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The Schmooze

Leonard Cohen Day Proclaimed in Milwaukee

We’re not sure if he’s going to be presented with the keys to the city, but we do know that March 15 has been officially declared Leonard Cohen Day in Milwaukee by Mayor Tom Barrett.

It’s not every day…or every year…or every decade that the legendary singer-songwriter plays Wisconsin’s largest city. So, his first performance there in 38 years is indeed a reason to celebrate.

Friday’s show at the Milwaukee Theatre is part of his “Old Ideas” 2012-2013 tour. Cohen, 78, is doing gigs in 12 cities in March alone, with the Milwaukee stop squeezed in between Chicago and Tampa.

Fans may refer to Cohen by one of his 156 (and counting) nicknames, like Lord Byron of Rock ‘n Roll, Poet of Holy Sinners, Troubadour of Travail and Maestro of Melancholy, but we can tell the people running Milwaukee know who he really is. He’s the guy who was “born to Nathan Cohen and Marsha Klonitsky” of Montreal, according to the second paragraph of the official Leonard Cohen proclamation:

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