Hey folks, I thought I would do my usual briefish concert report, but don’t be concerned if you’re looking for a more comprehensive and detailed report, as Dean (Adelaide) will give you this in due course for sure!
We’re so lucky to have Dean doing this, as it takes the reporting responsibility off the rest of us!
My report is a mixture of positives and negatives (unfortunately).
On the
positive side:
Setting: Hanging Rock was a superb location, with “the rock” an awe inspiring backdrop and guardian over proceedings.
Age spread: It was again affirming to see the broad age spread from teenagers right through to the (predominant) “baby boomer” set. There were also younger children there with their parents. I was wondering if the “family/children” factor might result in modified lyrics in Chelsea Hotel 2 (as it apparently has in the past), but it didn’t, so I guess it may just have facilitated delicate communications between some of the parents and their children!
Afternoon weather: This was superb, with warm but not too hot temperatures and a clear blue sky.
Sunset/Moonrise: The sunset behind “the rock” & stage superstructure was lovely to witness, as was the rising (almost full) moon, which Leonard also referred to, as Dean has already mentioned.
Rock lighting: Hanging Rock was lit up (in subdued way) throughout the evening with the colours varying throughout the night in cyclic fashion. This was a nice touch I thought.
Loftiest listener: It was pointed out to me & my binoculars confirmed that during the first (daylight) set, there was a person perched up on a rock at one of highest points on Hanging Rock.
They eventually came down, as I’m sure being stuck up there or descending from there would be more of an ordeal than a pleasure at night-time.
Leonard/band: Despite the (2nd set) cold, Leonard and the band were in great spirits and performed wholeheartedly, with Leonard’s beaming smiles being a real tonic for everyone!
Laura: In a queue for coffee (which I eventually abandoned) I struck up a conversation with a young woman named Laura, who coincidentally spent a year in Montreal recently, whilst studying at McGill University. More interestingly, whilst there, she had done a Buddhism course for several weeks and most happily discovered that the venue her Buddhist nun used for the classes was actually Leonard’s house!!
What a nice piece of double serendipity (for Laura there and for me hearing about this from her)
On the
negative side:
Traffic/parking: This was a real hassle, both the queuing to get in to the concert & the queuing to get out later that night. I also had prepaid for parking, but inadvertently ended up in an area where I didn’t need to pay, as it was not clear where I needed to enter & everyone coming from the same direction were directed without apparent choice anyway.
Cold night: Once the sun set, it turned into a very cold night for everyone, audience and performers. In fact I can’t think of any other concert anywhere where Leonard wore a scarf & the band had coats on – can anyone vouch for that? For me the cold actually took the edge out of my enjoyment of the night, but it did have a somewhat ironically amusing aspect, given Australia’s sunny hot summers’ reputation (or at least that perception in most overseas observers’ eyes)!
Sharon’s absence: As Dean has already mentioned, Sharon was absent and this was disappointing given the limitations it imposes.
Shorter duration: The whole concert was a bit shorter and I believe the third encore would have been dropped as Leonard and every one performing were understandably not going to push their endurance limits on such a relatively inhospitable cold night.
Alcohol cost: I guess many would be happy to pay whatever for wine, but I thought that having the cheapest bottle of wine at $28, was a bit much after paying so much for the concert anyway. One could not BYO – if so, I know I could have brought along just as enjoyable wine costing $10 - $12. Oh well, the money equation never seems to take a second place anywhere when it comes to the entrepreneurial music experience!
Crowd intolerance/conflict: Like 'kimmyop' has suggested, people weren’t able to freely express themselves by standing/dancing, as more serious concert-goers were shouting out for them to sit down. This sort of conflict and intolerance always disappoints me. My position is that I don’t need to see Leonard/band members for
every moment of the whole show, so having them obscured from time to time is not an issue for me. In fact (particularly in outdoor, festive, picnic circumstances like this) I get almost as much pleasure watching the audience enjoying Cohen as I do seeing the performances.
Cheers,
Andrew
What a shame there were so many panicking about the transport situation and opting to leave early. 
and only a month to Christmas hot weather.
