By all accounts, Leonard Cohen killed it at Beacon Theater last night. This was the legend's first show in the States in 15 years, and a tuneup for a tour that will take him across the States and into Canada twice over. Brandon and I will see Cohen at Coachella; I doubt we'll get the three-hour, 25-song marathon the recently reopened Beacon did last night, but also we won't be paying like $700 to see him. The two-set/triple encore show came with a nine-person backing band and ran deep with the classics, as you'd expect; that Mr. Cohen was as deeply impassioned, energetic, and gracious throughout seemed to startle and impress everybody. He's still a suave man. I'm pretty sure all of us that wasn't there should be a little jealous this morning. We sent photographer Ryan Muir to take some pictures. They limited him to one song with his camera. He made it count. (74, going on 50.) Here's what Leonard played last night, and where he's playing next:
SETLIST (via Billboard.com)
01 "Dance Me To The End of Love"
02 "The Future"
03 "Aint No Cure For Love"
04 "Bird on the Wire"
05 "Everybody Knows"
06 "In My Secret Life"
07 "Who By Fire"
08 "Chelsea Hotel"
09 "Hey That's No Way/Sisters of Mercy"
10 "Anthem"
[SET BREAK]
11 "Tower Song"
12 "Suzanne"
13 "The Gypsy's Wife"
14 "The Partisan"
15 "Boogie Street"
16 "Hallelujah"
17 "I'm Your Man"
18 Poem
19 "Take This Waltz"
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20 "So Long Marianne"
21 "First We Take Manhattan"
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22 "Famous Blue Raincoat"
23 "If It Be Your Will"
24 "Democracy"
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25 "I Tried To Leave You"
04/02 - Austin, TX @ Michael and Susan Dell Hall at Long Center
04/03 - Prarie, TX @ NOKIA Theatre
04/05 - Phoenix, AZ @ Dodge Theatre
04/07 - San Diego, CA @ Copley Symphony Hall
04/10 - Los Angeles, CA @ NOKIA Theatre L.A. Live
04/13 - Oakland, CA @ Paramount Theatre of the Arts
04/17 - Indio, CA (Coachella)
04/19 - Vancouver, BC @General Motors Place
04/21 - Victoria, BC @ Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre
04/23 - Seattle, WA @ WaMu Theater
04/25 - Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place
04/26 - Calgary, AB @ EPCOR Centre
04/28 - Saskatoon, SK @ Credit Union Centre
04/30 - Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
05/03 - Minneapolis, MN @ Orpheum Theatre
05/05 - Chicago, IL @ The Chicago Theatre
05/09 - Detroit, MI @ Fox Theatre
05/11 - Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
05/12 - Philadelphia, PA @ Academy Of Music
05/14 - Waterbury, CT @ Palace Theater
05/16 - New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
05/19 - Hamilton, ON @ Copps Coliseum
05/21 - Quebec City, QC @ Pavilion de la Jeunesse
05/22 - Kingston, ON @ K-Rock Centre
05/24 - London, ON @ John Labatt Centre
05/25 - Ottawa, ON @ Southam Hall
05/29 - Boston, MA @ Wang Theatre
06/02 - Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Ampitheatre
