Last night I saw the best concert of my life. At 46 I have been fortunate to see some legendary performers over the years including Elvis, Dylan, Cash and recently Joan Baez. Nobody I have seen before can touch Mr. Cohen's performance last night and his band was amazing. Sharon Robinson & The Web Sisters did a fantastic job on vocals. Javier Mas (bandurria, laud, archilaud, 12 string acoustic guitar) was worth the price of admission alone.
I could go on and on about what a great poet Leonard is or talk about how he sang all of my favorites, and yet in thinking about the concert I keep coming back to the man himself and his stage presence. Mr. Cohen is such a gentleman. As much as I enjoyed hearing him sing I also enjoyed watching him not sing .... yes, watching him take his hat off and hold it closely to his heart as he listened to his fellow band members perform their solos. His respect for them was so powerful. We were fortunate to have 7th row seats and so I found myself wrapped up in the tiny understated movements of his body as he sang. During the evening Mr. Cohen alternated between tiny graceful side to side movements of his feet to dropping to his knees in an almost prayer like fashion to deliver his song to us. When called back on stage for numerous encores, 74 year old Cohen literally skipped on and off the stage with the lightness of being that is normally only seen in children and the mentally deranged. I think he was having a very good time.
Leonard is leaving Dallas to play at the Dodge Theater in Phoenix next. Check out his tour dates on his website.
In 2008 Cohen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and it was also the year that brought him back to the stage, performing in front of audiences in Canada for the first time in 15 years. Don't miss this legendary performer if he comes your way.
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