Pitchfork

Photo by Kathryn Yu

Maybe it's true that Leonard Cohen has only now decided to tour America because his former manager ran off with all his money. Maybe he'd rather just be off meditating on a mountaintop somewhere. None of that makes this news any less awesome. Last night, Cohen played at New York's Beacon Theatre, his first show on U.S. soil in 16 years, and everyone who was there has rapturous things to say about it. And now he'll embark on a full-scale two-month North American run. Keep in mind that we're talking about a 74-year-old whose shows tend to last nearly three hours. We probably won't get too many chances like this one.

Also great: This trek will take Cohen to some truly gorgeous and historic venues. Radio City! The Chicago Theatre! Red Rocks! The suddenly celebrated Merriweather Post Pavilion! And it's worth noting that Cohen will play nearly as many shows in his native Canada as he will in the U.S. Who would've figured this guy for a patriot?

And as a pretaste, Columbia will release Cohen's Live in London, a double CD and DVD package that Cohen recorded at the O2 Arena last year. This will rule so hard.

04-02 Austin, TX - Michael and Susan Dell Hall at Long Center
04-03 Grand Prarie, TX - Nokia Theatre at Grand Prarie
04-05 Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theatre
04-07 San Diego, CA - Copley Symphony Hall
04-10 Los Angeles, CA - Nokia Theatre L.A. Live
04-13 Oakland, CA - Paramount Theatre of the Arts
04-17 Indio, CA - Coachella Festival
04-19 Vancouver, British Columbia - General Motors Place
04-21 Victoria, British Columbia - Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre
04-23 Seattle, WA - WaMu Theater at Qwest FieldEvents Center
04-25 Edmonton, Alberta - Rexall Place
04-26 Calgary, Alberta - EPCOR Centre's Jack Singer Hall
04-28 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - Credit Union Centre
04-30 Winnipeg, Manitoba - MTS Centre
05-03 Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theatre
05-05 Chicago, IL - The Chicago Theatre
05-09 Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre
05-11 Columbia, MD - Merriweather Post Pavilion
05-12 Philadelphia, PA - Academy of Music
05-14 Waterbury, CT - Palace Theater
05-16 New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall
05-19 Hamilton, Ontario - Copps Coliseum
05-21 Quebec City, Quebec - Pavillon de la Jeunesse
05-22 Kingston, Ontario - K-Rock Centre
05-24 London, Ontario - John Labatt Centre
05-25 Ottowa, Ontario - National Arts Centre, Southam Hall
05-29 Boston, MA - Wang Theatre
06-02 Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre