I'm your man

Several 'spillers have mentioned that they have contributed generously to the L. Cohen retirement fund. I have too, and saw him in concert on Tuesday night in Bournemouth. The average age of the audience, not surprisingly, was north of 40. There was a hint of ghoulish interest in seeing him for what might be the last time, given that he's 74 (but maybe he's now about ready to stand for President!).

My nephew said it's music to cut your wrists by. And Cohen almost accepts this, saying he gave up prozac and spiritualism because "cheerfulness kept breaking through".

His voice is still intact, if a little weather beaten. He claims to regret the fact that he can't sing, but his distinctive gravelly half singing is something you either love or hate. I loved it, especially given the intelligent poetry of his lyrics, but tired of it by the seventies, due to repetition fatigue. I only recently got into his later oeuvre, including his productive collaborations with Sharon Robinson, on Ten New Songs and Dear Heather, who joins him on stage on this tour.

We got two and a half solid hours for our wedge, and he covered his whole career well. I can't recall the full set list, but it was over 30 songs. And as a bonus we got the virtuoso playing of Spaniard Javier Mas. The band was tight, the sound impeccable, and for LC's fans, it was rare treat.

The other day, on the Obama euphoria post, I posted some of the lyrics from Democracy, a song which got a cheer last night.

To whet your appetite, here are a few clips from the concert taken with my little pocket camera (sorry the sound quality isn't too brilliant).