Leonard Cohen at Theatre of the Clouds inside the Rose Garden Arena in Portland on Wednesday, December 8th
We couldn’t believe what just happened as we were walking out of the Theatre of Clouds last night. We just saw a singer, songwriter, poet, musician, and novelist; we just saw a legend. Leonard Cohen at the ripe age of 76 just stunned a packed house from 8pm to 11:40pm on a rainy Wednesday night. Looking as sharp as a tack with a black suit and fedora everything about tonight was just top notch, pure class and elegance. He was in top shape too, he would get down on his knees and back up without skipping a beat, dancing… you could see his passion for his music. Leonard had three backup singers and a six piece band with him. There were just handfuls of instruments on stage including a Hammond B Organ that was stunning. The sound was impeccable, it filled up the entire space and every single person on stage was a top notch musician and friend of Leonard Cohen. The chemistry was perfect and the solos were outstanding; even Leonard would take a step back and take off his fedora during the solos.
The Theatre of the Clouds is a section of the Rose Garden Arena, kind of like our Star Theater in the Spokane Arena expect add another level up. It was pretty funny Leonard kept thanking everyone for coming and he said something along the lines of thank you for climbing to dangerous heights, don’t lean forward; to the crowd up in the 300 section. We were in the 200 section and it was high but the seats were prefect! I sat next to a couple who had to of been in their late 70’s and the lady couldn’t stop talking about how excited she was and after every song not only did she clap but holler and yell. I also couldn’t count on my fingers how many times Leonard got a standing ovation; deserving every single one too.
He is just such a complete rock star. Plus when he played “Hallelujah” I couldn’t stop thinking of the hundreds of times I have heard other bands cover that song. Leonard Cohen wrote it and as much as I like the Jeff Buckley cover, I got goose bumps when he sang it. Leonard told us how he started this tour three years ago, he was just a 73 year old crazy kid and here he was tonight. He told us he didn’t know when he would make it back through town, but thanked us again for coming. Expect when he told us thank you it was “thank you friends.” I am so thankful I got to see Leonard Cohen, it was such an amazing night of music. Plus we got to hear every single song we wanted too. The night was worth every penny and some. Thank you my friend, Leonard Cohen, for coming to Portland.
The evening went as:
Set 1
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
The Darkness
Democracy
Chelsea Hotel #2
Waiting for the Miracle
Anthem
Set2
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
Encore:
So Long, Marianne
First We Take Manhattan
Famous Blue Raincoat
If It Be Your Will
Closing Time
I Tried To Leave You
