Leonard Cohen live review by a fan as opposed to some self-opinionated rock critic (warning - contains optimism)

At Electric Roulette, we don't like kidding you, our rockin' readers, that we've been to, like, uh, every gig ever man. You know, sometimes, we just can't afford it. Or we stay in and moan about stuff. Mostly, we'll be making compilations for people. Anyway, Leonard Cohen hit the road for a massive tour of just about every single place on Earth. One of those places was a hospital in Dublin. Was he singin' to the sick? Roulette reader Dianaimh Ward was there to find out...

Who have you been watching and where?

Leonard Cohen, Kilmainham Hospital, Dublin (OUTDOOR seated)

Was it a greatest hits set?

No, more so... 'Best of'...

He's doing it for the money right?

He might be doing it for the money cuz his manager or record company fecked him over... or something like that that happened... He seemed to get a lot of pleasure singing, thanking his band and the crowd for staying despite the rain. He was smiling the whole way through so I'd like to think he was in it for the fans.

Smiling? Leonard Cohen? Probably wearing his grubby old mac then...

He wore a warm looking scarf (I wish I had) and a very dapper hat. There was a trenchcoat being worn but I couldn't tell you if it were clean or dirty.

These things are never cheap... I bet it was a rip-off...

3 hour mammoth set and no let up... incredible amount of energy from him... and the crowd despite the fact the average punter's age was 60.

Did you arse go numb after 3 hours?

IT GOT SOAKED.

Mostly, the best bit of a gig doesn't involve a tune as such...

The groan from all the women the second he sang his first note and the standing ovation midway through Hallelujah... also, on the Luas...

...that's some high speed train thing in Ireland...

... impromptu sing song from the fans on the tram... heart warming to say the least.

Change anything?

NO BLOODY RAIN.

Some guy grumbling into a mic... dirty mac... c'mon... did Cohen put a foot on the monitor for a big guitar solo at any point?

No, he was so lovely about making you aware of the rest of his band... who were amazing musicians...  and applauding their skills. No big guitar solos from Leonard, but some amazingly deep singing.As if you'd expect anything less from him...

If some stranger came up to you and asked you was the Cohen gig worth it, what would you tell 'em?

I wish I was going again tonight. A gig that can make you smile as much as I did despite being rained on severely must rate highly on my top 10 gigs ever.

Have you gone scurrying back to Lenny's LPs after seeing him?

Most of them are my mums... so have to ask her for them first!