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IrishAL (AKA albertnoonan in YouTube-speak), as many forum members know, has produced a set of remarkably high quality, engaging audience-shot videos of a number of Leonard Cohen World Tour concerts, including, most recently, the shows in Dublin, Belfast, and Lisbon. Perhaps because I can rarely take a recognizable still photo of my kids, I am overwhelmed by IrishAl's ability to consistently capture well focused, entertaining, and complete videos of a stage performance under the constraints of filming from a seat in the audience. He has, I believe, significantly enhanced the World Tour experience for all of us.

Consequently, I thought forum members might be interested to know that IrishAl has succumbed to my requests to tell a bit about himself, how he came to be interested in Leonard Cohen, and how he shoots those great videos. The result, which is primarily his work and should be credited to him (although I did write the headings and insert an image of the camera he uses), is "Albert Noonan – The Man Behind The Camera Of Those Great Leonard Cohen Concert Videos," posted on my Heck Of A Guy blog at http://1heckofaguy.com/2009/08/07/alber ... rt-videos/

Thank you both! Very informative - and well deserved, IrishAl! I am happy to think that you will be recording Barcelona, too, my seat is going to be so far away from the stage that I will no doubt appreciate the opportunity to get a close look on Youtube later... And, of course, your videos provide such a great impression of concerts I have not attended...
So, well done, IrishAl and DrHGuy!

DrHGuy - Thank you for providing us with this information on Albert. His video taping of the concerts are the ulitimate best we have seen to date. It was so interesting to learn a little bit about his life with Marie and the processes that have brought him to this stage of his video craft. The details of how he achieves this sucess was most informative. And then, the questions you put to him and his answers were 'the icing on the cake' and what delicious icing it is! Thank you again also to Albert (and Marie, because she takes a mean video herself!) for this priceless archive he has given us!

Warmest regards,
Mary

Congratulations Albert.. this commendation is so well deserved. I tried to video a few songs but my arm got sore holding the camera steady lol.

We will always have the Irish tour now to look back on with your amazing camera work.

Best wishes
Tinders

Yes, congratulations to you both and delighted to have met you in Dublin and Belfast, both lovely and friendly people. Your videos are superb and a great record of the tour.
Enjoy your 20th in Barcelona.

Thanks Irish Al. Perhaps you would consider organising a showing of your best videos sometime for Forum members at some suitable venue (preferably in Limerick). It woud also be en excuse to get together.

Thanks to MHGuy and IrishAl for an illuminating interview.

I was talking to Tony Billsbar yesterday about the idea of having an annual Leonard event in Ireland to help us mad Irish fans cope with the impending end of the tour. Is this something that might interest people on this emerald isle of ours?

To get the ball rolling I am willing to collate ideas and suggestions - you can PM me.

JD - let's take your idea for a video gathering as the first in what will hopefully be a long list of imaginative ideas. Not sure if Limerick is central enough - how about the outdoor cinema in Hydra!!!!!!!

In song. Paula

Fantastic, thanks IrishAL and DrHGuy. Glad to hear IrishAl will be at Barcelona, for all of us unable to attend we'll have some top-quality film to watch

I am so glad somebody started this thread so that I can add my heartfelt thanks to Albert for the wonderful videos he has recorded allowing us all to share in the concerts we have been unable to go to. As time has gone by during the tour it has become apparent how important these recordings have been and will continue to be in all sorts of different ways, and we will be able to watch them for many years to come. The same applies to others who have also made recordings, we are all in your debt.

Evie B

I second what Evie B has said. I would not know where to start doing something like this and it is so nice that not only is someone very good at doing it they are also happy to share.

I would like to add my public thanks to IrishAL and also to DrHGuy for taking the trouble to write the article that has prompted this thread.
It was great to find out a little more about the man behind the camera.
I very much appreciate the effort and skill that has gone into producing the videos and I would like to nominate IrishAL for the "Forum Roll of Honour"
(If there is one!), in the category of "Outstanding Forum Contributors".
(I did nominate IrishAl for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography but he unfortunately lost out to Anthony Dod Mantle for "Slumdog Millionaire.")

I'm pleased and amazed to find this thread, I hadn't bothered much with the YouTubes since the first part of the tour, but just yesterday I ventured back on and found a beautifully shot video of "Heart with no Companion" at Weybridge. A quick mental note to self to check the video author and come back later to check for more and I headed for this board to let everybody know. Sadly the phone rang and I got totally distracted by matters of huge importance to someone else (as you do ).

Happily this thread has reminded me to seek it out again and sure enough, the author is none other than Mr Noonan. So thankyou Albert, and for everyone else (only 290 viewings so far!) here it is. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyuumY6ZUjM

And there is lots of interesting things happening in the video of this country/western song. Some terrific solos - Bob Metzger on slide guitar (1:40). I love Dino's harmonica solo at about 2:00!! And is that thunder we hear at 2:35 and 2:40 while Neil Larsen is giving us some great honkytonk piano? And good view of the Angels at 2:30.

I greet you from the other side
Of sorrow and despair
With a love so vast and shattered
It will reach you everywhere
And I sing this for the captain
Whose ship has not been built
For the mother in confusion
Her cradle still unfilled
For the heart with no companion
For the soul without a king
For the prima ballerina
Who cannot dance to anything
Through the days of shame that are coming
Through the nights of wild distress
Tho' your promise count for nothing
You must keep it nonetheless
You must keep it for the captain
Whose ship has not been built
For the mother in confusion
Her cradle still unfilled
For the heart with no companion ...
I greet you from the other side ...

Came across this thread while looking for a version of the Heart with no companion from this tour. The weybridge video is excellent. My memory from venice was that they played at a faster tempo. Maybe it was my imagination.
One of my fav Cohen "live versions" !

I would like to "second the motion" proposed by DrHGuy.
We want Noonan Noonan Noonan

http://1heckofaguy.com/

The Leonard Cohen Concert Onstage Video Proposal

So, roust Albert Noonan, premier audience videographer of Leonard Cohen concerts, out of his seat in the audience and transport him and his camera onto the stage.

The US performances may prove to be Leonard Cohen’s final concerts. Their memorial and entertainment value would be greatly enhanced if they were filmed from onstage by someone who is given over to Cohen’s music and who can move about and react to what is going at that moment in that show.