By hook or by crook, I was going to see Leonard Cohen in concert, and when I learned he was to perform at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in Asheville, NC, there was no way I wasn't going to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I'm so glad I was there on November 1st.

You could say I was determined to see Leonard Cohen in concert. Chances are this will be the last time he will embark on a world tour, what with the demands of touring and his age perhaps playing a part in his reluctance in the past to tour more frequently. Then again, Bob Dylan, who's approaching 70, tours regurlarly, but whereas Dylan's concerts are yet another chapter in a long and storied history of live performing, Cohen's live performances are events, ones which few of us are privileged enough to witness. If Cohen were to never tour again, I didn't want to harbor the notion that I had the chance to see him perform and never took advantage of that chance. I made that mistake with Miles Davis, not a year before he died, and I swore I wouldn't do that with a musician and artist I greatly admire.

The show started promptly at 8PM; once each member took their places, Cohen sprinted onto the stage, dapper-looking in his dark suit and matching fedora. Cohen's a dapper fella alright, and you know he's still got that ladies' man vibe to him. Opening with Dance Me to the End of Love and closing more than 3 hours and several deserved encores later with I Tried to Leave You, Cohen vocally was in fine form, his voice a breathless and assertive rasp. After each song, Cohen would remove his hat, whether in awe and admiration of his fine backing band or to bask in the white-hot response of the audience. As it has been often on display with Leonard Cohen, his humor was well-evident; his spoken intros and the line "You told me again you preferred handsome men/but for me you would make an exception," from Chelsea Hotel #2 drew huge applause. The audience itself was a big part of Cohen's performance, a mix of young and old hanging on to every word smoothly oozing out from him.

One note about the venue, the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium; for a venue of that size (1500+ seats) and intimacy, the acoustics in the theatre are quite sub-par, and, unless you're in the orchestra section, the seating throughout the theatre leaves a lot to be desired - I was in the balcony seats, which meant I was looking to my right throughout the entire set. No matter; Cohen and his band rose above the venue's limitations effortlessly. The band was tight; they know the material cold, but the music always seemed fresh, which served to invigorate Cohen vocally.

The liner notes to Leonard Cohen's live album Live in London summarize my feelings best: Leonard Cohen's loss is our gain. After being swindled out of more than $5 million dollars from his retirement fund by his financial manager, Cohen took to the road to recoup his losses. But Leonard Cohen's current tour isn't a pity party; it's a modest yet triumphant celebration of his music and lyrics, and while it's possible he's come close to recouping his lost earnings, the fact that he's touring up to next spring shows he still has the love for the live stage, and he's not willing to go through the motions. Better still, his tour is sweet validation for his creative genius. Not that he needed the validation, but there are very few artists that have truly earned the praise that's been lavished upon them; Leonard Cohen is one such artist.

The greatest superlative I can give regarding Leonard Cohen's stunning performance, if this word is even a superlative, is "humbling." I was humbled to be in the same room with such a spiritually creative genius, and Cohen was humbled by the rapturous and thunderous ovations he and his band received Sunday night.


Set List

First Set
• Dance Me To The End Of Love
• The Future
• Ain't No Cure For Love
• Bird On The Wire
• Everybody Knows
• In My Secret Life
• Who By Fire
• Chelsea Hotel #2
• Waiting For The Miracle
• Anthem

Second Set
• Tower Of Song
• Suzanne
• Sisters Of Mercy
• The Gypsy’s Wife
• The Partisan
• Boogie Street
• Hallelujah
• I'm Your Man
• A Thousand Kisses Deep
• Take This Waltz

First Encores
• So Long, Marianne
• First We Take Manhattan

Second Encores
• Famous Blue Raincoat
• If It Be Your Will
• Closing Time

Final Encore
• I Tried To Leave You