Episode Information
Leonard Cohen is a brilliant poet and songwriter. Second, Cohen may be coming to a town near you — details are in this recent blog post. If you have a chance to see him live, don't pass it up.–Sherry Kishman (wonkamom)
First, this concert is historic and a knockout.
At 74, Cohen is no spring chicken. That said, his voice was in fine form and his stage presence is so graceful and passionate that you may rethink all those other great shows you've seen by younger artists.
This concert, from the gorgeous Beacon Theatre in Manhattan, finds Cohen revisiting a body of work that's more than 40 years deep and full of songs that have inspired every generation of songwriters since: "Dance Me to the End of Love," "Bird on a Wire," "Chelsea Hotel," "Sisters of Mercy," "Suzanne," "Hallelujah," "I'm Your Man," "Famous Blue Raincoat."
Cohen performs these songs with a talented band of musicians, including his collaborator and singer Sharon Robinson, as well as his other backup vocalists in The Webb Sisters. Here's the lineup:
Roscoe Beck
Rafael Bernardo Gayol
Neil Larsen
Dino Soldo
Bob Metzger
Javier Mas
Of these musicians, Mas is the one that Leonard Cohen would often get down on one knee and serenade — when he's not stopping to listen. Mas' performance on a variety of stringed instruments gave Cohen's sound a European flavor, and reminded me at times of a sound I heard in Portugal, called Fado. Fado is a bittersweet style music filled with longing and yearning. I heard it in Leonard Cohen's music while watching him perform at the Beacon Theatre, and it was wonderful to know that, at 74, he's still injecting new life into his old classics.
Special thanks to MSG Entertainment and the Beacon Theatre.
Set List
· "Dance Me to the End of Love"
· "The Future"
· "Chelsea Hotel"
· "Tower of Song"
· "Suzanne"
· "The Partisan"
· "Hallelujah"
· "Recitation With N.L."
· "Take This Waltz"
· "So Long Marianne"
· "First We Take Manhattan"
· "Democracy"
Comments from the NPR Community
wow. plug in the earphones and you're there. beautiful. thank you.
A reborn star, Leonard Cohen, his voice better than ever, his poetry so deep as "thousand kisses deep". I have no words, to describe what is going through my veins as I listen to his voice, music and the magical lyrics. I am totally captivated...
