The Smokey Life Tour

Last updated
The Smokey Life Tour
Tour by Leonard Cohen
Associated album Recent Songs
Start date October 13, 1979
End date November 24, 1980
Legs 3
No. of shows 80 in Europe
7 in Australia
2 in Asia
89 in Total
Leonard Cohen concert chronology

The Smokey Life Tour was a concert tour by Leonard Cohen, in support of his album Recent Songs , released in 1979. The name of the tour comes from the song "The Smokey Life", taken from the album.

Leonard Cohen Canadian poet and singer-songwriter

Leonard Norman Cohen was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, sexuality and romantic relationships. Cohen was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was invested as a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honour. In 2011, Cohen received one of the Prince of Asturias Awards for literature and the ninth Glenn Gould Prize.

<i>Recent Songs</i> 1979 studio album by Leonard Cohen

Recent Songs is the sixth studio album by Leonard Cohen, released in 1979. Produced by Leonard Cohen and Henry Lewy, it was a return to Cohen's acoustic folk music after the Phil Spector experimentation of Death of a Ladies' Man, but now with many jazz and Oriental influences.

Contents

Overview

The tour began shortly after the release of the album in October 1979 in Gothenburg, Sweden and would continue until mid December. Most concerts were given in three countries – Germany (24 shows), the United Kingdom (9 shows) and France (8 shows). The tour also made stops in Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland and Ireland for one or two concerts.

In March 1980, the tour traveled to Australia for seven shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. After seven months off, the show returned to Europe for concerts on the mainland, giving performances in France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium as well as Austria, the Netherlands and Spain. The tour ended with two performances on November 24, 1980 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

In the seven-month-long break, Cohen (together with The Chambers Brothers and Jennifer Warnes) took part at the "Bread & Roses" Festival in Berkeley, California. It would be the only appearance of Cohen in Northern America during this tour.

The Chambers Brothers American soul music band

The Chambers Brothers are an American soul band, best known for their eleven-minute 1968 hit "Time Has Come Today". The group was part of the wave of new music that integrated American blues and gospel traditions with modern psychedelic and rock elements. Their music has been kept alive through heavy use in film soundtracks.

Jennifer Jean Warnes is an American singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer. Famous for her compositions, interpretations, and her extensive repertoire as a vocalist on movie soundtracks, she was also a close friend and collaborator of Canadian singer-songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen.

Tour dates

DateCityCountryVenue
Europe [1] [2]
October 13, 1979 Gothenburg Sweden Scandinavium
October 14, 1979 Stockholm Konserthuset
October 15, 1979 Oslo Norway Oslo Concert Hall
October 17, 1979 Copenhagen Denmark Falkoner Teatret
October 19, 1979 Avignon FranceParc des Expositions de Avignon
October 20, 1979 Nice Théâtre de verdure de Nice
October 22, 1979Paris Pavillon de Paris
October 24, 1979 Bordeaux Parc des Expositions de Bordeaux
October 25, 1979 Nantes Parc des Expositions de la Beaujoire
October 26, 1979 Cambrai Palais des Grottes
October 27, 1979 Antwerp Belgium Koningin Elizabethzaal
October 28, 1979 Brussels Palais des Beaux-Arts
October 29, 1979 Montpellier FrancePalais des Sports
October 30, 1979Paris Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
November 1, 1979 Frankfurt Germany Jahrhunderthalle
November 2, 1979 Böblingen Böblingen Sporthalle
November 4, 1979 Aachen Eurogress Aachen
November 5, 1979Berlin Congress Centrum Berlin
November 6, 1979 Münster Halle Münsterland
November 8, 1979 Mainz Rheingoldhalle
November 9, 1979 Bochum Ruhrlandhalle
November 11, 1979 Hanover Congress Centrum Kuppelsaal
November 12, 1979 Kassel Stadthalle Kassel
November 13, 1979 Bremen Stadthalle Bremen
November 14, 1979 Ulm Donauhalle Ulm
November 15, 1979 Nuremberg Meistersingerhalle
November 17, 1979 Cologne Messehalle Cologne
November 18, 1979 Düsseldorf Philips Halle
November 19, 1979 Kiel Ostseehalle
November 21, 1979 Hamburg Congress Center Hamburg
November 22, 1979 Braunschweig Stadthalle Braunschweig
November 23, 1979Hamburg Congress Centrum Hamburg
November 25, 1979 Freiburg Stadthalle Freiburg
November 26, 1979 Ludwigshafen Friedrich-Ebert-Halle
November 27, 1979 Lausanne SwitzerlandThéâtre de Beaulieu
November 28, 1979 [A] Zürich Kongresshaus
November 30, 1979 Munich Germany Circus Krone
December 1, 1979 [A]
December 3, 1979 Bonn Beethovenhalle
December 4, 1979LondonEngland Hammersmith Odeon
December 5, 1979
December 6, 1979
December 8, 1979 Birmingham Birmingham Odeon
December 9, 1979 Manchester Manchester Apollo
December 10, 1979 Glasgow Scotland The Apollo Theatre
December 11, 1979 Edinburgh Edinburgh Odeon
December 13, 1979 Preston England Preston Guild Hall
December 14, 1979 [A] Dublin Ireland An Staidiam Náisiúnta
December 15, 1979 Brighton England Brighton Dome
Oceania [3] [4]
March 6, 1980 Melbourne Australia Comedy Theatre
March 7, 1980
March 8, 1980
March 9, 1980
March 11, 1980 Adelaide Apollo Stadium
March 14, 1980 Sydney Capitol Theatre
March 15, 1980
North America [5] [6]
October 3, 1980 [B] Berkeley United States Greek Theatre
October 5, 1980 [B]
Europe
October 24, 1980 Besançon France Palais des Sports de Besançon
October 25, 1980 Geneva Switzerland Victoria Hall
October 26, 1980 [A] ZurichKongresshaus
October 28, 1980 Lille France Palais des Sports Saint-Sauveur
October 29, 1980BrusselsBelgiumPalais des Beaux-Arts
October 30, 1980 Amsterdam Netherlands Concertgebouw
November 1, 1980 [A] ViennaAustriaWien Concertgebouw
November 2, 1980MunichGermanyCircus Krone
November 3, 1980 Dortmund Westfalenhallen II
November 4, 1980BonnBeethovenhalle
November 5, 1980 Eppelheim Rhein-Neckar-Halle
November 7, 1980FrankfurtJahrhunderthalle
November 8, 1980 [A] Nancy France Palais des Sports Jean Weille
November 9, 1980 Strasbourg Palais de la musique et des congrès
November 10, 1980 Mulhouse Palais des Sports de Mulhouse
November 12, 1980 Saint-Étienne Palais des Sports de Saint-Étienne
November 13, 1980 Lyon Bourse du Travail de Lyon
November 14, 1980 Clermont-Ferrand Palais des Sports de Clermont-Ferrand
November 16, 1980 San Sebastián Spain Velódromo de Anoeta
November 17, 1980 Barcelona Palau dels Esports de Barcelona
November 18, 1980 Toulouse FranceHall Comminges
November 20, 1980BerlinGermanyCongress Centrum Berlin
November 21, 1980HamburgCongress Center Hamburg
November 22, 1980 Freiburg Stadthalle Freiburg
Middle East
November 24, 1980 [A] Tel Aviv Israel Fredric R. Mann Auditorium
Festivals and other miscellaneous performances
A Cohen performed a Matinee and Evening concert.
B This concert was a part of "Bread & Roses"

Live Recordings

Several shows of the tour were professionally recorded, most notably the shows at the Hammersmith Odeon and the Dome Theatre in December 1979. The recordings were officially released 22 years later in 2001 as a live album under the name of Field Commander Cohen: Tour of 1979 .

Brighton Dome performing arts centre in Brighton, England

The Brighton Dome is an arts venue in Brighton, England, that contains the Concert Hall, the Corn Exchange and the Studio Theatre. All three venues are linked to the rest of the Royal Pavilion Estate by an underground tunnel to the Royal Pavilion in Pavilion Gardens and through shared corridors to Brighton Museum.

<i>Field Commander Cohen: Tour of 1979</i> album by Leonard Cohen

Field Commander Cohen: Tour of 1979 is a live album by Leonard Cohen released in 2001. Songs were recorded live at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, on 4, 5, and December 6, 1979 and at the Dome Theatre, Brighton, on December 15, 1979. Cohen said it was his best tour ever.

The 1979 concert in Bonn was transmitted on radio. Most of the concerts were taped by fans and privately exchanged.

Musicians

Accompanying Cohen was the jazz band Passenger from Austin, Texas, consisting of members Steve Meador on drums, Roscoe Beck on bass, Mitch Watkins on guitar, Bill Ginn on keyboards and Paul Ostermayer on sax and flute. Other tour members included violinist Raffi Hakopian, oudist John Bilezikjian, and backup singers Jennifer Warnes and Sharon Robinson.

Austin, Texas State capital city in Texas, United States

Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. It is the 11th-most populous city in the United States and the 4th-most populous city in Texas. It is also the fastest growing large city in the United States, the second most populous state capital after Phoenix, Arizona, and the southernmost state capital in the contiguous United States. As of the U.S. Census Bureau's July 1, 2017 estimate, Austin had a population of 950,715 up from 790,491 at the 2010 census. The city is the cultural and economic center of the Austin–Round Rock metropolitan statistical area, which had an estimated population of 2,115,827 as of July 1, 2017. Located in Central Texas within the greater Texas Hill Country, it is home to numerous lakes, rivers, and waterways, including Lady Bird Lake and Lake Travis on the Colorado River, Barton Springs, McKinney Falls, and Lake Walter E. Long.

Oud pear-shaped stringed instrument

The oudArabic pronunciation: ['ʕuːd] is a short-neck lute-type, pear-shaped stringed instrument with 11 or 13 strings grouped in 5 or 6 courses, commonly used in Egyptian, Syrian, Sudanese, Palestinian, Lebanese, Iraqi, Yemeni, Arabian, Jewish, Persian, Greek, Armenian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, North African, Somali, and various other forms of Middle Eastern and North African music.

John Bilezikjian was an Armenian Los Angeles-based musician and composer. Most renowned as an oud master, he also played the violin, mandolin and dumbek. He was also a traditional and contemporary singer singing in Armenian, but also in Turkish, Assyrian/Syriac, English and known for his contributions to world music as a solo act and in collaborations with renowned artists. He established his own record company, Dantz Records in Laguna Hills, California making many recordings, and appearing in tens of film soundtracks.

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References

  1. ↑ "1979 - Europe". Leonard Cohen Files. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  2. ↑ "1979 "The Smokey Life" Tour (Europe)". CohenLive.com. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  3. ↑ "1980 Australia". Leonard Cohen Files. Retrieved December 25, 2012.
  4. ↑ "1980 Early Tour in Australia". CohenLive.com. Retrieved December 25, 2012.
  5. ↑ "1980 - Europe and Israel". Leonard Cohen Files. Retrieved December 25, 2012.
  6. ↑ "1980 Late Tour in Europe & Israel". CohenLive.com. Retrieved December 25, 2012.
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