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It’s easy to say that Edinburgh, with its grey stone buildings that mirror the sky, volcanic rock outcrops, drizzle, monuments to long-forgotten politicians of stern and foreboding forehead, and endlessly skirling bagpipes, is something of a dour place. Similarly, Leonard Cohen is often mistaken as some kind of sage of suicide, his deep voice misheard as a miserable moan.
Tonight, as he takes to the stage atop the Edinburgh Castle esplanade, Cohen looks his age, skinny and frail and grey, slightly hunched. But he’s lost neither power nor presence, up there in his grey suit and neat fedora. What’s more, as the terrifying, squealing women of a certain age will testify, Leonard Cohen still has that magic allure.
But that’s not what tonight is about. Expectation can do a lot to ruin gigs like this – I’ve been waiting to see Leonard Cohen live for the best part of two decades, and never would have had he not been forced to do this tour after his manager ran off with all his money. But Cohen, unlike so many of his contemporaries, is more than a mere rock ‘n’ roll singer, or a performer carried along by the weight of his ego or a fat-headed sense of his place within the canon. Even better, he knows he’s not a musician, and so his voice is allowed to take centre stage while the backing band ably fills their roles behind him. Alright, so the music is session muso staple – shiny suits, hats, bass held high – but the Hammond organ, electronic woodwind and Bandurria, guitar, laud and archilaud provide a subtle, gentle backdrop to the power of Cohen’s testament, and elegant voice.
And what a voice. Tempered by his 73 years, it has taken on a rich, ochre tone that rolls above the smooth, jazzy backing. With the perfect sound of this intimate, outdoor venue, it ensures that his words shine all the brighter, their innate truths and wisdom cutting through the cold Scottish sky. ‘Everybody Knows’ and ‘The Future’ as perfect a dissection of contemporary society as has ever been written; ‘Anthem’’s chorus of “Ring the bells that still can ring / Forget your perfect offering / There is a crack, a crack in everything / That's how the light gets in” leaves nary a dry eye on the battlements.
Cohen is a gentleman of such affable poise, grace, and humour. He constantly thanks his musicians, and bows and doffs his fedora to them, and us. He seems, despite the fact that this tour was forced into being by financial necessity, genuinely grateful and humble to be here playing for us. As the sky opens and rain begins to lash the crowd, there’s a rousing version of ‘Closing Time’, Cohen wishes us well, hoping that we won’t catch a summer cold, and skips off the stage with a remarkable spring in his step for a man of his years. This night wasn’t supposed to happen. Fraudsters be praised that it did.
** Setlist – 16/07/08 – Edinburgh Castle**
‘Dance Me To The End Of Love’
‘The Future’
‘Ain't No Cure For Love’
‘Bird On The Wire ’
‘Everybody Knows’
‘In My Secret Life’
‘Who By Fire? ’
‘Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye’
‘Anthem’_
_‘Tower Of Song’
‘Suzanne’
‘Boogie Street’
‘Hallelujah’
‘Democracy’
‘I'm Your Man’
‘A Thousand Kisses Deep’ (recitation)
‘Take This Waltz’_
_ ‘So Long, Marianne’
‘First We Take Manhattan’
‘Sisters Of Mercy’
‘If It Be Your Will’
‘Closing Time’_
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but didn't the court rule in cohen's favour?-ergo his money, or a substantial amount of it may be returned?
If he doesn't want to tour, he shouldn't tour- it's not like he won't get royalties and whatnot from the records.....
Also, fair enough you have a manager? But surely you also have a bank account? And if the manager is fleecing off money you notice it...
Same set as the o2 last night
I have never seen so many people hanging on someone's every word as I did when he did A Thousand Kisses Deep
I think he won,
But can't get the money back because it's all been spent or something. The reason he didn't notice the money going missing was to do with his living in a buddhist monastery somewhere remote for 15 years.
Although i've only ever read that in newspapers (and the entertainment sections at that). So it could all be lies.
hmm-
i think he's claiming she took $28 million....
which would be pretty hard to spend (in the sense that without having assets to sell, such as property.
The point is If he was living as a monk he had no need for a manager- so they should have parted company beforehand surely? Or certainly he should have put the money in a bank...
i was under the impression that you had to give up worldly goods to become a buddhist monks- relinquish material wealth........perhaps this is where the money went.
It's not that im anti cohen- i just think pricing shows at £60-90 tickets in enermo-domes and horrible venues lacks respect for fans. If you told US audiences tickets were $120 for the cheap seats they would be up in arms (see the reaction to the price of tom waits tickets on the Anti message board, then remember that the Europe tour was about twice the cost of the US tour tickets)....
That was probably the highlight for me.
Which surprised me a bit as it's not one of my favourite songs on record.
He didn't actually become a buddhist!
He just lived like one. I read somewhere that he had about £500k in the bank (plus future royalties) which you'd think would be enough for a retirement fund.
I'd imagine if you're leonard cohen you may well need a manager to look after your financial assets if you're going to disappear for a while.
Isn't £60 - £90 about what artists like Tom Waits/Dylan/Springsteen charge generally? I guess it's some kind of supply/demand dynamic. Or maybe he just prefers his rich fans these days.
The supply and demand dynamic is one thing
but it does show total disregard for your fans, the people who put you where you are in the first place. Charging so much just because you now you will still sell tickets is a bit cold. I'm not saying they shouldn't make money but £70-90 is obscene. I can see definite tension ahead. Gig tickets are only going to get more expensive, not only because artists don't get the money from record sales they once did but because these artists see their tickets being sold for several times the face value on Ebay. Thus, expectedly, they figure they want in on some of this money. But this is going to clash with the world economic downturn we're currently in I think. Be interesting to see what happens.
I think he's actually charging between 45 - 75
...after a quick look on ticket master. Which I agree is obscene, but if people are willing to pay that to see a legend who probably won't tour again then that's their choice. They might think that paying a lot of money is fine for someone who's given them years of entertainment and the fans who put him there in the first place are probably all rich by now.
And anyway, it's not like he actually owes 'the fans' anything. Nobody's forcing them to go.
I know no one is forced to pay
and go. I wanted to see Leonard Cohen but couldn't afford it. But I still think that its taking advantage of a situation in a very cold, business-like way. You expect guys in suits to try and take you for everything they can get but not people like Tom Waits. There's nothing wrong with people wanting to make money but it's a little sad when it goes this far.
To be honest
I doubt that the artists in question have much power to charge what they want etc. Particularly if they are playing the kind of huge monstrosities that Cohen is doing on this tour. I would presume that those types of decisions are made by the venue themselves, his tour managers/label etc. That's not to say that he wouldn't have some kind of say over things, but really I think it would be pretty limited.
With regards to 'the fans' thing I really think that's a non-starter. It's not as if 'the fans' have elevated him to this position through sheer force of goodwill. The simple fact is that people like Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits are basically the creme de la creme of music and that is legitimately the kind of price that one should expect to pay.
Don't get me wrong
I enjoyed his set at Glastonbury. Quite a lot. But for every song where his voice held out, there was a song where he was distinctly - at times even painfully - offtune. I can appreciate why people are celebrating these gigs, but his voice has (understandably) deteriorated noticably.
Good words LT
You made LC sound like the Tom Jones for indie girls aged 62. hehe.
Well, creme de la creme is a subjective thing
if you were to base it on record sales, which you shouldn't, they're probably not. And it wouldn't hurt to take into account how much people actually earn. A litle reality wouldn't hurt. What people are paying for, in Tom Waits case, is the fact that he doesn't play very much. But that's his problem, not ours. In Leonard Cohen's case its because he doesn't play much but also because he got fleeced out of money. Again, not our problem. Of course they can charge what they want because they know people, despite perhaps not being happy, will still go because of their adoration.
for the record
I think the prices are probably too high - too high for me to want to go to the o2 even if it is Leonard Cohen - but that is the price you're going to have to pay to see someone of this stature. Dylan prices pretty much the same, wasn't the Radiohead gig at Victoria Park £40? I hate to use the term but that's the kind of 'market' we're talking about.
In an ideal world Leonard Cohen would be playing at the Old Blue Last every Friday night for £10 a ticket, but that's never going to happen.
Oh well
a quick bite at The Ivy, the Opera and then early to bed for me its seems.
radiohead for 40 quid at victoria park
is 20 quid less than leonard cohens cheap ticket- plus in that instance you an take into account the costs for stage etc- as it wasnt a dedicated venue.
then theres the whole other issue that the tickets cost £7.50 more just for the privelage of buying them from ticketmaster. No doubt if they are on sale at see that probably equals £10......for taking a phone call and clicking an email...........i imagine the the people in the call centre don't make that much per hour so someone is making a serious amount of cash
didnt he do a cameo
at the 100 club with one of his protoge's a few years back..think he did 1 song
Oh well!
I love this man´s music like I love the last four Radiohead albums or the late Talk Talk; I will hang on his lips in Germany. Some things never grow old!
My ticket was £50
So £70-90 isn't quite right. Mind you that is face value, I've not added on any service charges etc. Whatever it was brilliant. It'd cost about £20 to see Babyshambles now I expect and Cohen is more than two and a half times better than Babyshambles.
£70-90 was referring to Tom Waits
though to be more accurate, I should have said £75-95
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