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1. The Songs

I'm a pretty big Cohen fan and even I was surprised at the amount of gems the dude kept pulling from his catalogue: "Bird On A Wire," "Suzanne," "Hallelujah," "First We Take Manhattan," and on and on. Trust me, even if you don't know the songs by name, you'll recognize them when you hear them (perhaps from a famous cover version--e.g., Jeff Buckley's haunting take on "Hallelujah"). The only problem was that since the concert was three hours long, and Cohen wasn't messing around with deep cuts, it was hard to find a good moment for a bathroom break. But the music was worth the small amount of bladder discomfort.

2. The Voice

Despite saying in "Tower Of Song" that he was born with the gift of a golden voice, Cohen was never what you would call a technically great singer. I guess spending years in a monastery (as Cohen did) is good for the throat, because, to my ears, his voice sounded even better in person than he did on his most recent album, 2004's Dear Heather. It's still a husky croak, but it's a strong croak, and one that Cohen is completely in control of, whether he's intoning solemnly on "The Partisan" or wryly leering on "I'm Your Man."

3. The Presence

Especially on his early records, Cohen can come off as the kind of guy that makes a mortician look like a glee club captain. Live though, he's a humorous, sardonic figure, joking about the different anti-depressants he's tried and skipping off-stage before being called back for encores. Without the occasional levity, the often downcast material might have felt oppressive. It didn't.

4. The Hat

Dude rocks a fedora better than Bogart.

5. The Back-up Singers

Cohen was joined by three backing vocalists. One, Sharon Robinson, has been singing with him for years. She's got a smoky, forceful voice and did well with her solo spot on "Boogie Street." She's aided by the Webb sisters, Charley and Hattie. They sing like a dream, clear and high in close harmony. One of them played the harp. They both played guitar. And early on in the show, they did a cartwheel in unison. I wish I could've seen their audition.

6. The Band

Okay, Dino Soldo's sax solos often sounded like the kind of thing you'd hear playing over a softcore porn luuurve scene (or so I'm told), but aside from him, the six instrumentalists backing Cohen sounded like the coolest member's only night club band you'd ever hear. Their playing was sensitive and finely detailed, with special props going to Javier Mas (on a bunch of stringed instruments whose names I don't know), and Neil Larsen's versatile organ and keyboard accompaniment.

7. The Truth

When Leonard Cohen sang, I felt like he was telling the truth. We could all use a little more of that.

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