Leonard Cohen Returns After 24 Years

November 15, 2008 by Andrew Watt
Filed under International Tours

The legendary Leonard Cohen will make his first Australian concert tour in almost a quarter of a century early in 2009. The tour will include a series of indoor arena concerts plus a day on the green winery shows.

Frontier Touring’s Michael Gudinski was rhapsodic about the great artists in the press release announcing the tour.

“The Leonard Cohen concert I saw last month was almost a religious experience. Fans were captivated the moment Leonard walked out onto the stage. His band and backing vocalists are first class, and the man himself can only be described as magical.

“It’s one of the few concerts that I’ve seen that has kept me in one spot from start to finish – not wanting to miss a moment of what ended up being more than three hours of musical genius.”

Keeping Michael in one spot for three hours is an achievement given his reputation for hyperactivity!

Leonard Cohen is a true music icon, the writer of such timeless classics as “Hallelujah”, “Suzanne”, “Bird On A Wire”, “Sisters Of Mercy”, “First We Take Manhattan”, “Everybody Knows”, and countless other universally loved songs.

A celebrated poet, author, master songsmith and hypnotic performer, Leonard Cohen has received rapturous reviews for his recent shows across the UK, Europe and Canada, his first concert performances anywhere since 1993.

“His first show on British soil in 15 years was immaculate, beautiful, exquisite … one of the giants of popular song, who had the audience in his grip for the best part of three hours.” THE DAILY TELEGRAPH [UK]

“The level of cultural excitement at Cohen’s three sold-out shows in Dublin bordered on mass hysteria … an event of biblical dimensions.” THE IRISH INDEPENDENT

“The acrid, dystopian humour … is a reminder that the only people who dub Cohen depressing are those that don’t get the jokes.” THE GUARDIAN [UK]

“It’s a show which, as you might hope, illustrates both the gravity of Cohen’s music and the great warmth of his wit. The poet-cum-20th century oracle steered the assembled throng through a sing-along of any of his hits that you could hope for.” THE INDEPENDENT [UK]

Leonard Cohen’s impact on modern popular music has been widespread and profound. Artists ranging from Bono to Nick Cave cite Cohen as a major influence on their own work. His songs have been covered by generations of artists from REM, Elton John, Jeff Buckley, Aaron Neville, Elton John, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and many, many more.

Even before shifting his focus from poetry and novels to music in the late-1960s, Leonard Cohen has been the subject of countless books and films, most recently in the feature documentary “Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man” by Australian film-maker Lian Lunson. The film included footage from the recent sold-out Cohen tribute concerts at the Sydney Opera House, which saw the likes of Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker, Rufus Wainwright and many other celebrated performers gather together to pay homage to Cohen and his extraordinary cannon of songs.

Earlier this year, when Cohen was inducted into the US Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, his old friend Lou Reed put it most succinctly: “We’re so lucky to be alive at the same time Leonard Cohen is.”

It is only apt that Australia’s own poet laureate, Paul Kelly, join Leonard Cohen on tour for the Australian dates. The eight-time ARIA Award winner and ARIA Hall of Fame inductee is renowned for his powerful lyrics and passionate performances. Paul will be releasing the follow-up to his greatest hits album, Songs From The South Volume 2, on November 8th along with a DVD collection of music videos he has made over the past 23 years.

Tickets on sale 9am Monday 10 November.

The Leonard Cohen Band:

Rafael Gayol – percussion
Roscoe Beck – musical director, bass, background vocals
Neil Larsen – keyboards
Javier Mas – bandurria, laud, archilaud and 12-string guitar
Bob Metzger – guitars, pedal steel, background vocals
Sharon Robinson – background vocals
Dino Soldo – saxophone, wind instruments, harmonica, keyboard and background vocals
The Webb Sisters – background vocal, harp & guitar