Leonard Cohen - Opera House - 17/06/08 by James Ellaby

As a music fan in your mid (to late) 20s, there are certain artists who you have to accept that you're never likely to see perform live. Leonard Cohen was one of those, having not toured since the early 90s and spending much of the time in between living in isolation as a Buddhist monk. At the age of 73, he's no spring chicken either, so touring isn't a major priority for men of that certain age, all of which makes this run of shows in Manchester that much more like a very special event.

You have to hand it to the organisers of the Manchester International Festival, for pulling another rabbit out of the hat as one of their trailblazer events for next year's festival. After all this time, and with the reputation he has, Cohen could have simply showed up and it would have been worth it, as shown by the standing ovation he gets for coming onto the stage at the start, but this is far more than just an elderly man who got ripped off by his money-men heading back out to cash in on his legacy, this is a legend poking his head round the door and knocking us all dead again.

Cohen's reclusive lifestyle and the nature of his lyrics (and voice) have often had him labelled as 'miserable' or 'depressing', but there's not a bit of that on display as he cracks jokes in between songs, does a little shuffle dance at one point and generally acts like a warm and genial performer. In fact, he's almost too nice, spending a little bit too much time milking applause for the various members of his band, though they certainly deserve the praise. With gorgeous backing vocals from Sharon Robinson and The Webb Sisters, the very talented musicians give Cohen's songs the perfect accompaniment.

Of course, all of that would just be window dressing if the main man wasn't up to it, but despite his age and his lack of recent practice at performing, Cohen is on fire. From start to finish, he looks dead cool in his suit and hat, and his voice is probably as strong as it has ever been, as it has certainly been improved with the ravages of life and cigarettes. He only very rarely falters, and never holds back when a song requires him to push himself vocally, and that makes for a very impressive and powerful performance from a singer who was never blessed with a 'classic' voice.

Cohen's vocals have always been quite unique, but it's his songs that have rightly made him famous, and this tour showcases all the very best of them, from opener Dance Me To The End Of Love onwards. It would take too long to name all of the highlights, because that would actually mean describing every song he played, but all the old favourites like Bird On The Wire, Suzanne and So Long Marianne were stunning, while 'newer' classics like The Future, Anthem, Democracy and In My Secret Life were also done really well.

Perhaps his most famous song for younger generations, Hallelujah is now best known for Jeff Buckley's cover version (which is definitely better than the original), but Cohen's performance at this gig went a long way to reclaiming it for himself, taking out the slightly awkward tempo of the chorus from the studio version and just going for power and emotion, making it one of the real jaw-dropping moments of the show. Another of those was his spoken-word reading of A Thousand Kisses Deep, backed only by atmospheric keyboards, while The Webb Sisters got to showcase their gorgeous vocals when Cohen stood back and let them perform If It Be Your Will.

It's been so long since he was over here touring that it's tempting to label this a 'comeback' in the sense that Johnny Cash's 90s revival was, but that's not really accurate, because he has simply been away from the stage, rather than churning out poor quality music or coasting on his legacy. The fact that much of the setlist comes from 'recent' albums (though surprisingly none from his most recent release) shows that Leonard Cohen has never really been far from on top form, and this tour is just his way of reminding everyone that he's still around and he's still one of the best in the business.