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Behold the Poet Laureate of Pessimism,...

  • Aug. 20th, 2009 at 12:08 PM
cohenlookie

... bow to the Godfather of Gloom. Oh, so unhappy, oh so melancholy, never good for a laugh...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fauxmantic/3179915983/

cohenalways

Another quick review of a Cohen concert, so I will not forget the differing details ;)
 

Again it must be said: The concert at Colmar, France, was a great experience and another wonderful and inspired performance by Mr. Cohen. Yet, the fact that the night before he had given a concert in Spain, seemed to have taken its toll. At times Leonard looked rather tired, although he still amused himself greatly, dancing, kneeling, skipping and laughing as usual. But he did not really address the audience with his well-known speeches at all. No introduction to any of the songs, not even his joking about the synthesizer before Tower of Song (only his muttered “you are very kind”), not even his blessings in the end. Instead, we got a “thank you friends” a few times, a compliment on our singing Hallelujah (“you sing so sweet”) and instead of the blessings during "Whither Thou Goest" he thanked us for a great evening and declared his love to us in French. It seemed he did not want to prolong the concert with his speeches any more than necessary (due to a lack of sleep?).

Still, it was a great evening indeed. The soundcheck was quite late – at around six p.m., so we could hear it from outside the venue while queuing, which was somewhat surreal. Someone from the local press interviewed us and took photos. Probably we are now to be seen in a tiny little newspaper which we cannot read because of our rudimentary French. ;)
(UPDATE: I posted the article in a private entry.)

My friend and I (after galloping past many others) managed to get a standing place first row centre – right in front of Leonard’s microphone, so that we could follow every expression. And, oh, Leonard sang so sweet too ;)

Obviously he had underestimated the heat of the venue, as he sang the first set in his suit. Young people had collapsed outside in the queue – that is how hot it was, more than 30 degrees Celsius. I have never seen Leonard sweat like that before (*cough*), but fortunately he changed into his waistcoat for the second part of the concert.

It was a great audience there by the way. Lots of clapping and singing in the appropriate places.

Much fun was caused by some presents catapulted onto the stage: My friend was planning to throw a toy stethoscope during “I’m Your Man” but funnily somebody else had had a similar idea. So, what happened was that, as Leonard was singing “if you want a boxer,” somebody threw boxing gloves, which Leonard picked up from the stage amused. He hung them over his shoulder and posed with them quite proudly. Then, only two lines later “and if you want a doctor” my friend threw her stethoscope and more laughter from the audience was heard when they saw what that was. It had brushed against Leonard’s leg and he picked it up, the boxing gloves still over his shoulder, and put it towards his ears, playing around with it, smiling. Then someone used the hilarity of the situation to throw a toy monkey, which Leonard caught without effort, though he was already hung with the gloves and stethoscope like a Christmas tree. Of course, he put everything down a little later but he was still laughing. I guess that was something out of the norm for him too. I hope there will be a video or some photos of it. I would of course like to post something like that later.

So, you see, a great concert in spite of Leonard’s not being in a chatty mood but rather communicating with gestures and looks. I am grateful for this third concert I was able to watch and of course, I am aware that this was the last for me during this World Tour. And of course I do consider myself blessed without an official blessing speech ;)

Looking forward to your album, Leonard. Thank you for travelling to all of us, going through those “geographical inconveniences” too, without complaint and even enjoying it. May you receive more love and happiness during this “never ending” tour and beyond and may the Lord protect you on your path. Always. :)

 

 

P.S.: More about the concert can be found at 1heckofaguy.com as usual :)

P.P.S.: Leonard sang "Lover, Lover, Lover" and it was awesome!

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Happy Easter and Pessach to everyone!

  • Apr. 13th, 2009 at 10:25 AM
obygrin

May you all enjoy the celebrations of new life and liberation!

 

Speaking of enjoyment: don't miss the yet unreleased Cohen song on youtube "Lullaby," which was recorded in great quality at the concert in Texas :) Thank you musicloveraustria2!


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Yay! :)

  • Mar. 19th, 2009 at 7:10 PM
cohenwizard


And besides, some great excerpts from the lost Bird on a Wire documentary have been uploaded at youtube by messalina79. Leonard at his best (or worst if you will). Some moving insights, anyway.

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Well, that's surprisingly true...

  • Mar. 14th, 2009 at 1:17 PM
cohenlookie
You Are An INFJ
The Protector

You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity.
Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is.
You are an excellent listener with almost infinite patience.
You have complex feelings, and you take great care to express them.

In love, you see relationships as an opportunity to connect and grow.
You enjoy relationships when they are improving and changing. You can't stand stagnation.

At work, you stay motivated and happy... as long as you are working toward a dream you support.
You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher.

How you see yourself: Hardworking, ethical, and helpful

When other people don't get you, they see you as: Manipulative, weak, and unstable
In contrast to [info]me_pirateship 's result, mine seems to have got me - although I wouldn't see myself as too hardworking ;) Sorry guys that I can be so manipulative and unpredictable at times. I'm working on it.

Secret Identity Revealed

  • Mar. 1st, 2009 at 4:39 PM
wtf

Stolen from [info]catsplay ...

So you finally know who hides behind the pseudonym of Puddingdale:

 

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Scary???

  • Jan. 17th, 2009 at 11:08 PM
remy

Hahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!  (can you guess the parents?)
Create Your OwnMake a Routan Baby


I think that impossible child turned out rather cute ;) (compared to what happened when I tried other parents...)

Have a fun weekend!

(posting inspired by 1heckofaguy.com)

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Highly recommended Cohen links ...

  • Jan. 6th, 2009 at 12:03 PM
cohenwizard

... for those hungry for the unusual but not yet  lucky enough in finding it.

Most of you will know the humourous and informative site 1heckofaguy.com. (Thanks, thanks!!!) Here interesting tidbits are posted frequently. Quite enlightening.
This site again leads you to leonardcohensearch.com/ , an engine that seems to be able to find anything you desire *lol* At least I found an excellent link there www.twoshakesofalambstail.com/storeroom/index.html
That may not look very appealing but look twice: you can quickly download Leonard Cohen songs that are not available anywhere else, that are extremely rare and hard to come by because most of them were only performed at live concerts and thus are practically non-existent. Of course, most are low quality but still worth the fuss: You get very funny/confusing interaction with the audience, Cohen singing not only English but German and Yiddish too and also improvising silly lyrics at random and obviously having a blast. Continous incoherent giggling by the audience and the background singers (!) included. Go ahead and join in the fun!
It sure helped me get over the fact that [info]me_pirateship</lj> had returned home and left me and the cat of cats behind in our secret life ;) Thanks again for a fun visit, friend :x

And thank you to all the Cohen fans out there who are ready to share their treasures so generously.

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Merry Christmas!!

  • Dec. 24th, 2008 at 12:14 PM
obygrin

My gentle and ever sinful flock! In spite of your refusal to send me any money for those in need *cough*, I will nonetheless wish you a very peaceful and happy christmas. May the New Year be filled with love, friendship and laughter. And may your jobs not be too stressful but rather satisfying - as is mine as your parish banker ... erm... priest.

Strongly recommended as uplifting holiday read:



Enjoy yourselves, everyone! And be kind to each other!

Results of the Poetry Challenge

  • Nov. 8th, 2008 at 3:42 PM
cohengenius
Remember? I gave you the first stanza of a poem and asked you to find a title and compose a second stanza.
Well, all right, I was not very lucky in finding participants here ;) but I will still keep my word and post the original poem along with the results. They are surely worth it! Thanks, [info]elle_icit</lj> !!! Your throne still has not been broken *g*

Pure genius behind the cut... :) )


You guys can still participate, you know :) I will add your poems in no time for sure. Pleeeeeeeease! :) This is so very interesting...

UPDATE: Thanks for your version [info]me_pirateship !!

Vids taken yesterday in Frankfurt :)

  • Oct. 30th, 2008 at 10:58 PM
stetsonfrog
Here are videos of the autograph giving (First We Take Manhattan) and the "Volkswagen" joke (Whither thou goest):







Two dimensional proof *lol*

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Back with my teacher :)

  • Oct. 30th, 2008 at 2:51 PM
cohenalways

Right, so yesterday was my second LC concert and although there cannot much else be said after Lörrach, I still want to write a short review in order to remember.
The concert was just as brilliant as last time. Lenny's voice hasn't suffered from the many concerts in between at all - it was amazing!!! He even seemed younger than in Lörrach, jumping and skipping even more and seeming more at ease with what he did. Maybe the World Tour is indeed doing him good with all the love he must receive.
Yet, during the first part of the concert, LC seemed less chatty than in Lörrach - but then, so was the audience. This time he did not introduce the band members after each solo performance - maybe he has taken the criticism to heart by now. He was smiling but did not seem as happy as in Lörrach. (Of course, that performance will always remain extra special - also because of the famous sound check for sure.)
Anyway, after the break, Lenny seemed to have decided to have fun again. He joked and interacted with the audience more. Everything back to: "Laughing Lenny and  his admirers." Well, even critics write that Lenny and the audience were reserved in the beginning.
The Webb sisters did their acrobatics this time (which they hadn't done in Lörrach) and which was received by applause. We didn't get the meaning of life from the Master this time though (dadoodumdum) - instead he expressed his admiration for the singing ladies. Well, good he changes his words from time to time. However, we got he Prozac speech *lol*  And in the end he didn't only warn us not to catch a cold but also to be "as lucky as Volkswagen" ;) *cough*
No roses for Len here but some mistery envelope and he gave an autograph during a musical interlude - a friendliness which forced him to crawl along the edge of the stage. You had to love him for it. Henning at leonardcohenfiles.com got a better view and reports it like this: "Leonard got a big extra applause when a blind man with his stick moved towards the tight standing crowd at the end and handed Leonard a CD Cover to sign. First we take Manhatten had already started, Leonard took the sleeve from the man, layed it down to his feet, sang the first lines of the song and when the ladies sang their part, he kneeled down, signed the cover and handed it back to the man, who was waiting patiently." Couldn't see the man butI think it was rather a ticket than a sleeve - not that this would be of any importance *lol*.
Anyway, even though the audience was relatively silent (even during "So Long Marianne" it seemed to me), they still showed their affection, sighing and applauding in the right places ;) Some ladies behind us even discussed the beauty of his hair *rofl*
All in all, it was grand again and my spriritual batteries have been recharged. *dorky smile*



Leonard Cohen in Frankfurt (source: Frankfurter Neue Presse)

P.S.: LC didn't sing "Chelsea Hotel No. 2" or "Avalanche" that night.

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Barenaked Ladies - Children's Songs

  • Oct. 28th, 2008 at 4:51 PM
cohenlookie

Here's a good one from the latest BL album. They decided to make one with children's songs - kind of unusual most of them of course.
Hope you enjoy this cute one as much as I do :)

By the way, tomorrow I will attend my second Leonard Cohen concert. You can imagine I am looking forward to that.

Ah, and I am still hopeful that some more participants for the poetry challenge will turn up (see previous entry). This is why I haven't posted the results yet. Come on, everybody, get kissed by your muses! ;)

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Poetry Challenge

  • Oct. 19th, 2008 at 5:46 PM
wtf

You guys are so very creative. Fact.
I would love to experience more of that instead of flooding you with my half-hearted compositions.
Therefore, I come up with this challenge *drumroll*
I will present you with the first stanza of a poem that some of you will probably know - but don't cheat! It is absolutely illegal to even glance at the original! ;)
I challenge you to find a good title for the poem, whose topic will surely inspire you *cough*, and  to write a second stanza. Of course you can write a third, a fourth or even more if you feel like it, but that is up to you and your muse ;) Surely you will come up with something that is at least as good as the original, which will be presented to you another day.

Click for first stanza... )

Now I can only hope that SOMEONE will take the challenge. The more the merrier. Pleeeeeeeeeease ;)
 
May my amused smile and admiration be your reward.

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obygrin

My last post made it clear to me that there are quite some misconceptions about my faith and what it means for my way of life or opinions. I know that Roman Catholicism has an aura of the strict, unrelenting control mechanism around it. The "unannointed" ;) may even think we run around scourging ourselves for every sinful thought. Or at least that we should do so as to avoid eternal purgatory. Well, you're wrong! In fact we're quite a happy lot ;)

Some common errors about Catholicism )
I am sure there are more questions or even prejudice about Catholicism. Maybe even more now than  before I posted this. And probably not everything is answered by my first statement.
Feel free to ask. Or to ask about other faiths. I am an R.E. teacher. It's my job to answer. Every day. :)



The Controversial Survey

  • Oct. 7th, 2008 at 10:58 PM
bite
Snatched from [info]uhsir 

[01] Do you have the guts to answer these questions and re-post as The Controversial Survey?
Yup. Doesn’t seem too revealing to me ;)

Presumably thought provoking survey... )

Flying high x-)

  • Aug. 3rd, 2008 at 9:51 PM
cohengenius
I only just realized that there are several videos that were taken during the soundcheck and the concert at Lörrach up on youtube by now. Thus my brain thinks I am back on that market place, i.e. fan heaven. So, I am ridiculously happy in spite of the undeniable fact that I will be back at work tomorrow (where our unorganized bosses will make my job almost impossible). Who cares? Oh happy day! *babbles incoherently*

The person who filmed this must have stood very close to me:



If you are really interested, check out the videos of the soundcheck (the first four videos daddo2008 posted), because that was something different from the norm. :) 

Back to school!

  • Aug. 1st, 2008 at 9:14 PM
bite
First conference today - back in the hell house. No timetables - we had to work something out for next week ourselves again. After that I went to my classroom, carrying and pushing tables and chairs to make it presentable. Man, that furniture was dirty - but I absolutely refused to clean it. They actually expected us to bring a bucket and cloth from home as I was told later. HA! Not my job! Bad enough I played the muscle like that in the heat. Well, on Monday I will hopefully be able to do something that resembles teaching a little more ;)





When, oh when will I finally find the time to start my career in Hollywood? ;)