Leonard Cohen I

So I did something somewhat crazy, which might have been one of the sanest things I’ve done in a long time. I bought tix for the Leonard Cohen concert in Toronto, figuring I would somehow get myself to Toronto when the time came. The tix were outrageously expensive, the plan utterly insane. I hopped on a train from NY to Toronto on Thursday, spent a few days visiting friends, and tomorrow morning will take the train back to NY. The train from NY to Toronto takes about the same time as the direct flight from NY to Beijing. Having done both, I would definitely recommend the train to Toronto. The seats are way roomier.

Friends that I’ve been running into all weekend in Toronto have been reacting ruefully to the news that I was going to the Leonard Cohen concert, as though I had told them I was planning to live out the secret dream of their childhood. Even the immigration officer on the train seemed jealous, and a little awestruck. Tonight was the concert, and it was a pure slice of heaven.

The experience of seeing Leonard Cohen in concert at this point in his career – he has said it will be his last tour – is so overwhelming, so transcendently unlike anything else, that I’m not going to attempt to describe it now. I will take a day, ruminate, think upon it, let my dreams of the experience collide and debate with one another tonight. Then tomorrow, when I have come back down to earth, I will make the attempt. Meanwhile, I will leave you with this bit of cautious wisdom, courtesy of Mr. Cohen:


        There is a crack … in everything
        That’s how the light gets in.

 

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