Leonard Cohen – Helsinki 2010. Photo by Maarten Massa
The Best Of The 2008-2010 Leonard Cohen World Tour
It’s been 18 months since Leonard Cohen last performed in concert, and it’s less than six weeks until the 2012 Leonard Cohen Old Ideas World Tour begins – the perfect time to feast on the best performances of the 2008-2010 Leonard Cohen World Tour.
The Helsinki Photos
Leonard Cohen – Helsinki 2010
Maarten Massa’s photos of Leonard Cohen and, especially, the band members and backup singers from the Helsinki concert are among the best taken during the entire 2008-2010 tour. While he has graciously allowed these to be posted at Heck Of A Guy, many other shots he took at the Helsinki show can be found at Leonard Cohen in Helsinki – Aug 10 2010: Part 1 and Part 2. Click on images to enlarge.
Javier Mas
Sharon Robinson
Roscoe Beck
Neil Larsen
Dino Soldo
Rafael Gayol
Bob Metzger
Hattie Webb
Charley Webb
Leonard Cohen – I Tried To Leave You, Thank You To Jarkko
Helsinki – August 10, 2010
That the final song of the August 10, 2010 Leonard Cohen Helsinki Concert was “I Tried To Leave You” was hardly a surprise. Nor were the solo performances by the band members and backup singers unexpected.
Jarkko Arjatsalo – Helsinki Concert Screenshot
Unique to the Helsinki show, however, were Leonard Cohen’s words of appreciation, following the completion of “I Tried To Leave You,” for the role Jarkko Arjatsalo and his website, LeonardCohenFiles.com, played in keeping Cohen’s songs alive when his “voice wasn’t heard very often in very many places.”
Leonard Cohen – I Tried To Leave You (Helsinki 8/10/2010)
The Best Of The 2008-2010 Leonard Cohen World Tour
It’s been 18 months since Leonard Cohen last performed in concert, and it’s a bit less than two months until the 2012 Leonard Cohen Old Ideas World Tour begins – the perfect time to feast on the best of the 2008-2010 Leonard Cohen World Tour.
Leonard Cohen – Sublime In Dublin 2009
Earning a place in the Best Of Tour is the striking photo of Leonard Cohen playing at the O2 Arena in Dublin in June 2009 displayed atop this post (click on image for best viewing). The caption offered by jormook, who took the shot, is precisely on the mark: “Sublime.”
Leonard Cohen – So Long Marianne
Dublin: July 20, 2009
The quality of the camera work and audio by Albert Noonan producing this video earns accolades and appreciation from those of us not privileged to be in Dublin to hear the Leonard Cohen performance of “So Long Marianne” in person. According to many fans, this was Cohen’s best rendition of the song during the 2008-2010 World Tour. As a bonus, the chorus is performed as an Irish sing-along to excellent effect.
Leonard Cohen – So Long Marianne (Dublin O2 – 7/20/2009)
Video by albertnoonan
The Best Of The 2008-2010 Leonard Cohen World Tour
It’s been 18 months since Leonard Cohen last performed in concert, and it’s a bit less than two months until the 2012 Leonard Cohen Old Ideas World Tour begins – the perfect time to feast on the best of the 2008-2010 Leonard Cohen World Tour.
Where’s That Famous Blue Raincoat When You Need It?
Rather than a billboard and other promotion of the sort that has been featured in this The Best Of Tour series, today’s complementary offerings are photos – because as much as any theater marquee can be associated with a concert playing at that venue, the photo atop this post showing the deluge of rain falling on Leonard Cohen (who is on an ostensibly sheltered stage while the audience is unprotected from the skies) has become as identified with Leonard Cohen’s wet, wonderful Weybridge show.
The photographer, dorsetbays, who took the shots on this page and generously permitted them to be posted at Heck Of A Guy, summarizes the setting:
Leonard Cohen put on an amazing concert at the Mercedes Benz Arena, Surrey on 11 July 2009. The weather was atrocious, heavy rain and gale force winds, but the atmosphere was electric.
Leonard Cohen – Closing Time
Weybridge: July 11, 2009
“Closing Time” is an important and beloved Leonard Cohen song, and there will certainly be more than one performance of “Closing Time” in this The Best Of Tour series. This energetic rendition, however, delivered near the end of a 3+ hour concert held concurrently with a rainstorm surely qualifies for this distinction.
Webb sisters and Sharon Robinson work hard for the money
Closing Time – Wayward At Weybridge
That this performance captures a rare Cohen miscue manifests as a bonus rather than a detriment.
For an explanation of the error, I defer to mnkyface, whose post at LeonardCohenForum alerted me to the fun:
Mistake, and a slick recovery, happens after about 5:00 [in the video]. Leonard loses track of the fast chorus (missed you since our place got wrecked/gates of love they budged an inch/etc) and seems to think it’s pretty darn funny, as does Rafael Gayol. LC calls “where are we?” (I think) to the singers and I LOVE the way he gets back into it. What a pro. I didn’t even notice this the first time I watched it.
An Aside – The Advantages Of Being A Leonard Cohen Fan
Those of us who admire Leonard Cohen do so primarily, of course, because he writes and sings songs which resonate with the music of the cosmos, creating in us a profound capacity for love, a sense of awe when contemplating the universe, and joyfulness rampant in the face of adversity. We embrace our humanity, celebrate our mutuality with others, … .
One cannot, however, discount the value of belonging to one of the few groups who can, without fear of social censure, invite one another to enjoy watching (and re-watching) a 74 year old man, who has been singing, dancing, and skipping through a three hour show in an outdoor venue during what appears to be the sort of gale associated with small craft advisories, make a mistake in singing the lyrics of a song he wrote and has performed perfectly hundreds of times.
Watching Leonard Cohen Laugh At (With?) Leonard Cohen
The – oh, let’s not pretend it’s a mistake, let’s call it – “The Weybridge Variation” - The Weybridge Variation begins around the 5:00 mark.
The lyrics of the last verse follow, with the point where things go awry marked:
Oh the women tear their blouses off the men they dance on the polka-dots
It’s closing time
And it’s partner found, it’s partner lost
and it’s hell to pay when the fiddler stops
It’s closing time
I swear it happened just like this:
a sigh, a cry, a hungry kiss
It’s closing time
[This is where things start to slide, slide in all directions]
The Gates of Love they budged an inch
I can’t say much has happened since
But closing time
I loved you when our love was blessed
I love you now there’s nothing left
But closing time
I miss you since the place got wrecked
By the winds of change and the weeds of sex.
Leonard Cohen – Closing Time (Weybridge, July 11, 2009)
Uploaded by albertnoonan
The Best Of The 2008-2010 Leonard Cohen World Tour
It’s been 18 months since Leonard Cohen last performed in concert, and it’s a bit less than two months until the 2012 Leonard Cohen Old Ideas World Tour begins – the perfect time to feast on the best of the 2008-2010 Leonard Cohen World Tour.
Atop this post is definitely a Best Of Tour item – the gloriously gaudy Oakland, California Paramount Theatre marquee advising viewers of the April 13, 14, & 15, 2009 Leonard Cohen World Tour concerts hosted there.
Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man & A Thousand Kisses Deep
Sydney: Jan 28, 2009
There were many excellent performances of I’m Your Man throughout the Leonard Cohen World Tour but this straightforward rendition is not only flawlessly executed but has the advantage of a nuanced solo by Dino Soldo. That the video includes a recitation of A Thousand Kisses Deep makes it an irresistible choice.
Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man & A Thousand Kisses Deep (Sydney: Jan 28, 2009)
Uploaded by bedrecka
It’s been 18 months since Leonard Cohen last performed in concert, and it’s a bit less than two months until the 2012 Leonard Cohen Old Ideas World Tour begins – the perfect time to feast on the best of the 2008-2010 Leonard Cohen World Tour.
After posting the first The Best Of The 2008-2010 Leonard Cohen World Tour, I realized that there was a lot to like about the Tour in addition to the songs. Consequently, these Best Of Tour posts will include not only great performances by Leonard Cohen and his musicians but also other outstanding Tour elements, such as the billboard for the August 2-6, 2009 Leonard Cohen Istanbul concert, contributed by Ute Egle, seen atop this post (click on image for best viewing).
Sharon Robinson, Leonard Cohen – Boogie Street
Lisbon 2009
Boogie Street, written by Leonard Cohen and Sharon Robinson, triggers mixed responses among Cohen fans; it enraptures a large portion of the audience while others designate it, if not substandard, then not among Cohen’s best, rating it mid-range or lower within Cohen’s repertoire.
This luscious arrangement of Boogie Street, featuring a solo by Sharon Robinson, at the 2009 Lisbon concert will delight those already taken with the song and may even cause those who are not fans of it to adjust their assessment upward a couple of notches. And, if you don’t enjoy this, you can rest assured that you just don’t like and can time your trip to the concession stand or the rest room to coincide with it during the next concert you attend.
Sharon Robinson & Leonard Cohen – Boogie Street (Lisbon 2009)
By albertnoonan
Dr Pepper, Jazz, Blues, Joni Mitchell, & Leonard Cohen
Roscoe Beck, Musical Director and bass player for the 2008-2010 Leonard Cohen World Tour and the impending 2012 Leonard Cohen Old Ideas World Tour, offers a delightful and compelling oral biography at Portrait of an Artist: Roscoe Beck by Rebecca McInroy (KUT, Austin. April 27, 2012).
Roscoe covers his early musical influences, his childhood fascination with Dr Pepper, his transition in third grade from drums to guitar and later to bass, his family’s move from Poughkeepsie, New York to Atlanta, Texas, leaving home (with his parents consent) just before his senior year of high school to move to Austin to be part of the music scene there, the formation of James Polk & Co, the band that later became Passenger, and, of course meeting Leonard Cohen in LA.
Thanks Leonard, But We’ve Been Waiting To Hear From Joni
After hearing a tape of Passenger, Roscoe’s band, Henry Lewy (Joni Mitchell’s producer and then Leonard Cohen’s producer as well) called to invite them to Los Angeles with the idea they might – no guarantees – serve as Joni Mitchel’s band for the Mingus album.
During that 1979 sojourn in LA, Lewy brought Leonard Cohen and Roscoe Beck together in the studio. Cohen, dressed in dark suit and cowboy boots, and Beck, who recalled Cohen in a flashback to a 1967 record store displaying posters for the Songs of Leonard Cohen album, played “The Smokey Life” once, then added, on Beck’s suggestion, rhythm to the recording by way of Passenger’s drummer playing brushes on a cardboard box. Consequently, Passenger played on four songs of the Recent Songs album. Afterward, over margaritas, Leonard Cohen asked the band to tour Europe with him beginning in September of that year. The band’s response?
Well, Leonard, you know, we’ve been waiting to hear from Joni.
After Beck and Passenger returned to Austin to make up for the income lost during their Los Angeles trip, Henry Lewy called, tersely recommending
The events of Leonard Cohen's life and career are marked on a timeline accompanied by audio and video recordings of Cohen's songs and poems as well as links to more information.
Do I Have To Dance All Night Surpasses 70,000 Views
"Do I Have To Dance All Night" was performed many times in concerts but was never released in the US.
As part of my crusade to popularize this song, I've cobbled together 2 videos - one for the semi-funky 1976 version with Laura Branigan and one for the 1980 more gypsy, less disco version - that kinda sorta fit the music.
As of Dec 19, 2012, the video of the 1976 version of Do I Have To Dance All Night has been viewed 70,152 times.
Heck Of A Guy offers 3 videos of clips and photos from The Leonard Cohen World Tour:
1. The Original Heck Of A Guy Dear Leonard Cohen - Thanks For The Tour. I Hope It Was Good For You, Too. Video Celebration Of The First 14 Months Of The 2008-2009 World Tour can be viewed at Thanks For The Tour
The Cohen Fandemic
Endemic for decades in areas such as Canada, Norway, Poland, and France, Leonard Cohen Fan Syndrome has become a world-wide epidemic in the past 2 years, spread by the Leonard Cohen World Tour and abetted by proselyting carriers despite efforts by authorities to quarantine these individuals at LeonardCohenForum.
Diagnostic Criteria
Based on the observations of DrHGuy, standardized criteria for the pertinent Axis II diagnosis are now available at
Danger Signs
In addition to the formal medical description of this diagnosis, Heck Of A Guy has also compiled a list of the aberrant behaviors which indicate one is at high risk for being a full-fledged fan of Leonard Cohen. These signs and symptoms can be found at
Leonard Cohen’s Elegy For Janis Joplin – Chelsea Hotel #1
This video features the first version of the song Leonard Cohen would later revise into "Chelsea Hotel #2" along with images of Leonard Cohen, Janis Joplin - whose liaison with Cohen at the Chelsea Hotel led to the creation of the song, the Hotel itself, and other associated people & places.
Special Compilation Video – A Thousand Kisses Deep
This composite of Leonard Cohen’s recitations of “A Thousand Kisses Deep” over the years is accompanied by a video montage of drawings by and photos of the Canadian singer-songwriter.
Video – Leonard Cohen Recites “God Is Alive, Magic Is Afoot”
Leonard Cohen recites the "God Is Alive; Magic Is Afoot" passage from "Beautiful Losers" which was later popularized by Buffy Sainte-Marie. Cohen's performance took place in 1967.
Heck Of A Guy offers, with assistance from Randy Newman and Etta James, the writer and performer, respectively, of "You Can Leave Your Hat On," a look at Leonard Cohen As Hunk.
Photos of or related to Leonard Cohen that fall into specific themes have been among the ongoing features at DrHGuy, HOAG's sibling site. Galleries displaying collected images of 3 of these themes are now available at
Winter Lady – The Joni Mitchell & Leonard Cohen Versions
In 1966 Joni Mitchell wrote and sang a song called "Winter Lady." In 1967, the year Mitchell and Cohen had their romantic fling, Leonard Cohen wrote and sang a different song that was also called "Winter Lady."
A comparison of these 2 songs as well as a video that includes each artist performing his or her version of "Winter Lady" can be found at
Over 35 tunes performed by Dylan, Janis Joplin, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, Otis Redding, Chuck Berry, The Platters, Joni Mitchell, George Jones, Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, Jay-Z, and other musicians.
Read what Cohen said about them and listen to the music at
Photos, Videos, & More
See photos of Leonard Cohen's arrival in Oviedo, the opening of Leonard Cohen: The B-Side - Drawings And Engravings Of A Multidisciplinary Artist, his speech and press conference, his tribute conference, the lost and found Famous Blue Sharpie, and more at:
Note: Almost all HeckOfAGuy and DrHGuy posts contain different content.
And We’re Still Making Love In My Secret Life – Julie’s Story & Video
... I never had a chance. I was - and this is the only word that fits - smitten. I still am.
She was smart and quick-witted, although it would take me 3 years to recognize that she was, in fact, much smarter than me, and then another 2 years to forgive her for that. She was also good-looking and unabashedly sexy.
And, we fell madly, irredeemably, unflinchingly in love.
Complementing the unlikely story of how Julie and I met, fell in love, and - 9 years, 2 husbands, 1 wife, and 2 careers later - got together to spend an outrageously wonderful 20 years together before her death, a video, set to the poignant "In My Secret Life" by Leonard Cohen and Sharon Robinson, is now available that evokes the role Julie, who died 10 years ago, continues to play in my life.
The written account of the story (think When Harry Met Sally meets Waiting For Godot) starts, appropriately, at This Is How A Love Story Began
Clicking on Taste of LC - Heck Of A Guy and Taste of LC - DrHGuy finds posts from those sites that feature Leonard Cohen's choices in furniture, clothing (including suits, fedoras, caps, berets, other hats, boots and other footwear, swimsuits, and in at least one case cut-offs), art, jewelry, food, books, magazines, alcohol, tobacco, firearms, ... - all of which offer a different perspective on Leonard Cohen.
This Heck Of A Guy compilation includes unreleased Leonard Cohen performances over a 30+ year period.
Track List: Vol 1
1. Feels So Good (The Other Blues Song)
2. Book Of Longing
3. The Darkness
4. Puppets
5. Lullaby
6. Do I Have to Dance All Night (1976)
7. Blues By The Jews
Track List: Vol 2
1. Red River Valley
2. Never Got To Love You (Duet with Anjani)
3. Can't Help Falling In Love
4. Ride Around
5. The Union Makes Us Strong
6. We Shall Not Be Moved
7. To Love Somebody
8. The Hypnotist (Poem)
9. Chelsea Hotel #1
10. There's No Reason Why You Should Remember Me
11. Streets Of Laredo
12. Do I Have To Dance All Night (1980)
Now, Another Other Leonard Cohen Album, the second collection of unreleased Leonard Cohen songs joins the popular The Other Leonard Cohen Album to offer fans of the iconic singer-songwriter a total of 3 CDs of musical treats. Another Other Leonard Cohen Album includes the following tracks plus liner notes by Sylvie Simmons.
1. Je Veux Vivre Tout Seul
2. Kevin Barry
3. Die Gedanken Sind Frei
4. Store Room
5. As Time Goes By
6. Don’t Go Home with Your Hard-on
7. Blessed is the Memory
8. Silent Night
9. Dead Song
10. Another Saturday Night
11. Ballad of the Absent Mare
12. Guerrero
13. The Butcher
14. Un As Der Rebbe Singt
15. Song to the Machines
16. If It Be Your Will
17. Thirsty for the Kiss
18. A Thousand Kisses Deep
19. I Tried To Leave You
20. Whither Thou Goest
21. Mr Cohen Must Be Going
Heck Of A Guy celebrates Leonard Cohen’s 77th birthday (September 21, 2011) with a video of scenes from Leonard Cohen’s life and photos of fans expressing their affection for Mr. Cohen, all set to “I Love Leonard Cohen” by Robin Grey.
Leonard Cohen At 75 Viewed Over 15,000 Times: a video montage of favorite scenes featuring the singer-songwriter, poet, and icon set to "They Can't Take That Away From Me."
Video – Jennifer Warnes’ Way Down Deep & Leonard Cohen’s A Thousand Kisses Deep
The video begins with Jennifer Warnes singing the gorgeous but routinely overlooked "Way Down Deep," which is followed by Leonard Cohen's recitation of "A Thousand Kisses Deep" in Dublin to juxtapose the earliest performed precursor of Cohen's now classic "A Thousand Kisses Deep" with the most recent version.
Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen had a fling in the 1960s that, for unspecified reasons, was short-lived, with Cohen instigating the parting.
It was then and is now a complex connection. In 1988, Cohen said, I'm still very friendly with Joni - I had dinner with her before the tour, and I have the same admiration for her as you do. But I think it was Noel Harrison who came up to me in the LA Troubadour and said "How do you like living with Beethoven?"
That's right - the entire 2008-2010 Leonard Cohen World Tour, including the events that triggered the Tour, have been compressed into one 60 second video.
I didn’t even notice this the first time I watched it.
