Wow!!! What a night!
Carolyn, A and I started the night off with a nice dinner at The Palm in the Forum Shops. Surprisingly this was the first time I'd dined there (and have lived in Vegas for 7 years). I had attended meetings and social functions, but not actually dined there. Great meal, and a good way to start the evening
I had heard that Leonard Cohen puts on a fabulous show, but there was no way of knowing how good it could possibly be.
This was the last show of a 3 year - 246 show world tour. Cohen joked that he had started this tour as a pipe dream as a young 73 year old kid. But the road certainly did not seem to weary this unbelievable performer. From the start there was so much passion in both his singing and on stage presence, you knew you were seeing something special.
I knew sporadic songs throughout. Opening with Dance Me To The End Of Love set the tone for me and I watched, just mesmerized, as song after song this man poured everything out for a very appreciative and loyal audience. I felt amazed when he left the stage after 13 songs and was excited to hear Hallelujah for the encore. Little was I to know, that Cohen was just getting started.
After about a half hour break, where a lot of fans moved down to the stage to serenade him back on, Cohen (and a wonderfully talented band) took the stage for Part 2 of the evening. Another 11 songs - of which Hallelujah almost bought me to tears, followed immediately by I'm Your Man. This guy just did not know how to stop.
Finally (I thought) he said his goodbyes to a very appreciative audience. But no - he still had 3 encores and 6 songs left in him. Finally at midnight - THREE AND A HALF HOURS LATER - Leonard Cohen said his final goodbyes and a packed Caesars Colosseum left knowing they had just witnessed one of the best shows ever!
It doesn't matter how young or old you are, or the type of music you generally like, if you have a music bucket list - make sure Leonard Cohen is on it. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. I certainly hope I get to see him again. I also hope other bands with extensive catalogs take note as to how long he played for. Living in Vegas, I feel a lot of performers take the easy money and phone it in here, especially when, on average, we seem to pay more per ticket than other cities surrounding us.
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