Leonard Cohen, Democracy - my love letter to the U.S.A, Glasgow, Clyde Auditorium, 5 November2008

This is my recording of the big guy the day after Barack Obama was voted in as the New President of the USA

First, I want to say something about Democracy. At the end of Hallelujah, while one of the (surprisingly few) standing ovations was calming itself, Leonard walked to the front of the stage, fedora in his hand, and recited (with no background music) the following:

"I'm sentimental if you know what I mean
I love the country but I can't stand the scene.
And I'm neither left or right
I'm just staying home tonight,
getting lost in that hopeless little screen.
But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags
that Time cannot decay,
I'm junk but I'm still holding up
this little wild bouquet:

This is my love letter to the U.S.A."

And then there followed the most mesmerisingly joyous rendition of Democracy that anyone is likely ever to hear.

Sharon and Roscoe, in particular, could just not stop smiling (or so it seemed to me).

Second, some other smallish remarks, before a more general reflection. (1) Leonard used a black guitar again - looked like the same model as in the summer tour (but I may be wrong about that). (2) There was a lovely localised variant of the chatter at the end of Tower of Song: as he was encouraging the angels to carry on singing him (to sleep) he said, among other things, "... let Guy Fawkes burn ...". Not much, perhaps, but I thought it was a touching letting-the-audience-know moment that he knew precisely where and when he was tonight. (3) Sisters of Mercy was re-included (but no Avalanche or Heart with no Companion or Chelsea Hotel tonight) but formed part of the first set, not part of the encores. (Once I'm done with this post I'll post the full setlist on the relevant page, unless anyone else beats me to it.) I thought it worked brilliantly in the first set, coming after Who by Fire? and before That's no way to say Goodbye and Anthem. It made the last sequence of the first set incredibly intense. For me it was one of the highlights of the night. (4) Hallelujah was quite differently approached from the way it was sung earlier in the year. Then it was intense beyond belief with, as many have remarked, Leonard appearing to want to reclaim the song from Buckley et al et al. Now he's achieved this, he steps back from the intensity of the performance and sings the chorus much more softly. The new softness is echoed in Neil Larsson's now exquisite Hammond playing. There is still great energy in the song, but the crescendo is in the verse and diminishes once you get to the chorus. I could not believe how effective it was this way round. There is subtlety (sp?) and angst in the song again, as well is anger. Tonight, it was a moment of sheer genius.

Overall, it was of course another fabulous evening. It was the most polished of the four concerts I've attended. Leonard's voice was strong and true, as in Edinburgh in July, and (as at Edinburgh) considerably stronger than it had been at the beginning of the tour. The man can really sing at the moment, you know. Band-wise, there were all sorts of subtle changes of tone, emphasis, accompaniment, etc, which in every instance added to the performance without being intrusive. Javier Mas has come more out of his shell, and shines and shines and shines. In Who by Fire?, Gypsy's Wife, The Partisan and so many more he is outstanding, and central. Dino Soldo is more subtle and, as a result, more effective. I think the same is true of Neil Larson. Bob Metzger has known how to pull this off since day one, it seems to me. (I like the line that someone offered in a review of a concert a couple of weeks ago that Bob Metzger seems to play fewer notes every time one sees him.) Roscoe Beck and the "prince of precision" go from strength to strength. Both were excellent all night. The angels have been flawless in each of the concerts I've seen and were again tonight. The value they add to these concerts is immense and it was a real privilege to sit just in front of them, watching them excel in their work, this evening. So, this is a band that is absolutely in the groove. And boy do they look like they're enjoying themselves. It must be fun to be this damn good.

You may say that there is always something to complain about. For me, it's become the opening half-dozen songs. These have not changed (have they?) since the tour opened in Canada in May, and with Leonard now not chatting to the audience between songs until the very end of the first set, the first half hour has become rather formulaic. I'm sure that this is a problem caused only by the luxury of being able to go to many concerts on the tour. And perhaps it is not a problem at all given the quality of the material and the delivery (among these songs are Dance me..., Bird on the Wire and Everybody Knows, after all). And In my Secret Life has developed since the summer. It's now slower, I think, and Sharon takes a more prominent role. So shut up commonweal and stop trying to pick holes in what is a near perfect show.

One final point to note, people. The show was filmed. There were three cameras at the front of the audience, at least one (controlled remotely) on the stage, and at least one further back in the auditorium. Methinks DVD, maybe...?

Review of Gig by commonweal

Setlist

First set:

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?
Sisters of mercy
That's no way to say goodbye
Anthem

Second set:

Tower of song
Suzanne
The gypsy's wife
The partisan
Boogie street
Hallelujah
Democracy (described by Leonard as "my love letter to the U.S.A.")
I'm your man
Take this waltz

Encores:

So long, Marianne
First we take Manhattan
Famous blue raincoat
If it be your will
Closing time
I tried to leave you

(End: no Whither thou goest)

Rig: Core sound Binaural microphones onto Sony MZ-N707, CDwave, Traders Little helper

Sound Quality is excellent. check out the samples