Leonard Cohen Dazzles At New York Tour Warm-Up

Tuning up for a spring North American tour, Leonard Cohen played his first show on American soil in 15 years last night (Feb. 19) at New York's Beacon Theatre. The three-hour performance featured all of Cohen's classics, including "Suzanne," "Bird on the Wire" and "Hallelujah."

Cohen, 74, broke a 15-year hiatus from touring in 2008 with shows in Canada, Europe and New Zealand. His AEG-promoted North American tour will begin April 2 in Austin, Texas, and run through June 2 at Red Rocks outside Denver. He will also make a previously announced appearance on April 17 at the Coachella festival in Indio, Calif.

In what was just the second show at the newly reopened Beacon, Cohen dazzled the sold-out crowd with a career-spanning set, backed by an ace six-piece band and three female vocalists. (For Billboard's complete review, please click here.)

He frequently thanked the audience for its devotion, and the crowd ate up Big Apple references in songs like "Chelsea Hotel" and the funky "First We Take Manhattan."

Cohen was in fine, deep voice throughout, dropping to his knees to sing "Hallelujah" and dabbling in guitar and synthesizer throughout the performance.

As previously reported, Columbia will on March 31 release Cohen's "Live in London," taped last summer at the city's O2 Arena.

Here is Leonard Cohen's set list:

Set one:
"Dance Me To The End of Love"
"The Future"
"Ain't No Cure For Love"
"Bird on the Wire"
"Everybody Knows"
"In My Secret Life"
"Who By Fire"
"Chelsea Hotel"
"Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye"
"Sisters of Mercy"
"Anthem

Set two:
"Tower of Song"
"Suzanne"
"The Gypsy's Wife"
"The Partisan"
"Boogie Street"
"Hallelujah"
"I'm Your Man"
Poem
"Take This Waltz"

Encores:
"So Long. Marianne"
"First We Take Manhattan"

"Famous Blue Raincoat"
"If It Be Your Will"
"Democracy"

"I Tried To Leave You"

"Whither Thou Goest"

Here are Leonard Cohen's North American tour dates:

April 2: Austin, Texas (Long Center)
April 3: Grand Prairie, Texas (Nokia Theatre)
April 5: Phoenix (Dodge Theatre)
April 7: San Diego (Copley Hall)
April 10: Los Angeles (Nokia Theatre)
April 13: Oakland, Calif. (Paramount Theatre)
April 17: Indio, Calif. (Coachella Festival)
April 19: Vancouver (GM Place)
April 21: Victoria, B.C. (Save-On Foods Memorial Centre)
April 23: Seattle (WaMu Theatre)
April 25: Edmonton, Alberta (Rexall Place)
April 26: Calgary, Alberta (Jack Singer Hall)
April 28: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Credit Union Centre)
April 30: Winnipeg, Manitoba (MTS Centre)
May 3: Minneapolis (Orpheum Theatre)
May 5: Chicago (Chicago Theatre)
May 9: Detroit (Fox Theatre)
May 11: Columbia, Md. (Merriweather Post Pavilion)
May 12: Philadelphia (Academy of Music)
May 14: Waterbury, Conn. (Palace Theatre)
May 16: New York (Radio City Music Hall)
May 19: Hamilton, Ontario (Copps Coliseum)
May 21: Quebec City, Quebec (Pavillon de la Jeunesse)
May 22: Kingston, Ontario (K-Rock Centre)
May 24: London, Ontario (Labatt Centre)
May 25: Ottawa, Ontario (National Arts Centre)
May 29: Boston (Wang Theatre)
June 2: Morrison, Colo. (Red Rocks)

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