The Man is Here

I was in Bruges to see Leonard Cohen in concert. I'm still trying to recover from the experience, I was more impressed than I had expected. The man played for about three hours, sang many favourites, and was in good voice. He is 73 now, but he didn't seem to get tired at all, he stayed on his feet the whole time.

A while ago I checked his website, something I don't do all that often, but it then turned out tickets for a concert tour would be going on sale shortly after. I couldn't believe my eyes, I hadn't expected him to start touring again. And when I read about the concert there was a little doubt too. I have been listening to the man's music for a while now, and it might be hard to live up to expectations. Reading the first reviews in June, hearing and seeing songs through the net I had a feeling I wouldn't be disappointed though.

So I travelled down to Bruges, where he was to play in the park at the Lake of Love, the Minnewaterpark. The kind of venue he seems to belong. I got there round about the time the gates were due to open, but we had to wait a little while to get in. We didn't get bored though, a few nice rain showers to keep us occupied. It did dry up though, and it was quite nice by the time we all got in. During Martha Wainwright's performance there was one more shower, but it all ended with a lovely rainbow, and that was the end of the rain for the evening.

It was a nicely mixed audience, a lot of long time fans and a lot of young people. For a while I was standing quite close to a drunk fan who decided to attract a little attention, by shouting lines from the songs. Cohen took it all in his stride, and when the fan ended Cohens spoken introduction to Anthem by adding the last line, "that's how the light gets in", Cohen responded with perfect timing "precisely".

The stage was positioned near the edge of the park, quite close to a few houses. People living there enjoyed the concert from the comfort of their own home. Must be a nice way. Then again, you don't get to chose what music is played in your backyard. The windows remained open though, and people were there, so they must have enjoyed this one. And the wonderful thing about an outdoor concert in the summer is that you can see the Swifts circling high above the stage and the audience, and here you could see bats flying past the side of the stage.

I stood for three hours watching this man and his band, but it didn't seem half as long. Cohen sang many of his well-known songs, with his deep, moving voice, was very graceful in every respect. He is a professional, he knows how to give the audience what they want. There is some light humour, great gentleness and presence, commitment, and a great deal of charm. His eyes are hidden under his hat for much of the concert, but he does take the hat off so his eyes catch the light.

The concert was an important one, because Cohen discovered the meaning of life, and he graciously shared this knowledge with us. And I guess, maybe, in the end, life really is very simple....

The best news of all, I am about to get my things together to go and see him again tonight, right here in my home town!