Leonard Cohen at Radio City Music Hall

The crowd pays homage.
Beautiful lighting , excellent sound and best of all wonderful songs by the man who wrote them.

Radio City, truly unique--and not just because it's the home of the Rockettes.

Interior of lobby, Radio City.

Leonard Cohen wowed us Saturday night May 16, 2009 at Radio City Music Hall. And that is saying alot because we expected to be wowed. A sold out crowd (rumored to include Bob Dylan) sat in awe during the three hour performance (less about 20 minutes for intermission). The performance ran the gamut of Cohen's career from his early days as a folkie in New York City until his current masterpieces of lush commentary on the ironies of our world. Cohen came to the stage most relaxed in his cool fedora. He opened with "In My Secret Life" a song he co-wrote with his recent collaborator, Sharon Robinson, who blew the crowd away in her own right with her beautiful vocals. The setlist included perhaps every song that you wanted to hear. "Chelsea Hotel" had a particular resonance, opened by a stirring flamenco guitar solo by a fellow from Barcelona. As we sat in mid-town Manhattan, just blocks away from Chelsea, the air seemed filled with the history and the present that is Leonard Cohen. There was "Bird on a Wire" and "Suzanne" and "Goodbye Maryann". There was a spoken word rendering of "A Thousand Kisses Deep", oozing the soul of the poet. There was a duet by the Webb sisters on "If it be your will", one playing a harp and the other playing guitar that felt as if it had been directly dropped down from heaven, if there is such a place. "First We Take Manhattan, then We Take Berlin" just felt so right amongst the New Yorkers. It was a sold out Radio City and will be so tonight as Cohen takes the stage again. I had never been to this venerable venue and our daughter P and I were amazed at the professionality of the staff, the cleanliness and well maintained presence of the venue and most of all the Art Deco architecture and lighting that does nothing to sacrifice perhaps the strongest acoutical room of this size I have ever been in. The place seats 6,000 people in gradually sloping seating so there is some distance between most seats and the stage as you can see from my photos and vids, but it simply is a magical experience to see Leonard Cohen in this building or anywhere else. "Democracy is Coming to the USA" brought some chills as we embark on the unknown excitement of the Obama era. "Everybody Knows", another gem written with Sharon Robinson seems even stronger in it cynicism and irony as it is performed live. Cohen bantered with the crowd and really made the audience feel as if it had been invited into his home. The musicians, ranging from a master of the Hammond B-3 to a woodwind fellow who blew on everything from a sax to a bassoon to some sort of electronic looking clarinet made it feel special. The bass player, and musical director kept the right thump going all night. Yes, this will be one to remember and I am thankful that I could be there with our daughter for memories that she can carry into the next generation as, like all of us, the 74 year old Cohen will not be here forever. For more vid check my youtube: www.youtube.com/nosyfieldstone Though the vid is shot from a distance, the sound quality is pretty darn good considering it was on a Canon powershot camera.