When a friend told me that Leonard Cohen was giving a concert in the Roman coliseum in Nimes, I balked at paying the hefty 96€ for a ticket. Then, the day before the concert, I thought “Am I crazy? Who cares what it costs? It’s Leonard Cohen!” Plus, I realized, he will be 75 years old next month and he might not be planning another world tour any time soon.
So, off to Nimes last night to see a performer I’ve been in love with for 40 years. Can that be possible? He recorded Suzanne, the first song I heard by him, in 1967. Mon dieu …
I knew the concert would be wonderful but I didn’t expect that I would say afterwards – without exaggeration – “That was the best concert I have ever seen in my life.” After literally every song, he received a standing ovation. The audience was all over him. I was stunned that he left the stage for good after only 4 encores. It was all over so fast!
The concert was in the two-thousand-year-old Roman coliseum, Les Arènes – a superb venue for a concert (and, I suppose, for the gladiatorial shenanigans of yore). The air was soft and warm, the sky was clear and dark, and the music was pure magic.
I have been steeped in Leonard’s music all day today and I am watching and listening to Leonard Cohen, Live in Concert as I write this post. Friends Doris and Hu gave Kevin and me the DVD when they visited recently from California. I highly recommend it. Last night’s show is pretty much the same as this London concert of July 18, 2008.
On the DVD, he told his audience that it had been a long time since he had stood on a London stage: “It was about 14 or 15 years ago – I was just a 60 year old kid with a crazy dream.” Leonard, you’re timeless.
Ruth
Categories: Memories, Travel
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2 Responses to “Leonard Cohen in Concert in Nimes”
Hello,
I saw the fabulous pictures around the lake near St. Remy. I will be in St. Remy next summer. Can you tell me the name of the lake and where it is? Can you ride a bike to the lake?
Thank you,
Jim
(do you have favorite inexpensive cafes that you really like? We will be 15 people include a bunch of teenagers…)
Hi Jim,
I found the lake on google maps and copied the link to it. It’s http://maps.google.com/maps=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=st.+remy+de+provence,+france&sll=34.047788,118.249753&sspn=0.11336,0.17767&ie=UTF8&ll=43.777787,4.83304&spn=0.024696,0.044417&z=15
Kind of long! If it doesn’t work, just find St. Remy de Provence on Google Maps and zoom in on the link. You can definitely ride bikes there. It’s lovely.
As for cafes, I think St. Remy in summer is way too crowded with tourists and accommodating 15 people on bikes will be difficult. I recommend riding the short distance away to Maillane – a lovely village with an inexpensive scenic cafe right in centre ville. Don’t take the main road to Maillane from St. Remy. Come in the back way (direction St. Etienne de Gres from St. Remy). The road that turns off that main road and heads into Maillane is spectacular – one of my favorites. You might hit it when there are huge fields of sunflowers blooming. Bon Voyage!
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