Beautiful Black and White videos from 2008 show

[LisaLCFan]

These are languishing in a rarely-viewed thread in a different category, and they are just too nice to be ignored! (Even on YouTube they have been neglected.) Beautiful black and white videos of Leonard performing in 2008 (included as part of a tribute concert in Montreal), that must be seen! Enjoy!

Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I42uqjgFCKY

Leonard Cohen - Closing Time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-1PLyV3Vdo

Leonard Cohen - Suzanne
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCiW0eE1OgM

[tinderella]

Really really enjoyed these Lisa. Thanks

[holydove]

Lisa, WOW! Those videos are incredible - such beautiful close-ups of Our Beautiful Man, such great clarity of picture and sound, and I love the black-and-white genre.

Forgive me if this is not the proper place to write this, but as I was watching I kept remembering when at the Nashville concert, in the middle of Leonard's performance of Hallelujah, a guy in the balcony SCREAMED out - really, from the gut, you could hear it was completely uncontrollable - "I LOVE YOU, LEONARD COHEN!" (note that this was a deviance from the gender-specific symptomatology, as put forth by our good DrHGuy - he did not say "You da man!", he said "I love you. . .") Anyway, I guess that's what those videos made me feel like doing - but then, I always feel like doing that!

In case the person who screamed that out is reading this, I thank you for expressing it for all of us! How fortunate we are that there are people who have the guts to do something like that. . .

Thank you, Lisa! I was just about to sign off from the forum (after spending a couple of hours on it), and I hesitated to prolong my forum time (while neglecting other things-to-do, as usual), but I couldn't resist when I saw your post - and I'm so glad I gave in to my obsessive need to see/hear all things LC!

I wonder what thread/category these videos were languishing in?

[LisaLCFan]

Hi holydove! I'm glad that you liked the videos (and you, too, Tinderella)! I think that they are among the best that I have ever seen of Leonard, the B&W is absolutely stunning, the camera angles are wonderful and rather different from the norm (don't you just love it when Leonard looks up at the camera?), and, of course, he looks and sounds perfect!

These were languishing in the Collector's corner, by the way, in a thread about the tribute concert that they came from. (So, who is spending too much time on the forum?)

And (there is never an improper place to express your feelings for Leonard, as far as I'm concerned!) I can relate to your comments about the shouter in Nashville, and what a beautiful moment it creates: in Las Vegas there was a guy (maybe the same guy?) who shouted, with such heartfelt joy, "We Love You, Mr. Cohen!", which prompted several other people to shout "I/We Love You, Leonard!" (I cannot gurantee that I was not one of them), and you could just feel so much love in the room! I just hope that Leonard feels these things, too, and that he knows how much he means to us, and how wonderful we think it is to be with him at these concerts.

Cheers!

[holydove]

Hi Lisa, thank you for your response. Yes, it is amazing when Leonard looks up at the camera! And I love your description of the shouting in Las Vegas - how wonderful that so many people joined in the "WE LOVE YOU" chorus! In Nashville there was a chorus of laughter after the shout out of love - laughter that was clearly an expression of "sympatico" with the enraptured shouter.

I have also often hoped and prayed that Leonard knows how much he means to us, and how much we adore him. He has said something which seems to signify that he is aware of how people are affected by his intensity: (maybe you have already heard this, but. . .) he said that he put Tacoma Trailer at the end of The Future album, because he felt that people would need something to help them chill out (not his exact words, but that was the gist), after the intensity of everything else on that album. (Actually, I think his rendition of Always, right before Tacoma, begins to serve that purpose also). And he is absolutely "right on" (of course!) about that - that album just gets more incredibly intense (BEAUTIFULLY intense, of course!) every time I listen to it, & Tacoma Trailer does serve as a kind of "recovery period". But how fascinating that he would think of that, and what a wonderful expression of compassion, to want to help us recover!

Collector's Corner, huh? Well, I haven't been visiting that thread, but now you have inspired me (you naughty girl!), and I might have to spend even more time on the forum. . .

[Cate]

Hi Lisa thank you for posting - they are great video's.
I was at that concert - not the tribute, the concert it was filmed at and there a point during Hallelujah when he looked up and it seemed that he was looking directly at us... I know that's just how it seems, but it was nice to remember that specific moment.

[MaryB]

Absolutely stunning! I know these were shown at the tribute concert, but no one has said yet what show these were from. Cate, you said you were there - please enlighten me. Also, who did the filming? Was this official video that we see done at the concerts?

Love that you resurrected these Lisa!!

[sturgess66]

There are more videos links that I had found from that festival, here, in this thread -

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=17089

Actually I guess that is the "Collector's Corner" thread that LisaLCFan refers to.

"Maybrith" was asking about a DVD - and "martali" gives some info about a film.

[somewhat_nifty]

They are from a film that went out on Canadian television called Leonard Cohen: Everybody Knows and were filmed at the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2008: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1322335/

I don't know if it has been released on DVD officially (I have a recording of the TV programme)

[Cate]

Hi Mary, as Somewhat_nifty said it was filmed during the Montreal Jazz Festival at the Place-de-arts a few days before the tribute.
We received a note with our tickets that they would be filming.

Here's a clip of Leonard speaking about the Tribute Concert from 'Everybody Knows'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVFz91-mEls

again thank you Lisa for posting

[bridger15]

Leonard Cohen speaks in Black & White

It was that November, preparing for my final transition to LA, in my almost empty apartment in Toronto, sleeping on a blowup mattress, that I watched the CBC program with the Leonard Cohen tribute in Montreal. I started to cry so badly. I had not seen him for so many years. He looked so fragile, so old. I thought, he may not be around for much longer. OMG. I was almost hysterical. That's when I hopped on the computer to check on him. I watched Youtubes every night for hours and hours. Eventually, I stumbled onto this Forum. I lurked for a month or two until I felt comfortable and joined from here in LA in February, 2009 during the Beacon hysteria. I too was hysterical. Would I ever be able to get a ticket to see him perform? The rest is history.

Here is a wonderful CBC promo in Black & White for their upcoming Montreal Jazz Festival Tribute program, "Leonard Cohen: Everybody Knows".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVFz91-mEls

EDIT: I just noticed "Cate" also posted this link. Hey, it is so good, it is worth mentioning twice

---Arlene

[B4real]

Hi Lisa,

Thank you so much for bringing these breathtaking black and white videos to my attention. I had seen the promo of this in black and white but not these songs. Isn't it interesting that the message seems to get across with so much more expression and feeling than in colour. I think it's because there is nothing to distract from the essence of the song and meaning. And yes, I love that he's looking at the camera - something he doesn't do a lot of - and there certainly is an air of fraility about him......but so endearing.....but as we all know he has the fortitude of man half his age.

[MaryB]

Thanks for all the responses. Linda, when I followed the thread where Martali was talking about the tribute concert, I remembered that I had seen most of that concert performance through links provided here (I knew it would be on CBC, but here in my part of the US, there was no way to view the broadcast).

What I was unclear about was the actual B&W videos of LC & company. I think that because of what you Cate, and you Ruth have written I've finally gotten it straight. If I understand correctly, these videos were filmed at the Jazz Festival and then shown as part of the tribute concert?? My hat off to whoever had the foresight to film in B&W. Almost every frame of these videos is so visually stupendous, it can be hung as a piece of art - perfection!

I hadn't seen the the video of him speaking about the show, so Cate and Arlene, I really appreciate the link.
Ruth, I followed your link (thank you) to see if it was available for purchase, saw the availability for rental from Blockbuster, but I had to sign up to get more info from imdb regarding a purchase, so I backed off and will try some other way to find it.

Arlene, it was lovely to read how you rediscoved LC, found this forum, and embarked on your quest of LC fulfillment. Are you satisfied ?

Warmest regards,
Mary

[LisaLCFan]

Hi Lisa,

Thank you so much for bringing these breathtaking black and white videos to my attention. I had seen the promo of this in black and white but not these songs. Isn't it interesting that the message seems to get across with so much more expression and feeling than in colour. I think it's because there is nothing to distract from the essence of the song and meaning. And yes, I love that he's looking at the camera - something he doesn't do a lot of - and there certainly is an air of fraility about him......but so endearing.....but as we all know he has the fortitude of man half his age.

You're welcome, everybody! I was so impressed with these, that I couldn't possibly keep them a secret! They really are quite spectacular, aren't they? When Leonard looks at the camera, he looks so vulnerable. Looking right into his eyes and his face is not something that we often have the privilege of seeing, and it is quite moving.

I can relate to Arlene's comment about seeing Leonard for the first time in many years: when I first (in many years) saw images of him about a year ago (on Live in London, in fact), I, too, thought that he looked so old and frail, and yet, now, I don't see him like that at all. Having seen him in concert, and on all of those great youtube videos, what I see now is a vibrant man full of life. It's funny how one's perceptions change!

[bridger15]

I can relate to Arlene's comment about seeing Leonard for the first time in many years: when I first (in many years) saw images of him about a year ago (on Live in London, in fact), I, too, thought that he looked so old and frail, and yet, now, I don't see him like that at all. Having seen him in concert, and on all of those great youtube videos, what I see now is a vibrant man full of life. It's funny how one's perceptions change!

I agree with everything you said, Lisa. When I saw him numerous times during every concert kneeling and rising with such agility and delightfully skipping off the stage, I really appreciated how vibrant he is. And when I followed his (supposed) last five concerts in nine days, I was duplicating his travel schedule. It was a tad gruelling. And I didn't have to perform in each city when I arrived at the next place. I was only traveling to enjoy myself.
---Arlene