I can't say I'm a Leonard Cohen fan as such, unlike
So I had no great expectations last night - a professional gig from a legendary musician at the twilight of his career but no idea that I was going to be enchanted and transformed as I was.
The band, the musicians, the troupe I guess that he had assembled were world class - there were moments of the concert where I had momentarily stopped breathing, enthralled by the virtuosity on display.
Leonard Cohen, himself, was a masterful showman - minimising the patter and maximising its impact, gliding in and out of his back catalog of songs with an effortless grace. Not bad for a man of 76. His age has stooped him, but his magnificently apocalyptic voice was untremored as it guided us through the endless landscape of splintered relationships and through the deep wells of emotional pain.
Clare Bowditch was an exceptional support act. Seemingly dwarfed on stage with her best friend Pikelet as accompanist, Bowditch managed to turn the Acer Arena, the apotheosis of a fucking barn, into the most delicate of initimate spaces. No mean achievement.
Truly one of the greatest concerts I've ever had the privilege to attend.