On Wednesday, April 1, Leonard Cohen kicked off his first US tour in fifteen years at the Long Center here in Austin TX. Originally booked for a one night stand, Cohen added a second show due to the overwhelming demand after the first show sold out in minutes. The second show also sold out immediately after going on sale. The cheap seats, at $85 were gone in minutes. I paid $175 for a midlevel seat. VIP tickets were over $500. I did get a very good seat, towards the rear of the orchestra section, dead center. I could actually see the stage. The crowd was mostly geezeriffic, with a few hipsters in the mix. Our man was greeted by the first of multiple standing ovations. Cohen was spry and in good spirits, joking, skipping about and busting out some dance moves. On hand were trusty sidekicks Sharon Robinson and the Webb Sisters, who all sing like angels. The setlist was mostly later material, perhaps because the intimate early songs are at a disadvantage in such a large venue. The set list is below, pretty much in order. Cohen may look old and frail, but he is in great voice and he belted it out with great power. It takes a live setting to realize how many of Cohen’s songs are gospel songs. Although he took care to hit most of the career spanning highlights, it was songs from Various Positions, I’m Your Man and The Future that were the hits of the evening.
As I may have mentioned in earlier posts, the motivation behind this comeback was not purely altruisitic. If Cohen had not lost a large portion of his fortune on bad investements, he would probably have been content to continue pursuing nirvana. However, if he felt in any way bitter about having to go schlepping around the world at 74, the outpouring of affection from his audiences must surely ease the sting. The full house audience reacted ecstatically to every song and poem, leaping up for multiple encores. It seems that while old favorites like Suzanne were warmly welcomed, the greatest enthusiasm was for politically relevant songs like Democracy, Everybody Knows and The Future. I’m sure that throughout his tour, Leonard Cohen will be greeted with similar reverence and love.
I’m really glad I live in Austin, where everyone who’s anyone comes to play. I’ve seen a lot of my heroes play, but I was not expecting to have the chance to see Leonard Cohen. It was a once-in-a-lifetime event. I doubt that Cohen has very many more world tours left in him, so anyone debating cost vs. payoff needs to just spring for it – it’s massively worth it. No one can accuse Cohen of being lazy or resting on his laurels or not being what he used to be. He put on a hell of a show, and he is absolutely every bit of the legendary figure.
Dance Me To The End of Love
The Future
Aint No Cure For Love
Bird on the Wire
Everybody Knows
In My Secret Life
Who By Fire
Chelsea Hotel
Hey That’s No Way
Anthem
Tower of Song
Suzanne
The Gypsy’s Wife
The Partisan
Boogie Street
Hallelujah
I’m Your Man
Poem
Take This Waltz
So Long Marianne
First We Take Manhattan
Famous Blue Raincoat
If It Be Your Will
Democracy
Closing Time
I Tried To Leave You
Avalanche is one song that unfortunately did not make the setlist. In fact only one song from Songs Of Love and Hate was dusted off (Famous Blue Raincoat) and none from Death of a Ladies’ Man were performed. A few favorites had to be left out, because to perform all the best of the best would simply take all night.
One teeny tiny criticism – I know Len needs money, but is it really necessary to charge $20 for a programme?
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