Gig Memories: Leonard Cohen at the O2 in 2008

Leonard Cohen

O2 Arena, 17 July 2008

So, I had planned to go see Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter tonight but due to a bout of the flu this week I've been stuck indoors while everyone else has been enjoying the unusually sunny April weather. Since I can obviously no longer write about that show I thought instead I'd reminisce about a show I went to a few years back that I've been thinking a lot about lately: Leonard Cohen at the O2 back in 2008.

The reason for this is down to the fact I've been reading a biography about the man called Leonard Cohen: A Remarkable Life by Anthony Reynolds. The book if nothing else does convey that the gracious, polite and elegant way Cohen portrays himself on stage is no act: he really is like that. It's a rare and beautiful thing in the rock industry and I was reminded how, back when I was lucky enough to see him live, I thought to myself I had never seen a show where the band were thanked and acknowledged so much. Even at age 74 and with a lifetime of achievements behind him that spanned poetry, novels, songwriting and art, Cohen was still humble enough to believe that he should not be the sole recipient of the audience's awed adoration.

But that's not the only reason why the concert stands out in my mind. For one thing I really never expected to ever seen Cohen live, now in his 70s and having not toured since the early 90s, not unreasonably, it seemed pretty evident that the legend had given up the road for good. So I felt especially blessed not only when Cohen announced a date practically on my doorstep but also when I managed to get pretty good tickets. When we arrived the atmosphere was much more like I expected the Dylan concerts I went to last year to be, a respectful reverence and a good feeling of shared anticipation from an audience that although admittedly veered towards the older fan, still spanned the spectrum. It was a truly nice thing to see and feel. I heard people around me reminisce themselves about seeing Leonard years ago, it was obvious it had been a moving experience then and they felt lucky they were getting another chance to finally see him again. While Dylan's fans appeared to be a rude, entitled bunch, Cohen's fans appeared touched by his grace and acted accordingly.

The set list was equally thrilling, spanning his career from classics such as Suzanne, Bird On The Wire, So Long Marianne and Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye (which, let's face it have pretty much become standards) to more recent favourites such as First We Take Manhattan, Everybody Knows, Boogie Street and The Future. Rather nicely during the interval I'll always remember overhearing one guy raving to his friend how great the show was but it would be perfect if he played Tower Of Song, and what song did Cohen play when he arrived back on stage? None other than Tower Of Song. I'm sure that fellow's night really was made when he heard it because really there wasn't a thing you could complain about, from the professional and understated backing band, who only underlined Cohen's song and voice and never overwhelmed it, to Cohen's interesting and often amusing anecdotes. Dressed like a 30s gangster in double-breasted suit and tilted hat, he looked as classy as he sounded. "It's been 15 years since I last stood on a stage in London," he told us with a wry smile on his face, "Back when I was a 60 year old kid with a crazy dream." I'm sure he said this every night on his tour and just changed the city, but it was still sweetly humorous. Not that he seemed his age, despite sitting for some songs, there were some points he looked positively sprightly, even at one stage falling to his knees in front of guitarist Javier Mas in an expression of worship of his guitar-playing skills.

Even though it's probably an uncool admission in the post X-Factor days of Alexandra Burke's number one hit, back then Simon Cowell hadn't got got his greasy hands on the sublime Hallelujah and, having previously seen it performed by Jeff Buckley many years ago, it was a thrill to finally see and hear the man who wrote it perform it so beautifully and movingly.

The whole show was poetry and pure grace and I still think back on it with great affection and gratitude that I got to spend a few hours (for it was a generously long show that never seemed to drag) in this great man's presence. That didn't stop Cohen himself from thanking us many times, graciously and rightfully telling us "Thank you for keeping my songs alive", something many newer artists would do well to learn. The memory of seeing Leonard Cohen live is something I'll always cherish and I feel very lucky to visited with him at least for a little while.