Leonard Turning In Tower

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holydove
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Location: Connecticut

Leonard Turning In Tower

Post by holydove »

Starting at a certain point during the Tour of 2008 -2010, right before the line "I see you standing on the other side", in Tower of Song, Leonard would turn his body about 180 degrees while putting his hand on his heart, & then turn back to face the audience/keyboard, & start singing again. When he first did this, I thought he was turning to cough, but then I saw that he did this, in exactly the same place, every time he sang Tower of Song, for the rest of the Tour. It became part of the song. This has been coming back to me again & again, for a long time, & it would be interesting to know what everyone (or anyone) makes of this very interesting gesture. Thank you.
Steven
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Joined: Tue May 03, 2005 12:32 am

Re: Leonard Turning In Tower

Post by Steven »

Hi holydove,

Seems that it's a subtle way of demonstrating that he sees her... the turning bring her into view...
a mental picture conveyed through the movement that isn't so overt as to be distracting/obvious to
the audience. At the very least, it probably was an effective means for Leonard to make
that moment in the song emotionally real for him by using his visual/imaginative capacity.
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B4real
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Location: Q'ld, Australia

Re: Leonard Turning In Tower

Post by B4real »

Hi holydove,

I've just watched some Tower videos and he does make that deliberate sharp turning gesture but not always with his hand on his heart. Watch the Hanging Rock Nov 2010, Oslo Aug 2010, Las Vegas Nov 2009 and Helinsborg July 2008 ones - there is no hand on heart. Maybe he forgot to do it!

It could be just a direction to the band - maybe to the girls or Neil on the organ who seems more prominent at that moment on some of the videos.

It is an interesting observation you have made and one which I really hadn't noticed before. The differing actions seem to present more questions as well as answers!
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holydove
Posts: 1579
Joined: Sat Jul 25, 2009 5:38 pm
Location: Connecticut

Re: Leonard Turning In Tower

Post by holydove »

Be4Real - yes, I remember that Leonard does not put his hand on his heart every time he turns (I should have said that he "sometimes" puts his hand on his heart) - which leads me to believe that the turning is the more significant movement here. Thank you for pointing that out, & for mentioning the specific videos where one can see that - I will definitely watch them!

Steven - I agree that Leonard might be engaging in some kind of internal process, when he turns at that point in the song. I also think he might be using his body to indicate/emphasize the idea of a transition/turning point in the song, as the lyrics which are coming ("I see you standing. . .") might represent a kind of turning point in his life, or in the relationship to which the lyrics refer. That's my impression, but of course, I could be reading too much into it. . .

Thank you for your responses!
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