The night of Saturday, 21 January marked the inaugural Adelaide Leonard Cohen event – a small but spirited gathering of fans of varying levels of Cohen obsession, coming together on a warm summer’s evening to celebrate Leonard’s words and music.
The event was organised by AlanM (of bootleg video fame), who also had kindly agreed to host it at his home in a leafy Southern suburb of Adelaide.
I first met Alan at the Adelaide concert of Leonard’s 2010 Down Under tour, and have kept in touch with him on-and-off since then. His commitment to spreading the word about Cohen to friends, neighbours, and whoever else will listen is unparalleled in anyone I have met. So when I heard he was trying to get together a group of like-minded fans for an evening in celebration of Cohen’s music I was more than a little intrigued.
In the weeks leading up to the January 21 event participants were asked to nominate one song from Leonard’s back-catalogue that they would be willing to speak briefly about, as a short introduction to the screening of a live rendition of the song. As one of the goals of the evening was to “educate” new fans, Alan’s basic idea was to screen videos from his collection of TV performances and audience-shot clips, rather than to show performances from the “Live in London” or “Songs from the Road” DVDs (both of which everyone is familiar with).
In a frantic stream of emails throughout January, plans were laid and songs were chosen. For most people the criteria for song choice was just to pick something that appealed to them. Alan and I (as “elder statesmen of LC fandom” – a relative term, as neither of us have anywhere near the encyclopaedic knowledge of some here on this forum) picked less common songs, just to demonstrate some of the less-featured sides of Leonard.
The night kicked off at 6:15, and festivities were already well underway by the time I arrived around 6:30. Although I had never been to Alan’s house, it was easy to pick from the enticing sound of Cohen rarities that could be heard wafting from his back yard. It had been a hot day (mid 30s centigrade) and the sun was still blazing down on the grassy open air courtyard where Alan had set up a TV / Media player set up nestled neatly between his lush array of potted plants and tasteful garden statuary. Amazingly, most folks had arrived before me – clearly everyone was eager – so almost immediately on arrival, my partner Cathy (from Adelaide) and I were right in the thick of a long and complex series of introductions. Fortunately I had previously met several of the attendees (at the 2010 Adelaide concert, where they had been dragged along as recent converts by Alan), otherwise there is no way I would have had any chance of remembering so many new names.
As people ate, Alan kicked the video presentations into gear, most notably screening a collection of recent videos, mostly fan-produced. Starting with the Sony 3D TV commercial featuring Leonard’s gravelly recitation, things proceeded rapidly to the classy (and surprisingly long) extended “Thousand Kisses Deep” recitation video produced as an international collaboration between several folks on this forum, including Alan. Other items which received rapt attention were three videos featuring the “teaser” songs that have been released online ahead of the Old Ideas album, with scrolling lyrics and assorted still images. For many in attendance this was the first time they had encountered these tunes – while the more complex and meditative songs (Going Home and Show Me The Place) were met with nodding acceptance, a much more enthusiastic response greeted The Darkness.
After the preparatory videos were screened – and more than a little good-hearted conversation about them had just begun to dwindle, the main part of the evening’s festivities kicked into gear: the screening of videos chosen by attendees.
In all, there were ten songs chosen, and while we alternated between hearing impassioned spoken introductions by the assembled fans, watching old videos of Leonard playing live, and discussing many points, the sun slowly sank leaving us in darkness. As twilight fell, several different groups of native Australian birds augmented the soundtrack with their pleasant if occasionally raucous twilight calls, as they milled around the trees overhanging Alan’s back yard. In a strange kind of way this added rather than detracted from proceedings and reminded me greatly of the experience of seeing Leonard perform live at outdoor events such as the winery shows in 2009 or Hanging Rock in 2010.
Different people approached the task of choosing a song, and introducing it, in many different ways and the evening definitely benefited from that variety. Some people spoke for just a few moments, expressing their undying love for the violin work of Raffi Hakopian or something similarly brief. Others spoke for some time, describing their (sometimes long and convoluted) journey from discovering Leonard’s music many decades ago, losing it , and finding it again in recent years. About the only thing that all introductions had in common was that they focussed exclusively on the personal impression the song had made on them – “What this means to me”. This personal and heart-felt, rather than dissecting and academic, approach made everything very accessible to both new fans as well as old hands.
After the video screenings were done, things slipped into a more casual gear, with people breaking into a number of small conversations about Leonard, the Universe and everything (I guess). Lots of questions were asked, information – biographical and otherwise – imparted, theories proposed, and general ruminations indulged. Coffee and tea were served, although the true believers stuck firmly to the vintage port that Alan produced from some hiding place.
While we chatted, the evening was fuelled on by a playlist of 23 "Gentle Songs" that Alan had prepared -- basically, songs from the LC back-catalogue *not* played on the recent tours but suitable to half-listening to while balancing a plate of food in one hand, a glass of port in the other. So, nothing at the "Dress Rehearsal Rag" end of the spectrum, but plenty leaning towards Alexandra Leaving (and Winter Lady, particularly apropos since earlier mention had been made of McCabe & Mrs Miller).
One item that attracted more interest than I expected was my collection of CD packaging from the Australian & New Zealand 2010 concerts. This was the first time I had dragged these twelve packs out from the little workroom where I designed and constructed them over a 3 month period last year. I figured that folks might look upon this project as some kind of strange obsessive-compulsive folly, but if people thought that they were at least polite about it. There was particular interest in the recording of the Adelaide concert and its associated packaging, particularly from those who were there on the night!
Things wound up around 11:30, although conversation about Leonard and his decades of music were still going strong even as folks were descending Alan’s driveway back onto the street as the glittering lights of Adelaide twinkled in the distance.
So … how would I summarise this small gathering of Leonard Cohen fans, old and new? Was it a reverential affair? Most definitely not. An academic dissection of Cohen’s lyrics and music? No way. A heart-felt exchange of personal impressions of how the music of the Canadian bard had touched each and every participant in its own unique way … well, yes, it was most definitely that.
And that, after all, is what a Leonard Cohen event *should* be.
Hey Dean, that would have been an amazing night! It sounds like it was so well thought out and planned - I loved the participative strengths of it and the meaningfulness of the activities.
I'm very envious of you all. If I had known about it, I would have been very tempted to drive across for it as well - what's 730 kilometres between fans???
The Leonard Cohen Adelaide get-together sounds absolutely superb.
Andrew (Darby) wrote: Hey Dean, that would have been an amazing night! It sounds like it was so well thought out and planned - I loved the participative strengths of it and the meaningfulness of the activities.
Yeah, sorry Andrew ... I did mean to get in touch with you and few of the other folks "within a very powerful stone's throw", but by the time I got organised enough it wouldn't have been enough notice for anyone to practically make it. A lesson for next time.
Maybe we could get something organised for Melbourne in September?
Okay Dean, let's keep it in mind - I would certainly be keen to make the trip over to Adelaide.
I'm just not sure how that style of gathering would work in Melbourne, as I haven't found a circle of Cohenites here who might form a suitable core for that sort of evening, although there are a couple of people I can think of who might be interested (and my son may be persuaded as well). Moreover, I'm sure we would get Ania on board for such an event and 'blonde madonna' isn't too far away either. I guess I need to be a bit more proactive!
Anyhow, let's talk more as the year unfolds.
Report From Australia, "A Successful Gathering - Twice As Long As A Leonard Cohen Concert."
Alan Mawhinney and I have been exchanging emails since the Adelaide concert in 2010. One thing about Alan that was evident from the start, he is so passionate about the genius of Leonard Cohen he wants everybody in his life and beyond to enjoy and admire LC as much as he does.
As dce, Dean (from Adelaide) reported above, Alan and his wife Karin hosted a Leonard Cohen fans get together at their home in Adelaide on January 21, 2012 .
Alan kindly sent me emails and photos to let me know how the evening went. Thank you to Dean for inviting me to join in on Skype, but I am not on Skype...yet.
I reprinted Alan's emails (in part) describing the planning and the meet-up in his own words including a photo of the happy participants in Arlene's Leonard Cohen Scrapbook http://onboogiestreet.blogspot.com/2012 ... ssful.html .
And yes, pup Roscoe, now 15 months old, was named after...you guessed it...our much admired Roscoe Beck.
I love this anecdote... and, again, as I said on Arlene's blog... I love how you did the personally chosen songs with people expressing their reasons for loving them.
Dean's artwork certainly is a magnum opus and was admired by all. An amazing amount of time and artistic talent went into producing them and they have a really professional style to them.
Dean's CDs are upright around the inner part of the table, Alan's DVDs are around the outside and the afore-mentioned vintage port is in the middle. Behind the decanter is my Unified Heart mug - for show purposes only!
Thanks for sharing this event here- A well written and entertaining description of the evening that made me feel as though I had attended!
I have heard the birds in Australia when the sun sets, so that helped. Congratulations on having such a great first time event.
Just as a side note--I met my husband, of some 30 years now, at a Jack Kerouac event, way back when. I wonder how many current couples first met at one of these great LC events, if any?
As always, a thoroughly enjoyable read of your take of this well put together event. You and Alan did a great job on covering all the bases!
Thank you for your link re: your correspondence with Alan. I added so much to my pleasure in reading about how this came together.
Any possibility of adding a few words about how the chosen 10 songs did impact the persons ("What this means to me") on these songs? Would love to hear this when you get a chance. Thank you.
Hi to everyone involved in contributing towards what sounds like a well celebrated gathering.
So glad to see Australia flying the flag for Leonard!!
Ah Dean, how I miss your descriptive words. They remind me of all the Australian concerts with special memories to the Brisbane one.
Seems So Long Ago........ ......but never mind one never knows what tomorrow will bring.
Little did I know when I wrote that last sentence above how prophetic it could be. Seems one didn't even have to wait until tomorrow!
I hope I'm not getting toooo excited over nothing.