Leonard Cohen @ The Paramount, Oakland 04/15/09

[El Dingo]

Yes this was my first Leonard Cohen show.

I first heard 'Halleleujah' in 'Shrek'. They used the cover by John Cale. Oddly enough the OST on CD used the cover by Rufus Wrainwright. This is where it gets weird.

From Wiki:
Although John Cale's version was used in the film Shrek itself, his version did not feature in the movie soundtrack album, Shrek: Music from the Original Motion Picture. Canadian musician Rufus Wainwright recorded a version similar to Cale's, also using piano, and his version was used on the soundtrack album.[8] The Shrek soundtrack, containing Wainwright's cover, was certified in the United States as double platinum in 2003 by achieving sales of over two million copies.

The weird part is that the versions of the soundtrack now feature the John Cale version.

Anyway - being a fan of John Cale I searched for the song he was inspired enough to cover. Leonard's music was dark, melodic and pretentious. Everything I look for in music. Anyone who can sing :

Give me crack and anal sex
Take the only tree that's left
and stuff it up the hole
in your culture
Give me back the Berlin wall
give me Stalin and St Paul
I've seen the future, brother:
it is murder.

And attract 3 nights of sold out Paramount shows for 40 year old+ audiences is OK with me.