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The Leonard Cohen 2009 Austin Concert
I thought the final Heck Of A Guy entry about the Leonard Cohen Austin Concert had been posted – then I found these dramatic photos at Laura Lea Nalle.1 As a bonus, the images are accompanied by a review of the performance that is striking both for the quality of its assessments and the thoroughness of its coverage which includes a plethora of direct quotes and precise descriptions.
This presentation of the Austin concert was, in fact, so striking that I felt compelled to contact Ms Nalle, who has graciously allowed Heck Of A Guy to publish some of her photos and excerpts from her review.
Photos and excerpted text by Laura Lea Nalle. More pictures of the concert and the complete review can be found at the link.
Nalle On Soldo
I was especially interested in these comments about Dino Soldo, whose solo efforts were recently discussed at Leonard Cohen – A Thousand Kisses Deep In The Heart Of Texas:
… there are two particularly exceptional highlights – Spanish guitar virtuoso Javier Mas and the young master of multiple brass and woodwind instruments Dino Soldo. Mas is undeniably sophisticated and inspired in his instrumentation, with his exotic rhythms and sounds of traditional Spanish string instruments weaving seamlessly throughout Cohen’s compositions with a rare and awe inspiring sensibility. Soldo’s range in terms of his apparent musical and spiritual depth and his mastery of multiple instruments is astonishing; his presence on stage outshines even the brightest of his already brilliant peers; and his saxophone solos are an occasion to lose yourself, just so he can lead you back again.
… Soldo opens “No Cure For Love” with a beautiful tenor sax solo. He is an electrifying talent, effortlessly switching from tenor saxophone to an electric wind instrument, to chromatic harmonica, to keyboards and backup vocals, to bassoon and bass clarinet, all while dancing and moving to the music with a look of divine possession on his face.
The Healing
After intermission, Cohen skips back onto the stage to take his place behind his keyboard for “Tower of Song,” accompanied only by a sampler, the Webb sisters and Sharon Robinson on vocals, and Larsen on the B-3. With the push of a button, Cohen starts the song and then plays a charmingly clunky keyboard solo. The crowd cheers wildly, to which he replies, “You are very kind.” Cohen pleads to the women to keep going with their angelic “doo dum dum dum da doo dum dum’s.” “Don’t stop,” he says, “Oh please, don’t stop, I’m not ready to go on to the next thing. [crowd laughs] Ahhh sing me down to sleep angels, sing me through the bitter morning. I am gathering myself, we’re all gathering ourselves, we are all healing ourselves, it’s almost done,” to which the ladies kindly oblige until Cohen proclaims, “We are healed, thank you.”
“Lullaby” – A Unreleased Leonard Cohen Song
While no video or audio recording of the recently added “Lullaby” has been found, Ms Nalle’s review provides a thorough and evocative description:
Then we hear the beginnings of a very special debut of a new unreleased song, “Lullaby” which is a down tempo tune with a triplet feel that weaves an exquisite dance of slide guitar, harmonica, and B-3 while Cohen croons, “When it’s much too late, and we’ve taken our stand, when they call out your name, we’ll go hand in hand. If your heart is torn, who can wonder why? If the night is long, here is my lullaby, here’s my lullaby.”
Thank You So Much Friends
And, no one offers a classier benediction than Leonard Cohen, quoted here by Ms Nalle:
“I don’t know when we’ll meet again. Until then, take care of yourselves. May you fall on the side of luck, may you be surrounded by friends and family, and if none of these is yours, may the blessings find you in your solitude. Thank you so much friends, goodnight, take care.”
- In adherence to the Great minds – Same direction bromide, a comment from Marie, the curator of the outstanding Speaking Cohen, recommended the “great review of the Austin concert and a really lovely site” at Laura Lea Nalle in a comment that arrived in my inbox only minutes after I had received permission from Ms Nalle to present her photos and review here and at LeonardCohenSearch. [↩]
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