Plans For Parking Meters
These eight videos, uploaded to YouTube by kaarekjohnsen, are interviews interspersed with performances from Cohen’s concert in Oslo Konserthus, Norway, which were first broadcast on Norwegian TV in May 1988.
The quality of the performances, the content of the interviews (which includes Cohen’s prose, poetry, and art as well as his music), the interviewer’s (Vera Kvaal) skills, and the video and audio recordings are uniformly excellent. The only obvious negative is the choice to sometimes interrupt the songs with interviews.
Topics include Cohen’s ties to Montreal, Israeli-Palestinian politics, Cohen’s self-view as a songwriter Vs a poet, his greater popularity in Europe than in the US, and his plans to install new parking meters after he takes Manhattan and Berlin.
Many fans will immediately recognize backup singers, Julie Christensen & Perla Batall. On guitar is Bob Metzger, who has also served in Cohen’s current World Tour band. The other band members are John Bilezikjian (oud & mandolin), Bob Furgo (keyboard & violin), Tom McMorran (keyboard), Stephen Zirkel (bass, keyboard & trumpet), (vocals), and Steve Meador (drums).
Wow, thanks so much for this! To both you and Kaarekjohnsen for an amazing piece of video. You made it possible to watch it all the way through almost seamlessly. What a gorgeous performance of Joan of Arc. And I loved Bob Metzger’s solo in Hallelujah. And …. so much wonderful stuff here.
Sue