Aproape 7800 de oameni au fost prezenti vineri, 4 septembrie, la concertul sustinut de Leonard Cohen pe Stadionul Tineretului "Iolanda Balas Soter" din Capitala. Aflat pentru a doua oara in Romania, in cadrul aceluiasi turneu, artistul canadian a cantat 26 de piese, a recitat poezii si a sustinut doua bisuri de 40 de minute. "We don't know when we will pass this way again, friends. Until then, may you fall on the side of luck, may you be surrounded by friends. And if this is not your luck, may the blessings find you in your solitude", a fost binecuvantarea de final a poetului.
Intr-un costum simplu, cu o camasa alba, dar cu nelipsita palarie - asa s-a prezentat Mr. Cohen vineri seara, la Stadionul Tineretului. Punctual ca un adevarat gentleman, a inceput la ora 20:00 si ne-a dansat "'till the end of love" (Dance Me To End Of Love).
"Thank you for shining down on us", a multumit el dupa inca doua piese (The Future si Ain't No Cure For Love). "Thanks so much to having us back to Bucuresti. [...] Tonight we're gonna give you everything we love". Iar publicul a primit bucuros. O parte dintre spectatori s-a apropiat de scena, stand pe iarba, pe culoarele dintre scaune. Altii s-au bucurat de spatiul din spatele scaunelor, unde au putut dansa.
Au urmat piese ca Bird On The Wire, Lover Lover Lover, Waiting For A Miracle si Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye, pentru ca apoi artistul sa ne recite poezia The Flood, scrisa in Israel (1973), alaturi de refrenul piesei Anthem.
"The flood it is gathering
Soon it will move
Across every valley
Against every roof
The body will drown
And the soul will shake loose
I write all this down
Don't have the proof" (Israel, 1973)
"So ring the bells
That still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in"
Prima parte a spectacolului s-a incheiat cu Anthem si cu promisiunea ca totul va fi reluat dupa pauza, nu inainte ca Mr. Cohen sa ne prezinte, poetic ca intotdeauna, prietenii aflati pe scena: "the great virtuoso" Javier Mas (chitara acustica), "the maestro of breath" Dino Soldo (saxofon, clarinet, clape si "wind instrument"), "the irreplaceable" Bob Metzger (chitara electrica si acustica), "the prince of precision" Rafael Bernardo Gayol (percutie), "the subtle, the impeccable" Neil Larsen (clape & acordeon), "the incomparable" Sharon Robinson, "on vocals, heart and gymnastic, the sublime" Webb Sisters (Charley si Hattie, backing vocals) si "the shepherd of our conscience" Roscoe Beck (chitara-bas si director muzical al turneului).
Dupa 20 de minute de pauza, am fost adusi in "turnul cantecelor", cu melodii ca Tower Of Song ("I'm just paying my rent every day/ Oh, in the tower of song"), Suzanne, Sisters Of Mercy ("If your life is a leaf/ That the seasons tear off and condemn"), The Gipsy's Wife sau The Partisan.
Boogie Street-ul i l-a lasat lui Sharon Robinson, care ne-a indemnat la evanescenta, in timp ce Mr. Cohen facea backing vocals in penumbra.
"So come, my friends, be not afraid
We are so lightly here
It is in love that we are made
In love we disappear"
Seara a continuat cu celebrul Hallelujah, pentru ca Take This Waltz sa faca lumea sa danseze pe adaptarea muzicala a unui celebru poem al lui Federico Garcia Lorca.
"Now in Vienna there's ten pretty women
There's a shoulder where death comes to cry
There's a lobby with nine hundred windows
There's a tree where the doves go to die"
Dupa o noua prezentare a colegilor de scena, Mr. Cohen si-a scos palaria in semn de apreciere pentru publicul din fata sa si a parasit scena topaind strengareste. A fost insa imediat atras inapoi pe scena de "magnetul uman" creat de cei aproximativ 7800 de melomani prezenti pe Stadionul Tineretului.
Si a urmat poate cel mai lung bis din istorie, cu un public care, in picioare, nu se mai satura sa asculte, sa cante, sa danseze, sa aplaude. Piese ca So Long Marianne, First We Take Manhattan si Famous Blue Raincoat, au fost intregite cu un moment de poezie, chiar inainte ca surorile Webb sa cante If It Be Your Will.
"If it be your will
That I speak no more
And my voice be still
As it was before
I will speak no more
I shall abide until
I am spoken for
If it be your will
If it be your will
That a voice be true
From this broken hill
I will sing to you
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing"
Closing Time ("Ah we're drinking and we're dancing/ And the band is really happening") a venit ca un avertisment ca spectacolul s-a sfarsit, dar din nou canadianul a fost chemat pe scena, pentru un al doilea bis. I Tried To Leave You, a recunoscut muzical Leonard Cohen, care a incheiat cu o marturisire de suflet: "here's a man still working for your smile". Apoi intreaga echipa, cu trupa, producator, sunetist, s-a renunit pe scena in jurul artistului si au cantat Whither Thou Goest.
"Whither thou goest I will go
Whither thou lodgest I will lodge
Thy people shall be
My people
Whither thou goest I will go"
"To you friends, who kept my songs alive all these years - my deep gratitude! It is a great honour to play for you. You've been through so much, you know so much of the human spirit, where it can thrive and where it can fall. It is an honour to play for heart like your, to be accepted by you. So we don't know when we will pass this way again, friends. Until then, may you fall on the side of luck, may you be surrounded by friends. And if this is not your luck, may the blessings find you in your solitude. We are deeply greateful for the hospitality that you've shown us this evening", a multumit Mr. Cohen la finalul a mai bine de trei ore de muzica si poezie.
Setlist
1) Dance Me To End Of Love
2) The Future
3) Ain't No Cure For Love
4) Bird On The Wire
5) Everybody Knows
6) In My Secret Life
7) Who By Fire
8) Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye
9) Lover Lover Lover
10) Waiting For The Miracle
11) The Flood (poezie)
12) Anthem
(pauza 20 de minute)
13) Tower Of Song
14) Suzanne
15) Sisters Of Mercy
16) The Gipsy's Wife
17) The Partisan
18) Boogie Street
19) Hallelujah
20) I'm Your Man
21) Take This Waltz
(bis 1)
22) So Long Marianne
23) First We Take Manhattan
24) Famous Blue Raincoat
25) If It Be Your Will
26) Closing Time
(bis 2)
27) I Tried To Leave You
28) Whither Thou Goest
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