leonard, probably the last great balladeer, is on an odd string of half-luck. he had success -really more as a writer, than as a performer himself- and then turn to hardcore buddhism in a monastery. it was at this convenient point that his manager decided to steal all his money.
mr. cohen comes out of the monastery, realizes he's broke, and, at the age of 73, immediately goes on tour to make money. in a heartbeat he's selling out show-after-show. the tour is hugely successful, lasting an interrupted three years.
the last night of the entire tour is his second night at caesar's palace. the first show selling so strong that they added a second ... but those sales languish.
vegas, being what it is in the 21st century, can have huge nights of entertainment. december 11th is one of these: it has three:
- leonard cohen's last show
- andrea bocelli
- and todd rundgren doing an entire night of robert johnson covers (in a super-intimate venue, not two miles from my place)
this is also dead season. it used to be that vegas went dark from the monday following american thanksgiving to boxing day. only in the last decade or so have they started having shows.
and this means that the ticket market is super-soft. soft enough, in fact, that all three shows are selling tickets below face in the days running up. i hold back and decide to see todd rundgren, having already seen mr. cohen and knowing i can probably catch mr. bocelli sometime in the future.
and then my ticket subscription offered leonard cohen.
i snapped them up immediately.
the show was great and long. leonard continually referred to the caesar's colosseum as "friends" and met his promise that the super-tight, white-hot band for doing their absolute best.
four hours long with one intermission. the only other performer or group i've seen that could run that hard for that long was george clinton.
the set-list was longer than san jose -- maybe as much as 30% longer. the band was tighter. mr. cohen was more eager and digging deeper within himself.
the audience was unusual for a strip big show. dressed a bit nicer. maybe just a tad younger. there was a large contingent of leonard cohen fans that went down to the stage and started singing in unison while laying roses on the stage during intermission.
the only people i could see in the second mezzanine were either white or asian. lots of italian nationals.
it's very possible this is the last large show leonard cohen will ever perform. i'm sure as hell glad i saw it.
$50 for the cheapest seats in the house. free for me.
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