Seen and Heard

Leonard Cohen: Some friends were disorganised and didn't get tickets before the Wellington concert sold out. They missed one of the best concerts I've been to. The stage was simple, curtains lit by soft-ish lights, and three hours of Leonard. I had a fantastic seat, and he played everything I wanted. He's also quite funny - but you'd get that from his lyrics. The band was superb (although some people took issue with the sax/wind player), and all the nightmare 80s arrangements had been changed, improving the songs. My only complaint is petty: I don't like Suzanne, which he played. But aside from that, brilliant. Including stunning versions of My Secret Life and Boogie Street (sung by Sharon Robinson, who co-composed it). Hallelujah was extremely moving, and he's now singing it with a more redemptive quality than the album version.

Young@Heart Lovely doco this one. Follows a geriatric choir who cover Radiohead, Sonic Youth, James Brown, Allen Touissant etc. Just like a real rock n roll band, we've got death, love (kinda), bad behaviour, pathos... I really enjoyed the movie, it's sweet, interesting, well paced and funny - there's some terrific one-liners in it. Ok so the reviews (mine included) may not read as exciting - but it is definitely worth seeing.


Frost/Nixon: Enjoyable enough fare from Ron Howard. Dramatisation of David Frost's interviews with Richard Nixon where Nixon admits he might not have been honest as he could have been. The movie seemed well paced and the actors playing Frost and Nixon were excellent. In keeping with Ron H movies, it is manipulative, and it's not very subtle either. But having said that, I enjoyed it. I did find the turning point for Frost's 'redemption' manipulative, but hey it had to be something. Overall I came out of it with a greater appreciation for Nixon. I'm not sure if I was supposed to, but meh, it's likely to make me read more about him.

B