L. Cohen at Dublin by David Byrne

If imitation is the greatest form of flattery then I am so flattered I can't express it in words well... David Byrne (Proprietor of The Black Raven Gallery in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland) was inspired to create this wonderfulful interpretation in charcoal of an image I shot at the Leonard Cohen concert in Dublin, Saturday June 14th 2008 in the beautiful grounds of the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, Dublin. It was a wonderful setting for a truly memorable evening...one to remember, one I felt privileged to attend. I just hope Leonard eventually release's some or all of it on DVD, it was a peerless performance of near musical perfection. Cohens backing band & the incomparable Sharon Robinson & Charley & Hattie Webb on backing vocals played a crucial part in making the evening unforgettable. I actually threw my camera in my car at the last minute - a friend who was there on the opening night (the day before) told me he saw no-one taking photo's! I decided to "sneak" my 40D with zoom attached in under my leather jacket (it was a bit obvious, the lump). Nobody was frisking, searching bags at the entrance - well it WAS a Cohen Concert! Not much chance of bottles of cheap cider & sharp objects being secreted among his followers, so I breezed in with relief. I then sat for the first couple of songs anxiously eyeing the security people in their red jackets. Once a couple of tipsy women stated to stand in front of the big screen & blatantly (try) to focus their compact digital cameras at it my confidence grew. I was emboldened enough to take a couple of quick shots of the stage in the (considerable) distance. Still no red jackets intervened. During the mid-gig interval (the great thing about a 73 old poet/singer/songwriter geniuses gig is that he has a mid-gig interval - probably for a glass of wine, a cigarette!). I lurked closer to the side of the stage in the audience traffic as they rushed for a pee or a beer or a smoke. A man almost immediately came straight up to me, "I'm busted" I thought. His name was Cathal (pronounced "caught-hal") & he said - "if I let you sit in my seat in the front row for a few minutes will you email my wife some photos?". Done deal! I got about a half dozen in the can before a redcoat told me I'd have to "take off that big lens" if I wanted to take any more shots! I retreated, elated. Thanks Cathal & Patricia! Altruism at a Leonard Cohen Concert, it was a given really... After the show I was waiting for some friends outside the Royal Hospital, at the East Gate. As the crowd streamed happily out & I waited, still on a serotonin mediated post gig high, with the words & music of "Closing Time" rolling around in my head, a completely strange (as in Stranger) woman walked directly up to me. She seemed so familiar in her body language I actually said "hi" assuming that we knew each other! Why she chose me I'll never know, but acting like she knew me all her life she just beams at me & utters in sheer joy "wonderful! wonderful!". It sort of summed up the evening for all that were lucky enough to be their. Wonderful. Just wonderful. Ps. If you'd like to see all the shots I got on this special night you can click on the link to my flickr set "Sincerely, L. Cohen" below... http://www.flickr.com/photos/snappydessy/sets/72157605623484359/