As Leonard so regularly dines with Anjani, I wouldn't be privy to the details.
Leonard: Anjani ~ dinner's almost ready.
Anjani: Okay, Leo... I'll be right there. What'd you make us?
Leonard: What time do you want breakfast, dear?
Anjani: I thought I might sleep a little late, but it's up to you. I love waking up to your meals.
As you can see, I just wouldn't be there for these details of time. It is for Anjani to know, so they can plan their days and nights, accordingly, however.
Leonard is apparently a good cook. He cooked for Roshi and I've read where he's done the same for Anjani, where she would come over and join him for some meals.
So, I'm thinking it might be better titled:
The Leonard Cohen Keep The Himmin In The Kitchen 2008 World Tour... or to allow for those unenlightened ones finally coming to the light:
The Leonard Cohen Put The Himmin In The Kitchen 2008 World Tour.
We must never forget that years ago, he was calling for the women to hurry up and take over the world.
On the road, however, from the accounts Anjani has written, it seems they eat out a lot or even, exclusively [barring, perhaps, a friend's house that may be on the tour route]. Still, their eating times remain Anjani's domain. You understand .
~ Lizzy
Edited to make "Len" be "Leo"
Last edited by lizzytysh on Wed Nov 14, 2007 5:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken." ~ Oscar Wilde
For those amongst us who have yet to come to grips with the 'I don't mind the rare bird $500+ primo ticket' way of thinking here is an article from USA Today that might help you understand the current crass exploitation of concert goers.
Hats off to Garth Brooks and his mangement, about the only folk in this article who demostrate their interest in the actual fan over the mighty dollar.
Ann Anderson is a scalper.
OK, she's not a shifty character whispering "Psst, need two?" from the shadows. But the mom from Lincoln, Neb., became a ticket broker by default when her daughters ached to see Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana in The Tour That Crushed a Million Dreams.
Anderson ultimately succeeded where many parents failed. She got Josie, 11, and Kyle, 16, into the wildly sought-after Best of Both Worlds show in nearby Omaha. And not the old-fashioned way.
"About 15 years ago, I waited in a long line and got tickets to Guns N' Roses, pretty simple," she says. "This time was a little different."
For those who want the dizzying details, read on. But for now, suffice to say that Anderson labored both online and off to buy multiple sets of tickets in two different cities, selling and swapping until she finally landed good seats for the show of her choice. And spent four figures in the process.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Montana | Ticketmaster | Garth Brooks | Stubhub | Young Frankenstein | Miley Cyrus
"The girls loved the concert," she says. "But I don't know if I'd go through that again."
Amen, say a growing number of fans who are fast realizing that landing any hot ticket these days — be it for Garth Brooks' current nine-night run in Kansas City, Mo., much-anticipated Broadway openings like Thursday's premiere of Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein or 50-yard-line seats to almost any pro football game — seems to require great connections, lottery-like luck or stacks of cold cash. Emphasis on cash.
"The secondary ticket market is growing fast largely due to the Internet," says Gary Bongiovanni, editor of Pollstar, which tracks the world of live events. Secondary market is business-school lingo for sCalpers, people who pay face value but feel the market can bear more.
"When tickets go on sale online, a lot of professional buyers are instantly in the mix," he says. "You're competing with people whose only job is to buy and sell seats."
And you may not be competing with people at all, but robots.
As the uproar over the Hannah Montana tour made clear, bots, or robotic software programs, are sometimes employed to defeat security systems (those squiggly letters you're always asked to retype) that determine the buyer is human.
Ticketmaster recently won an injunction against bot-maker RMG Technologies, which the mammoth ticket-seller sees as a "first step" in addressing myriad industry issues raised by Cyrus the Younger mania.
"Hannah is a phenomenon, not the average case," says Ticketmaster CEO Sean Moriarty. "But it was a wake-up call that draws attention to the huge demand for big shows, and the reform that's needed to make the process more fair."
Playing the system
There's a bit of mystery involved in all this ticket madness. To begin with, the vast majority of events don't generate hysteria and overblown prices. Often, a combination of numerous tour dates and lofty ticket prices (the Rolling Stones use both strategies) are enough to keep hysteria at bay.
But in-demand shows can quickly frustrate if you aren't online or in line when tickets go on sale. A USA TODAY/Gallup poll of 408 adults who have purchased tickets to at least two big live events in the past year reveals that 39% find the ticket-buying process very or somewhat frustrating, with 34% saying they frequently or occasionally pay above face value. But three-fourths of respondents still prefer buying their tickets on a first-come basis to a lottery system where buying priority is randomly assigned.
Curt Vanwanzeele, a financial adviser from Indianapolis, found himself in atypical company while on his recent ticket quest. Determined to score four Hannah Montana tickets to surprise his two daughters and niece, he spent hours outside Conesco Fieldhouse to get a number, which in turn put him in a lottery for a place in the actual ticket line. But that rigmarole wasn't what surprised him.
"I was sandwiched between six homeless people, all of whom were given cash by some guy and told to buy the best seats they could," he says. "People were ticked. I don't begrudge anyone from making a buck. But you think the city would have had more control."
Vanwanzeele's patience paid off. He got four tickets at face value, $56 each. He says the experience didn't necessarily turn him off from buying tickets in the future, but he'd change his tactics. "I'll bring my wife to increase my odds of getting a better place in line from the lottery," he says. "I guess you just have to play the system the way it is."
Not everyone is that sanguine.
Kevin Kotke has always felt that "part of the fun of getting tickets is waiting in line, but these days I do that only to find out all the tickets were bought up by people on computers," says the law firm administrator from Milwaukee.
When Kotke heard that Annie Lennox would be performing in Chicago, he was compelled to join the Internet fray, ultimately scoring two tickets on Craigslist. Some $600 later, plus $300 for a downtown hotel room as well as gas money and other costs, Kotke had seen his diva. But he was left feeling broke.
"I maxed out my credit card" for this and other shows this year, he says. "I'm embarrassed I paid that much. When you're there you wonder, 'What did everyone else pay?' "
Investigations begin
That's if you're lucky enough to even go to a must-see event. The whiplash speed with which Hannah Montana tickets disappeared prompted grumbling from many parents, folks who in many cases hadn't bought tickets to a concert since the days when Pearl Jam was a little-known band from Seattle.
Their complaints were heard. Attorneys general from Arkansas, Pennsylvania and Missouri have begun investigating some secondary market sellers to see if state scalping laws were broken, largely in connection with Cyrus' show.
"Some say it's just market forces at work, free enterprise, but I don't agree," says Arkansas chief deputy attorney general Justin Allen. "The average consumer should have the ability to go to a show without paying far more than they can afford and without risking that the tickets could even be fake."
Allen says his state is seeking information from five ticket-selling websites. So far, only StubHub.com has cooperated. The San Francisco-based, eBay-owned ticket marketplace has fast become a destination for any big-event fan with more money than time.
Peruse the site and waves of joy and nausea simultaneously overwhelm you. On the one hand, great seats to almost anything — from opera to mixed martial arts fights — are a click away. On the other, prices often make the ticket's original cost look like a handling fee.
StubHub CEO Chris Tsakalakis says the company "is happily working with investigators because, in the end, it's our sellers who decide price and our buyers who decide if they'll buy." On the subject of bot-bought tickets, he says StubHub assumes tickets are lawfully obtained, and fraud is quickly pursued.
"No one has a God-given right to buy X number of tickets to any show at face value; that just flies in the face of simple economics," says Tsakalakis. "It's the same reason I can't buy a Ferrari for $40,000. A ticket's face value often has little to do with its true market value."
Which brings up a good point. Should tickets indeed be priced according to market value, which in theory would deter sCalpers on the hunt for huge profit margins?
Or maybe the airline industry can provide the solution: Print individual names on each ticket and require IDs to check in. Another option is pricing prime-location tickets significantly higher, much like Broadway does. If you want great seats to Young Frankenstein, you'll need to opt for "premium seating" at $450 a pop, more than triple the orchestra seat price.
These and other solutions to the current ticket quandary are kicked around with varying degrees of acceptance by industry players.
Critics point out that the airline approach would generate airline-like woes, namely endless lines to get to seats. The built-in risk of the premium-seating option is guessing incorrectly how much people are willing to pay.
Country superstar Brooks is taking a simpler route to stumping sCalpers: He's performing so often that he's satisfying demand, while offering tickets first to local fans and then to a geographically widening circle.
What's more, his Kansas City stint wraps up Nov. 14 with a concert beamed to 325 theaters nationwide, says longtime Garth promoter Ben Farrell.
"The concert tickets only cost $25, but if you couldn't get one, you can just pay $10 and see him in the movie theater," says Farrell. "Garth is the first one to say, 'My show's not worth it at (scalper) prices.' "
Ticketmaster's Moriarty says "transparency and fairness must come to this market as it often does to others. Consumers need the right tools for pricing, and there needs to be penalties for law breakers."
Not surprisingly, Moriarty isn't a fan of secondary market sites such as StubHub. "I'm concerned when all you see posted are prices wanted, not prices paid. I'm also wary when specific seat locations aren't available," he says. "There is no silver bullet. But there has to be a better way to do this."
Determined and weary mom Anderson sure hopes so.
Her Hannah Montana ordeal began simply enough. She paid $30 to join the Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana fan club, which gives members access to presale tickets.
When time came to log in, the information technology specialist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture quickly grabbed four seats.
"I figured, 'Hey, I'm with the fan club, they must be great seats,' " she says. "But they were way in the back. So I passed."
Next, she tried a Ticketmaster office, which was out of blank tickets for the printer.
Changing tactics, she hopped on eBay and found tickets available for a Hannah Montana gig in Illinois. "We have relatives there, so I figured I'd make it into a big trip."
The seats weren't great, but she bought them anyway at $48 each.
"But now I'm thinking, I've got bad seats, potentially grim fall weather and a 10-hour drive," Anderson says. Plan B quickly forms.
She went back on eBay and bought four seats to the Omaha show for $1,000 total. She put her four Illinois tickets on eBay, and got almost the same amount for them.
Day of show. Out of curiosity, the now wily ticket-buying veteran went back onto Ticketmaster's site and "unbelievably" found four tickets right next to Cyrus' catwalk. She snapped them up, then offered a friend her eBay-purchased tickets at face value.
And the house lights dim.
Cue Cyrus.
"At one point, Miley addressed the crowd, the parents really," says Anderson. "She said, 'I know it took a lot for you to get here tonight.' I had to smile. If she only knew."
Solitudine non é essere soli, é amare gli altri inutilmente - Mario Stefani
I'm exhausted, but I read it all. It really has gotten bizarre out there, and I don't even get to many concerts. I know I was frustrated by the time limit [3 minutes?] with Ticketmaster, or you lost your place in the buying line. My supervisor has paid big money to see Keith Urban and then wondered if the tickets were real, or if they'd arrive in time. One of the times they did... it was the afternoon prior to or the day of the concert ['close call' either way]. This suggestion seems to support Laurie's idea, though, with 'only' a $50 difference in suggested price:
If you want great seats to Young Frankenstein, you'll need to opt for "premium seating" at $450 a pop, more than triple the orchestra seat price.
Multiple concerts is a great idea, but that can be tough on the performer, too.
I just hope I can afford to see Leonard perform, regardless of how his tickets get distributed... to Forum and other-site fans first would be wonderful.
~ Lizzy
"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken." ~ Oscar Wilde
My guess is that Leonard is not short of money, in comparison to many of us. Given that he no longer has the comfort of the 'nest-egg' which Ms Lynch salted away, I doubt very much that Leonard has to worry about how to pay for his next meal. So, to put that paragraph aside and move onwards...
He is an elderly man. He carries no surplus weight. He will have 'failings,' that happen to everyone as they get into old age. Compare the situation between a 30 something musician/singer and a 70 something musician/singer. On the matter of drugs, smoking, alcohol etc., let the two men be 'clear' of such things. My money would go on the young man to stay the course of touring. In all honesty, to ask Leonard to embark on a series of jet-lagged, energy sapping, sleep depriving, high output performances at his age, begs the question. Why?
How much would I pay to go and see him perform live? I'm with Tom. Anything over that amount, is fuelling the circus apparatchiks. We have CD's, DVD's, Videos. We've met him personally. Anything else smacks of 'draining' the man of his energy, at a time when he could be taking his foot off the pedal. I enjoy his voice, writing, music, art. Do I really need to jump on the bandwagon that seems to be gathering weight as more and more people want to get him to travel thousands of miles. He's just as mortal as the rest of us and I know how fragile we all are. Perhaps we could consider his longevity over our desire to 'persuade' him into something, which he had never expected that he'd be asked to do. It is his decision. (I hope)
"Bipolar is a roller-coaster ride without a seat belt. One day you're flying with the fireworks; for the next month you're being scraped off the trolley" I said that.
The elements of travel are exhausting for anyone, regardless of age. Those of touring are unfathomable to me. If one is squared off against the other [and sheer exhaustion has never done anyone any good], Leonard's longevity is absolutely primary. He could, of course, do a tour at his own pace, a leisurely travel gig [though with which group of back-up musicians, who could afford to do that, only they would know]. People have mentioned a reading 'tour' ~ this seems to me a perfectly fine alternative to a music one, with far fewer requisites. Still, there could still be another cd to add to the ones we already have. The bottom line is and will remain that whatever Leonard chooses to do and/or not do will be fine with me. I'll applaud whatever decision is made.
~ Lizzy
"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken." ~ Oscar Wilde
I said many times: I don't need the tour, I'd just be happy with him sitting in his garage studio, writing at his table desk, and me hearing album or two in few years intervals, like Ten New Songs and Dear Heather, even if he moves to spoken poetry completely.
Tour is one, and live shos another thing. Maybe Leonard needs to make the decision - is he appearing "live" at all. He doesn't need to tour around the globe - one or two shows from time to time, completely broadcasted and released on DVD-CD set, is just enough for all, to hear the old songs sang again, and to hear the new songs live.
Joney wrote:Maybe Leonard would like to do a tour and is up for it. If not then I am really happy to just listen to his back catalogue.
Yes Joney, I too would be perfectly content to listen. My point above was an attempt to highlight the differences between 'what Leonard would like to do,' and 'is he physically up to it.' I would like to run a marathon, play first division football, be able to play the piano, well! etc., but what I would like to do and what I can/could do, are two different notions. I fear that we are entering a stage in the discussions about a 'tour' that is becoming similar to the 'old days' when fans used to try and grab chunks of their idols, quite literally. Many artists feared the demands made upon them by their devotees.
My concern is that, for 'whatever reason' Leonard is talking about 'touring,' is he being totally objective about his own health, and are we 'en masse' giving support to 'whatever reason' is behind the consideration for a 'tour.' Forgive me, but I'm doing my damnedest to be as diplomatic as I can to review just what is happening in the background, which is making Leonard go along with the idea of a 'tour.'
I never saw Dylan Thomas, Charles Dickens and Rudyard Kipling give packed theatres spoken extracts from their writing. In the interests of his health, I too would be happy to attend 'readings' given by Leonard. For a start, there would not be the clamour and demand by the general public for tickets to get into such 'readings.'
Today's public want and demand music on their stages when live performances are given by singing artists. Leonard is way, way, above such artistic genres. All the hype and manufactured excitement behind promoting singers and their tours could not sit easily in today's marketing ethos. Leonard would know that he'd be sitting comfortably in front of audiences who admired, respected and were honestly grateful for his canon of work.
The difference between a singing tour and a speaking tour would be considerable. The importance being the 'considerable' aspect of such differences. Shedding the entourage and thus concentrating upon his literary works would lighten his load immensely. I for one would much prefer that if he embarked on any tour, he did it without the accumulating numbers of bodies, stresses, demands, obligations, and responsibilities to others, in 'that entourage.'
What may have to be weighed, is our personal 'Need' against his personal 'Health.'
"Bipolar is a roller-coaster ride without a seat belt. One day you're flying with the fireworks; for the next month you're being scraped off the trolley" I said that.
Exactly to both of you, Byron and Osmachar. My belief is that Leonard ought to do what Leonard wants to do, regardless... whether it's to travel with Anjani when she performs; stay at home to record or write; tour to sing or read; or simply stay at home and do nothing.
So far as Leonard's being pressured, however; no matter what may be going on behind the scenes, I don't see Leonard as someone to be pressured into touring or anything else that he doesn't want to or isn't willing to try to do on his own volition. It seems to me that he has a pretty good sense of his own physicality and stamina, and he certainly has resolve. He chose to not perform with Anjani in Oslo, when it was clear people were expecting him. He's the pinnacle of tact and has a mind and will of his own, save his willingness to defer to those of G~d.
~ Lizzy
"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken." ~ Oscar Wilde
I would be very happy to see Leonard do a speaking tour. As Byron says the pressure is much much less. And it would actually be nice to hear him reciting poems live.
Dublin 14th June, Manchester 20th June, O2 17th July, Matlock Bandstand Aug 28, O2 14th November, Royal Albert Hall 17th and 18th November 2008, MBW 11th July 2009, Liverpool Echo 14th July 2009
Paula wrote:I would be very happy to see Leonard do a speaking tour. As Byron says the pressure is much much less. And it would actually be nice to hear him reciting poems live.
To those who may not consider the enjoyment from a speaking tour as being anything like a musical performance, I would suggest listening to recognised poets presenting their own work. For example, I repeat the name of Dylan Thomas. I have Richard Burton reading Thomas' work and Thomas himself reading the same work. While Burton has/had a fabulous speaking voice compared with Thomas, it is Thomas himself who gives his own words so much more depth and timelessness.
Leonard does not rush the art of construction in prose, poetry, novels, lyrics. Yet, could a case be put for deriving so much more from this writer with the 'spoken' word, than from the 'glossy,' show-business presentation, of rhyme, of beat, and of rhythmic distraction, that inevitably accompanies any song. In the Forum, I feel that it would be safe to say that, most of us know most of the words of most of his songs.
To carry it further, I would guess that most of us have most of his songs on most of his CD's. But all I would ask in counterweight to those songs, is to remember in your mind, his reading of 'Prayer For Messiah,' which he performed many years ago during a poetry reading. If you saw it, if you have a DVD/Video of it, you'll remember, "O send out the raven ahead of the dove." I still hear his voice when I read these words.
A singing tour would satisfy the needs of commercialism by attracting large numbers to the concerts. However, it could be said that a speaking tour would allow us to see and hear so much more than any revisiting of our personal favourite songs. Indeed, it isn't difficult to imagine how warm and friendly the atmosphere would be in a theatre, amongst fans and friends, with Leonard sitting comfortably, giving his own carefully chosen words from prose, lyrics etc., through his 'Golden voice.'
"Bipolar is a roller-coaster ride without a seat belt. One day you're flying with the fireworks; for the next month you're being scraped off the trolley" I said that.
I can't imagine who would argue against a reading tour. I heard Leonard saying those words, too, when I read that line. Perhaps, we ought to start a referendum asking Leonard, if he tours at all, to please do a reading tour only. Who knows what may come? What an honour it would be to be in such an audience.
~ Lizzy
"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken." ~ Oscar Wilde
.
be "Leo" 
