a thousand kisses deep

Where do I start? No opening act. Just Leonard and possibly one of the tightest bands ever...for three and a half hours(minus one short intermission). We were wrung out at the end of the show. I can't imagine how he felt, though he looked dapper and upbeat as he skipped across the stage for his FINAL curtain call(there were four, in all).
The moment he appeared on stage, we were his. The funny thing about it, he was ours, as well. He was gracious and charming and wickedly disarming. He is a master of the show, a slave of the words. He read us like a book and played to us. He was eager that we know and acknowledge his band, his co-conspirators. I like that in a person.
It was GM Place. It felt like(and sounded like) some small venue at the back of an old bar, intimate, friendly...reverant. We leaned in towards the stage collectively. We heard every word. We listened. There were very few people daring to break the silence of the audience while Mr. Cohen spoke or sang. We ate up every word.
His age apparent, he looks healthy, vital, wise and mischevious, and I believe his sound is better now than ever. The poignancy of his music made that much more holy by the years on his face. His stories, so full of the sweet sadness, the bitter ironies...the breadth of love and longing in the face of failure...Beautiful Losers, never cease to move me and now, maybe, ever so much more.
It was like walking wide awake into my dreams. For real.
I could tell you about all his songs and his spoken words....it would take me all night. Basically, he sang everything you would want to hear him sing...pick your own personal favourite Leonard Cohen song, he probably sang it. He sang ALL of my favourite Leonard Cohen songs...and I found some new favourites. Someone asked me the highlight moment of the show for me. I have to say, I didn't have one. The whole thing, beginning to end, was magic...was transcendent...was a particular kind of joy, elation, shortness of breath, fierceness of heart that is usually reserved for the Grand Canyon, the colour blue of a Colorado sky, Monument Valley, aspen groves, Joshua Trees, Mesa Verde, the curve of the cheek of my friend's son...it was like the breath of the world.
Yeah, it really was that good.