"Dance Me To The End of Love" Leonard Cohen

He came out skipping onto the stage and into our hearts. I mean, literally skipping, like a child at the playground. If you were sitting close enough (we were), you could see the glint of mischief in his eyes. "Dance Me to the End of Love" was his first song of the evening, and we all followed him to the end...

May 26, 2009, at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Leonard Cohen, poet, singer, and former Buddhist monk gave a most spectacular three hour concert to an enthusiast crowd. Clearly, the fans adore him. From the minute he skipped onto the stage he owned the crowd. They sprang unto their feet giving him his first of many standing ovations of the night. And the fans were not shy about showering him with adulation, sprinkling the brief periods of silence between numbers with "I love you, Leonard!" He responded, "I love you, too!"

Everything about his performance was designed to entertain, and he did not disappoint. I especially loved his fedora hat, which throughout the evening he removed to give respect to the fans and his band. His band included Javier Mas on bandurria and laud, Dino Soldo on winds, guitarist Bob Metzger, Rafael Gayol on drums, Neil Larson on keyboards, bassist Roscoe Beck and, a long-time collaborator Sharon Robinson and the Webb Sisters - introducing them as his singing “angels”.

I am a relatively new fan compared to some of the fans who attended the concert. I spoke to a lady who followed the tour and saw 24 concerts so far all over Europe and Canada. She has tickets to see his 75th birthday show in Spain this fall. She confided that her husband understood that he came second to Leonard as she confessed that she has been 'in love' with him (Leonard) for forty years. Now that is a fan! He ended, with Closing Time, though no one wanted it to end.

My husband, Alan, loves Leonard too. How much, well he would have to tell you himself.

Alan's comments:

Like many Canadians I became aware of Leonard Cohen in the early 1960's as a popular poet and writer of sophisticated and sometimes erotic novels. Reading his novels was a real risque thing to do back then, especially if you were 14 or 15 years old!

In about 1966 I saw a clip from a documentary showing him singing and playing guitar at a party. I am not sure, but it might have been the Stranger Song that he was singing. In 1967 his first album came out. He had already been made famous as a songwriter when his song Suzanne became a hit by one Noel Harrison. "Who?" you might ask. He was the son of Rex Harrison of My Fair Lady and Dr. Doolittle. Suzanne was probably his only hit.

The first Leonard Cohen album was a revelation to my 16 year old ears. Sophisticated, worldly, funny in places, his rather dull singing voice giving his words all the room they needed to sparkle. He sang about love, saying goodbye, strangers, sisters of mercy. The back cover of his album had a picture of Joan of Arc engulfed in flames. It was like nothing else I had heard. The arrangements were spare, with backing female vocals that became one of his sonic trademarks. I taught myself the rudiments of fingerpicking from his guitar playing.

The second album came along, "Songs from a Room." Not quite as good, but still very good with songs like Bird on the Wire (likely the only Cohen song I have ever been made sick of through overexposure, although Hallelujah is getting there) and The Partisan. Then "Songs of Love and Hate," containing some of my favorites, like The Avalanche and Famous Blue Raincoat.

After that, Leonard and I parted ways for a while. In fact it was not until First We Take Manhattan that he came back on my personal radar. By the time of The Future in the early 1990s he became again as important to me as he was in my teens. Now he was even more worldly, and his humour even more prominent, especially in songs like Democracy: "Democracy is coming to the U.S.A."

Since then I have avidly listened to everything he puts out, and as he ages his lyrics are somehow simpler, less overtly literary but deeper, more heartfelt and somehow closer to my heart as I too get older. He has modernized his sound through collaborations with musicians like Sharon Robinson, but those female voices are always there in the mix, a crowd of angels that follow him through his career as a singer. He remains utterly relevant, his musical and lyrical output a gift to the rest of us.

I am sure that if he had not been defrauded of his life savings he would not be on his current non-stop worldwide tour. He would perhaps have gone back to his mountain in California to practice Zen or gone home to Montreal to enjoy his old age. Instead he has been forced to put together a stage show, and what a show it is! He would never had experienced the outpouring of love that showers him every night on stage, and might never have known how much he has meant to so many.

As for me, seeing Leonard Cohen live was to see a great personal hero. It was to hear from the master's lips the sardonic, witty, deep words that he has set to music. It was to see him interact with his musical collaborators, mostly much, much younger than him, and it was to see a man seemingly surprised at his own skill on the stage. I wanted to yell out all that I was feeling as I watched the 74-year-old version of my teenage hero perform his songs, old and new. I clapped until my hands were sore.

He might have been forced into touring because of financial pressures, but onstage he is generous, humble and lovable. He is a master not only of writing but of living.

I would not have missed it for the world.

Every Tea Drinker Needs...

a cool tea pot, this one is called sorapot, which I received for Mother's Day.

I am one blessed mom!

Life's Small Pleasures

Tasty fragments of life provides pleasurable moments. String them together to create a memorable day. Collect as many as you wish.

The More the Merrier

Do you ever feel like having a small group of friends over for a luncheon but think it's too much trouble, or that you doubt your culinary skills? Well have no fear because you can do it, or rather your guests can do it for themselves.

A friend turned me on to fondue recently, and I am so thrilled she did. Because fondue is a group activity it creates a communal atmosphere and is heaps of fun because your guests cook their own food.

The first one I tried is called fondue bourguignonne, a meat fondue where we speared bite-sized pieces of meat or vegetables and dip them into a hot sauce, allowing them to sit until the meat was cooked. Along with the meat we had potatoes, vegetables and seafood, all cooked in a simmering pot of broth. The wow factor is in the sauces or broth. We had three types of sauces. I'm vegetarian, so we had two fondues one specially for veggies. It was perfect!

The second one I tried pictured here, is called raclette which is a type of cheese from Switzerland similar to gruyere. Raclette is shaved and placed on a small serving tray which is placed under the heated dish, while on top the vegetables are cooking. Each person decides how much cheese to melt and once they have placed their food on their dish the raclette is pored over top of it. Mmmmm good stuff!

Fondue has a slow leisurely pace, and is a great way to spend time with friends without all the fuss. How could I have not done this before?

Spring?

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Finally, the ice is beginning to break up in the center of the Ottawa River!

Kate Bush - Sensual World Interview 1/3

We are living in a Sensual World / men and women view differently

I appreciate impromptu conversations that stir and swirl in my mind long after the conversation has died. Yesterday, my friend came over and we had the most interesting conversation about femininity and sexuality.

She, being the only girl in her family, was somewhat of a tomboy and her mother, for reasons of her own, did not allow her to indulge in pretty girly things. Moreover, she will be the first to admit that how she was raised she has given her some distorted ideas regarding sexuality.

We began talking about regular stuff, such as her job, her husband’s work, their plans for a new house, and children etc. Our conversations are never anchored and flow like a stream of consciousness. This time we end up in a dark alley talking about strip and fetish clubs.

She mentioned casually that they recently went to a fetish club. What! She got my attention and intrigued my curiosity. She began by describing the interesting attire of the members of the club in detail, animating with arching swings of her arms. As a spectator I'm sure it was fun. I asked her what she wore. "Hmmm," she said, "I have these fantastic high-heeled red leather boots that come up to the thigh, short skirt and a t-shirt." No, she does not do the plunging neckline thing. But still...

I asked if it made her feel sexy, but she said no. She said: "It’s more like dress up, playing in costume." In a way it helps push her out of her comfort zone by being in an environment most of us would not even consider stepping into. Fortunately, she can carry it off.

She precisely what one would call a paradox in more than one way. She wears short, short, skirts but says it is not for the attention. A man asked her once: "What do you mean you’re not sexy?Look at how short you wear your skirt."

She replied, "I never wear a short shirt and high heels at the same time. I wear flat shoes so I can run fast. A short skirt because of the freedom it allows me if I want to make a mad dash somewhere. It's a comfort thing." she insists.

Do men and women think differently about what they consider sexy? "Of course they do," she contends. For example she said: "All you have to do is look at the strip scene. Men find visual stimuli exciting where as woman need to an emotional connection. A male stripper once told her that he had to do more than just dance for his audience. If he wanted more tips he had to engage the woman spectators on a different level."

"Women," she continued, "need an emotional connection. They are auditory and men are visual, and some women are both. By and large women need more than eye candy to be fulfilled."

What made this so hilarious is the way she describes getting dressed up and going to these clubs. On one hand she is (in her mind) ultra conservative, but in reality she is pushing the envelope. This is a person who finds it difficult to put on makeup, especially lipstick, because in her mind it sends the wrong message. I asked: "Is being feminine something you would regard as sexy?" She said: "No. Sexy is no makeup, not made-up to be someone different for someone." So, you might ask why does she do this? Guess.

My thoughts on this are that it should be her choice to explore who she is, or not. I just like the stories, because that is one scene you won't find me. I'm just saying.

Perfect Pot of Tea?

How one makes their tea is based on personal choice. Over sixty years of making the perfect cup for optimal taste has not changed much. George Orwell: A Cup of Tea written in 1946.