Leonard Cohen is here

Several times during Leonard Cohen’s epic and enveloping show at the Citi Wang Theatre Saturday night, the legendary singer-songwriter would sing one of his famous, devastatingly precise couplets and the audience would break into applause.

If the crowd had applauded every time Cohen’s poetic eloquence was displayed, it would’ve meant a nonstop ovation for almost the entirety of the 3-hour-plus performance. That might’ve been distracting but it would’ve been understandable given how deep his gift for expression runs and how impeccably it was brought to life by the man and his superb band.

At 78, it would make sense, even be expected, that Cohen would move a little slower or play for less time. But the opposite was true. The spry Cohen — cutting a natty figure in black suit and fedora as did most of his band — literally skipped about the stage, went down on his knees frequently, and played more than two dozen songs, ambitiously covering the ground between his 1967 debut and this year’s “Old Ideas.” – [Boston Globe]

Canadian national treasure and all-around music legend Leonard Cohen is still going strong at 78, having released the widely-acclaimed Old Ideas this year that ended up on Best of 2012 lists from Rolling Stone, The AV Club, Q and more. If you haven’t heard it yet, you can stream it below via Rdio.

Leonard’s current tour, which hit Boston over the weekend (review above), wraps up here in NYC with two shows: Madison Square Garden tonight (12/18) and Barclays Center on Thursday (12/20). Tickets are still available for both shows.

Album stream is below.

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