Old Ideas

     On Friday we packed our bags and headed south so we could go see Leonard Cohen at the Palace Theatre in Louisville Kentucky. Where do I start? The Palace Theatre is a beauty. Go see it if you ever get the chance. Simply amazing.  Leonard Cohen was fantastic. He arrived on stage at 8 PM and he  put on one heck of a show. We staggered out of the Theater a little past 11:30, after many standing ovations. On the brief walk across 4th Street Live to our hotel I promised my husband I would stop referring to Leonard as my boyfriend sometime in the next month. (29 days and counting!) 

     Leonard jogs out on stage, a young whippersnapper of 78 years old. He sings songs, tells stories, pays reverent homage to his fellow musicians on stage, each one very worthy of our love. He's a gentleman of the best kind. He's respectful of everyone, but doesn't take anything too seriously. There's two kinds of women at a Leonard Cohen concert: The kind who have already lost their mind, and the kind who are about to lose their mind. I'll let you decide in which category I reside, but suffice it to say I have been to a concert of his in Cleveland in 2009. 'Nuff said. 

     But seriously, while I sit mainly still in my seat in awe of it all, some of these women are hypnotized in other ways. There are a lot of reminders of what it's like in some churches. And I have to admit, at many times throughout the night I kept thinking to myself it felt a little like a church. Except a church where nobody was pretending they never said bad words. A church where you could buy a beer or a glass of wine and bring it into the sanctuary with you. And they did. And we all sang. Women raised their hands to the sky all the time, and swayed in their seats.  People danced in the aisles a little bit. There were standing ovations scattered throughout the show, for Leonard Cohen, for Sharon Robinson, Hattie & Charley Webb, and every member of the band. People shouted out "I love you, Leonard" at times throughout the show but I think nobody minded because we all wanted to shout it out. At some point a lady shouted out "Best Easter Ever" and we all silently agreed. I wanted to shout out and if I could I would shout to Leonard "Ole`!"  

And if you want to fully understand why "Ole`!" you can see the very heartfelt and genius video of the Ted Talk here:

It's worth every second of your time. I think it's one of my all-time favorite Ted talks. 

     There's so much more I could say about it. I could tell you how Leonard Cohen will be at Radio City Music Hall the 6th and 7th of this month (in 4 days!) and I want to go so much I was digging through old gold to see if I could see enough to finance another trip. I could tell you how lucky I am to have a husband who understands my soul with his soul and led the chase to Louisville. I'll leave you with this photo I took, which does no justice, but makes me happy all the same. 

Ole`! Ole`! Ole`!

p.s. Oh my gosh I found my people! And they are here: Leonard Cohen Forum! Where have you been all my life?