Oslo was in ecstasy when the man entered the stage in front of around 13,000 people on Bislet stadion last night. I was one of them. Add Koew, Kornelius, Apoet, Lady C, Lady C’s mother, my own mother, my sister, the mysterious mr. S and around 12,991 others and you have a great crowd in concert. I have never been to Bislet stadium before, but new and renovated it proved worthy of its first big musical event in years: Leonard Cohen Tour 2008.
Norwegian news media always emphasize the special relationship between Cohen and Norway, due to his affair with Marianne, which is highly overrated. The relationship consists mainly from everyone’s private record collection in which Cohen is very likely to have his own place. Righteously, I should add. There were only two-three songs I hadn’t heard before. During I’m your man the applause went wild at the chorus, and when he sang Take this Waltz I must admit I was touched to tears and speechless. Thank you, Cohen. For your words, your art and your grace.
«I didn’t come all the way to Oslo just to fool ya» ˜ Cohen
Bislet Stadium a few hours before the concert
I barely managed to gobble down a mini pizza before we headed out
The view from block A where we were seated
Ironically, these were the best tickets available at ticket sale’s opening hour
People living nearby had free access to the glory
Even the roofs were populated by fans
The concert gets going
Bring more beer over here, please
Hallelujah!
I think this blurry picture depicts Cohen’s persisting energy on stage
Born in 1934 it is an honor, and quite the gift, to get to see the old gentleman hunter perform live. Like he said: "..and if you want another kind of love, I’ll wear this old mask for you" Don’t believe me? Check it out for yourself:
Suzanne – Cohen, Oslo 2008
Hallelujah – Cohen, Oslo 2008
First we take Manhattan, Then we take Berlin – Cohen, Oslo 2008
Before you shoot me down, let me add that this was taken with my cellphone, hence the audio and image quality. Also, we couldn’t help singing along, so you might hear some rather curious backing vocals from behind the camera. I have some mp3s too sounding, well, like bootlegs should: Gipsy Wife (the laughing is about a couple of drunks waltzing mathilda on the racetrack), Tower of Song, If it be your will (Cohen reads the first verse) and Take This Waltz. There’s a lot of atmosphere caught there, including what it sounds like to be inside my shirt. Right click and save as *.mp3. Enjoy!
Personally I do not think the mp3 files are that bad.
Stripped your spam and kept the comment:)