Leonard Cohen, Live In Calgary

Last night we went to a concert that I never thought I'd ever be able to see. Leonard Cohen is one my all-time favourite artists. Ever. I think it was meant to be, seeing as in all likelihood I heard him before I was born, and I do believe that my birth tape, the music my mum played while she was in labour, included songs by him. I was trying to find a video on Youtube to play to give a sense of who he is, but none of them really do him justice. So if you don't know who he is, I suggest you look him up. Maybe give a listen to "Famous Blue Raincoat" or "Tower of Song" or "Take this Waltz." Heck, it's hard to go wrong with any of his music. Cohen is in his early seventies now, and only went on tour because his manager swindled him out of his money a couple of years ago, and so Cohen had to come out of retirement. But you would never guess he was in his seventies. He was full of energy, his voice was clear, musical and powerful and the show was downright interesting. The artists he had in his band were all incredibly talented in their own rights and supported him well. He was quick to give them credit for their contributions and so was the crowd. He did THREE encore calls that added close to another hour to the show and made us all love him that much more. He sang all the old favourites. One of the female singers was Sharon Robinson, with whom he co-wrote the album Ten New Songs, and he sang some songs from that album, giving her opportunity to shine as well. The other two singers were the Webb Sisters from the United Kingdom. We're thinking we're going to have to buy an album of theirs--they have such gorgeous voices. The concert started at eight and we didn't get home til almost midnight. And then I was so wired that we had to read for a while so that I could fall asleep. It was fantastic; I'll never regret going.