CONCERT REPORTS: St. John's, NL (May 25, 26 and 27)

[k-e-t]

Ya gotta love those upper Canadians eh? a "string of warm-up dates in Eastern Canada" !!?? a "proper tour that begins with three sold-out performances" in Taron-t'a. Get outta here area code 416! from the Globe & Mail . . . . .

Wow. Toronto hubris knows no end, it seems. I can't wait until a couple of years from now when Ontario is a "have not" province... though I'm sure they'll say Atlantic Canada just warmed up the equalization program for them.

[hanes]

Someone posted some nice shots from Monday nights show at a local photography site

http://nlphotographers.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=828

[k-e-t]

Someone posted some nice shots from Monday nights show at a local photography site

http://nlphotographers.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=828

Look at the expression on his face in that first picture! Priceless.

And I loved this... it's that same graciousness and humility being discussing in the Halifax thread:

When the crew got to meet him he said "Hello. How do you do? My name is Leonard Cohen".

[semaj]

Yeah, have been following all these postings since I attended the performance in Fredericton but did not join up 'till this morning. That black and white photo
left me no choice!

[Claw at your heart]

Seeing that beautiful B&W photograph, I think we'll have to add "vulnerability" to the recurring words used to describe Leonard. (Graciousness and humility seem often repeated.) This is part of what makes him so damn sexy! He is open to our love and reflects it back to us. There is absolutely no effort made to create an "us" and "them" dichotomy between Leonard/band and the audience. To use another repeated phrase, "we're all bozos on this bus". Leonard's visage is almost painfully exposed. Can we imagine what the world could be like if we took off our protective masks and all communicated this way?

[st theresa]

Wonderful photographs and yes Claw at your heart--being who we really are and exposing that kind of vulnerability to the world takes guts--Aging sometimes helps. But not always. Leonard's verse has always reflected that courage. When I recently re-read Beautiful Losers, having totally missed the point when I was 24, I thought OMG--where did he get that kind of courage to write about the things he wrote about in the 60's??? Even the Beatles were not that brave---Of course it made me love him even more. If love is the right word--it has so many meanings. I recently intercepted a letter on its way to leonard (its not important how--but I directed the writer to come to this forum for connection with others who understand) in which the writer spoke of discovering leonard when he was 7 years old and finding some strange spiritual affinity--even then. Are love and spiritual affinity related?

[anneporter]

Claw at your heart and St Theresa,
I would say of course love and spirituality are connected. I have felt a spiritual affinity for Leonard since I first heard Suzanne at age 10, then Marianne at 13 or so. Later,in my early 20's, in the late 70's, I confused that a little bit with sexual affinity, but his own work has helped me clarify that dialectic over the years. He profoundly understands and communicates the fundamental reality that you cannot separate the somatic from the spriritual. Spirituality is an expression of flesh and blood...I"m rambling, so I'll
stop.
i appreciate your thoughts,
Anne

[Claw at your heart]

I feel very grateful to have found a community who understand that communion with Leonard is indeed a spiritual experience! My friends appreciate him, but don't seem to experience the same bittersweet longing. Was it Anne who remarked on her "purple prose"? Sorry, can't remember now. At least we have the ability to laugh at ourselves, but I found myself being able to relate very easily to all her sentiments, as extreme as they might sound!

[anneporter]

Claw at your Heart
yes, purple prose, that would be me.
thank you. i, too, am grateful for the found community.
anne

[whobyfire?]

Anybody think that the audiences made enough of an impression on Cohen that he'd stop back here for another show at some point in the tour? Wishful thinking, perhaps, but ya never know.

#8

[Steve Wilcox]

If, as per the Globe and Mail, the Atlantic Canada shows were "warm up" shows, then maybe at the end of the tour Leonard will come back for some "cool down" shows!!

Unfortunately, I can't imagine that these shows were financially viable. Except for Halifax at about 1200 seats, the other venues were closer to eight hundred seats at an average of approximately $80 per ticket which is only $64,000. For a tour of 35 people with at least one tour bus and a tractor trailer, I suspect there wouldn't be a huge profit margin.

[hershey]

Any reports available of the three St John's concerts? Steve Wilcox ?

[anneporter]

If you scroll back up this thread, to the 26 of May and forward to the 28th you will find the reports

[Kacey]

Husband of Number three...... I will be very grateful to receive those photos and video.... thank you so very much...... and I am sure that your wife is delighted to join you on the golf course...

Karen

[hershey]

The Webb Sisters - fantastic - especially at St John's singing 'If it be your Will'