -

Joey just posted on his FaceBook that tumblr is down again
- and its killing him.



Editing - But - they might still be trickling in ...

Paramount night 1
* Oakland, California
( 05DEC2010 tumblr make up posts)

[sturgess66]

FROM TWITTER -

griffgriffiths - seeing Leonard Cohen, the hardest working 76 year old in showbiz, tonight at the Paramount in Oakland. Hallelujah!

munter - Last nights Leonard Cohen show at the Paramount. A 4 hr set and one of the best shows I can remember. http://twitpic.com/3dj6ki

3PennyMovies - Roscoe Beck: "We are definitely allowed to be creative; it's expected and hoped for..." Tom Harrison: Leonard Cohen http://is.gd/iiqbo

vtg - Leonard Cohen was amazing last eve. Definitely one of my biggest influences! http://fb.me/NoDVFhtU

ItsBrieBlog - I wonder what magnificent suit Leonard Cohen will be wearing tonight. Considering matching his outfit and pretending we're getting married.

girlinchucks - Oh Leonard Cohen concerts, why is your bathroom line always so long? #ihavetopee

rokni - Leonard Cohen http://yfrog.com/g4rf301j

hermiesmit - I'm so stocked! Going to see Leonard Cohen in 5min with my mom. Rare air I'm breathing.

MrMikeHayes - Waiting for Leonard Cohen. Love Leonard Cohen http://yfrog.com/5oxlt0j

And - night 2 at the Paramount has begun -

pec - Leonard Cohen at the Paramount! One of a kind voice... http://yfrog.com/49et80j

[Angel of Compassion]

SET 1
1. Dance Me to the End of Love
2. The Future
3. Ain't No Cure for Love
4. Bird on the Wire
5. Everybody Knows
6. In My Secret Life
7. Who by Fire? - with an incredible intro by Javier Mas
8. The Darkness
9. Born in Chains
10. Chelsea Hotel
11. Waiting for the Miracle
12. Anthem

SET 2
1. Tower of Song
2. Suzanne
3. Avalanche
4. A Singer Must Die
5. The Sisters of Mercy
6.Gypsy Wife
7. The Partisan
8. Boogie Street ( Sharon Robinson)
9. Hallelujah
10. I'm Your Man
11. A Thousand Kisses Deep (spoken)
12. Take This Waltz

Encore 1
1. So Long Marianne
2. First We Take Manhattan
Encore 2
1. Famous Blue Raincoat
2. If It Be Your Will
3. Closing Time
Encore 3
I Tried to Leave You

The Paramount was a fabulous venue! Great acoustics and gorgeous art deco interiors. The theatre is a perfect size. It holds only 3400, but every seat in the house is wonderful. I hope to see some of you forum people in Las Vegas. I'll be at both shows. Just look for a very small lady with a Southern accent and left leanings.

Angel of Compassion

[Angel of Compassion]

I just returned from the Oakland concert and read Dani Burleson's earlier post. May I just say, Me Too. But don't tell my husband.
Angel of Compassion (aka Janis Kirtz)

One more thing. I fell in love tonight with Dino Soldo. If he were just 30 years older and a foot shorter.

[FanForLife]

Leonard Cohen - I was 73, just a kid with a crazy dream - Paramount Oakland - Monday 6th December 2010

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

[FanForLife]

Monday 6th, Spectacular Venue, OK Concert - didn't get going until somewhere around the second encore.............

Closing Time - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYvk5JQczNs

The Partisan - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLJVQlSKzlE

Famous Blue Raincoat - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyK--554ULw

[sturgess66]

A photoset from Joey -

http://leonardcohen.tumblr.com/post/2129739548