leonardcohenforum.com

Well that didn't work so I shall have to try again - sorry about that.
Honeyrose

Having another go: one at a time
- this is for all of you in Block A4 where it didn't rain so you can see what it was like for the rest of us.
Honeyrose

I must say that in the area where where myself and my friend were seated (Block A5 Row N Seats 94/5) everyone behaved remarkably well. The audience kept respectfully quiet with very little movement for most of the concert, which was quite amazing in the circumstances. Any singing along seemed to be reserved for the choruses of songs like "So Long Marianne" and "Democracy". Also there was hardly any distraction from the usual bozos who have to get their 90 seconds of wobbly footage for youtube. I think that people filling the aisles and standing up towards the end added atmosphere and was not unexpected considering many must have had a bad deal (I pity those seated at the back behind the mixing area). Also since it was cooler and most people's seats were no doubt soaking wet later in the show, a bit of movement was pretty much a necessity. My only complaint is that Leonard wasn't able to use any Moses like powers to cause the rainclouds to part.

All good things, John E

Here is a nice one of Leonard without his face obscured by the mike

Honeyrose

And here is another one of the audience
Honeyrose

And here is a lovely one from near the end of the set
Honeyrose

Finally here is Leonard taking a bow

Honeyrose

Hi
Despite the rain and the car park issue the concert was absolutely fantastic, enjoyed every minute of it.

I must have been sitting very close to some of you, was in A4 row Q, I do remember seeing some of you coming in a little late, what a shame to have missed some of Leonard, we missed Suzanne Vega (although we could hear her) as we were standing in the horrificly long queues for the loos & drinks, During Leonard's interval I went straight to queue for loo and he'd already started singing Towere of Song by the time I got back to my seat. All in all what an absolutely brilliant night, so many of you have already posted reviews so won't do the same, just want to say a big thank you to Leonard and all his wonderful musicians for another stunning evening, managed to see him four times last year and am off to Liverpool on Tuesday, (I'm so looking forward to it) and then Barcelona for his 75th birthday, yippee!! He seems to get better each time I see him, so Barcelona should be amazing. I think it must have been raining a bit!!, when we got home we were soaked to the skin, but it was worth it. Would just like to say brilliant evening, dreadful venue, will never go to another concert there, they just couldn't cope at all.

Agreed! and with John E.!
I loved this concert ("show") - in my opinion, it was glorious. There we were in the open air, in the rain and the wind (acknowledged by Leonard), in the darkness, hearing these most wonderful musicians. It was wonderful to see Leonard looking so happy (and still skipping!) - he obviously appreciates audience participation. I hope he knows that we loved singing the choruses with him - particularly Famous Blue Raincoat - as much as I hope he loved singing the whole songs for us.
if anyone has a dvd of this concert, please get it touch asap. [musically a pinnacle; visually (from backstage looking out across the musicians to the audience in the rain): elementally beautiful; the important things settled together and overcame the worldly gnats of carparks etc.] So glorious to experience this transcendence.
Thank you so much to the Unified Heart Touring Co; my heart and memory feel unified.

Who by Fire on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3UNttT6xd0

Once more, thanks to Leonard for a wonderful concert. The atmosphere in the second half was really great and the band as perfect as ever.

We seem to have had a slightly better experience of the venue than some, apart from the chaos at the end. But then, if you are among the first in you expect to be among the last out - you just don't expect it to take the best part of 2 hours! We arrived in time for the sound checks and got to the cafe inside MBW before the queues formed, so were able to buy a 'take-out' for the interval and avoid the queues then as well. We actually went back inside the building at the interval and sat in easy chairs to eat, then went up to the top floor to use the loos, where there were no queues. Even so, I would think at least twice before booking anything here again.

We really enjoyed Suzanne Vega, despite the persistent drizzle. I'm pretty sure I spotted Dino standing at the edge of the stage for part of the time, and obviously enjoying it too. It was a privilege to hear Leonard's sound check, though like others we thought at first they were just playing tapes. We didn't have much trouble with people moving around during the concert either, except for one couple who arrived soon after the start of the second half clutching something unappetising from one of the onsite food vendors. But they had been caught in traffic and were not to blame at all. If anything, I think the rain added to the atmosphere, even towards the end, when it became something more than drizzle (the word downpour springs most readyly to mind). The fact that Leonard and most of the band were wearing scarves during the second half somehow bound us all together, and even more so when Leonard took out his handkerchief to wipe spots of rain off Xavier's instrument (not sure exactly which one he was playing at that time). I also noticed on the big screen at one point that Neil Larsen was playing with waterproof covers over the keys, obviously doing the whole thing by touch.

I also enjoyed meeting up with various people around the site, and look forward to seeing some of you again in Wales in September.

What an amazing show! Got absolutely drenched, but it was worth it Sitting in Block A5 row N, along with several other forum members by the look of it (I'm a youngish girl in a light blue rain hoodie, if anyone remembers). I wasn't that familiar with Suzanne Vega, but enjoyed her set, even though it drizzled throughout. It looked like the heavens would hold out for Leonard's set at first, though sadly the rain descended at the end. By then there seemed to be some sort of crowd euphoria and I didn't really notice it, even though water was flying off my hands as I was clapping madly

Leonard and the band seemed to be really enjoying the show, even though they had to wrap up warm for the second half (typical English summer!). I loved how the last few numbers turned into a singalong, and I thought that Leonard put some extra oomph into 'And I just climbed that whole damn mountainside / to wash my eyelids in the rain'! We all certainly got the chance to do that! It was good to hear Heart With No Companion, but I was sorry that A Thousand Kisses Deep had been dropped.

Out of the four concerts of the tour that I've seen, this and the first one at the 02 were the best, I'll remember this one for ever, I'm stil on a slight high Minor disappointments - my programmes got soaked through, people were runnning up and down the aisles throughout, and my sister and I lost our car in the carpark afterwards and were tramping around in the driving rain for 40 minutes to find it! But it can't detract from the glorious show - sadly it's probably the last time I'll see Leonard perform live, and I'm glad I went out on such a high.

Wonderful evening - the rain and (thanks to Jarrko) being so close to the stage really made it. I felt as though if Leonard had asked us we'd all have marched straight off to take Berlin there and then, wet as we were! Here are some pictures:

Paula wrote:Who by Fire on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3UNttT6xd0

Thanks honeyrose and aplane - and everyone else - for the pictures. And Paula for this YouTube link of "Who By Fire." I was just coming over here to post it.

The video on YouTube was uploaded by "MrTobyporter" - a great capture from the "big screen."

Javier Mas's guitar solos are simply stunning. Leonard is watching intently and subtly moving his head and at approximately 0:58 you can see him say a few words. A big smile from Leonard at the end of Javier's opening solo, and Roscoe Beck raises his hand to his heart. And speaking of Rosco Beck, the video captures his terrific bass solo at the end of the song. But also captured are shared looks between Leonard and Roscoe I believe about the humor of this bass solo.