I will always remember the first time I saw Len Cohen on stage, it was the back in the Autumn of 2008 in the evening of the day my beloved Welsh rugby team were beaten by the world champions South Africa at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. That evening four of us set off for the concert in the International Arena, we were seated one row from the back wall! I should point out that I have been a LC fan forever. I am often told his music is mournful, sorrowful and melancholy – but not for me, I could listen to him every day of my life, and most days I do. It was quite a performance. There were clearly many there who were not sure what to expect, with lots of shuffling and whispering during the first couple of songs, then the transformation. Wow! Suddenly everyone seemed spellbound, LC was on stage for over two hours and there wasn’t a dull moment. The musicians were right out of the top drawer but Javiar Mas on the twelve string guitar and bandorria really did it for me. (His Album Tamiz is worth a listen). Helping out with the vocals were Sharon Robinson and the Webb Sisters who just couldn’t have been bettered. It’s unlikely I will ever experience such an accomplished bunch of musicians on the same stage again, unless I get to another LC concert that is! It was a moving and almost spiritual occasion.
The following day back home in Winchester, Pam my wife, was reading the Sunday papers and stumbled across an article about LC. It referred to his forthcoming sold out concert at the Bournemouth International Arena the following Wednesday. Well it wasn’t quite sold out there was one seat left – in the front row and it became mine. As on the Saturday previous the show was awesome, this time I was almost on the stage with him – and this time I had my cameras! In the first half I used my Canon G9 without a flash on a high ISO. At the break I set up the bigger Nikon D300 – and security descended on me. As much as I tried to convince the the boss man that a camera is a camera is a camera, you get the gist, he wasn’t having any of it. So back to the G9 for the second half. I did sneak a few with the Nikon at the end, I wasn’t too bothered about being thrown out then.
If you are ever within a thousand miles of a Leonard Cohen concert – go and see him.
