Wade Perry, UHTC Accountant - Leonard Cohen 2012 Old Ideas World Tour

Wade Perry - UHTC Accountant

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June 16, 2012
From: Greetings from Camp Cohen  6/11/12  (J.S.Carenza III )
There is artistic brilliance to be found in all manner of mediums and for tour accountant Wade Perry, the story is told in wave after wave of endless numerical data which the entire enterprise depends on his deft translation from chaos matrix to actionable meaning.

While a sour note played twice becomes a statement, in Wade’s world, a stray decimal point can mean the entire operation snowballs into catastrophe. No fear though, the admins of Camp Cohen are a team of experts in their given fields, and at the end of day, when the fire is crackling bright and the gypsy songs are playing to boisterous toasts, there’s no better numbers man to have watching your books than Wade Perry.
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I was very pleased to see tour accountant, Wade Perry highlighted in the Camp Cohen blog,.  As part of a Leonard Cohen Forum "thank you to the crew" project at the end of the World Tour 2008-2010, I "adopted" and wrote a thank you letter to Wade on behalf of our group.

Here is some background about the project:

(Avi Elkoni / brightnow)
A few months ago with the end of the world tour looming, I decided to start a neat little project. The idea was to start an ‘all inclusive’ project to say thank you to the UHTC [Unified Heart Touring Company]  crew for taking such good care of Leonard and the band at the end of the world tour in Las Vegas...

...Next came a great idea from Bridger15 [Arlene Dick] who asked to “adopt” her favorite crew member. We took this idea a step further and invited everyone to adopt a crew member and write a personal letter to them...

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My letter to Wade Perry

December 2010

Dear Wade,

You must have noticed that for us, the fans, the Leonard Cohen World Tour of 2008–2010 was pretty special. It had been so long since Leonard’s last live performance that many of us came to accept the sad fact we would never get to see him perform on-stage again.

When the tour was announced, it was more than a dream come true, it was a miracle. We soon found that every concert was a perfect miracle in its own right – the sound, the lighting, the unobstructed view of the stage from every seat, the timing and every other little detail – it was flawless.

I know very well this kind of perfection does not happen by itself. Every detail was a result of the hard work and commitment of the crew, and we know you all labored to make the miracle happen night after night.

You spent months on the road, travelling tens of thousands of miles, being responsible for the myriad financial aspects of the tour and always under great time constraints.

You and Larry often worked in uncomfortable makeshift physical spaces to get the job done. You had so many duties to cover within limited time, such as box office settlement, reconciliations, paying bills, producing interim reports and the challenge of arranging per diems in so many different currencies. And of course, recording all the transactions and keeping the books balanced on a timely basis.  As a Chartered Accountant, I fully appreciate all your hard work and the challenges of a job like this.

Every night the fans applaud the performers, but today we applaud you. We want you to know that your contribution to the tour is something we’ll never forget.

Soon we will all move on with our lives, but before we do, we’d like to present you with a few items as a sign of our gratitude. Everything in the bag was carefully chosen, designed and funded by volunteers fueled by love for Leonard’s work and much appreciation for yours. I hope you enjoy our little gift to you. We will forever cherish the memories you helped create by carrying and supporting the load of the Unified Heart Touring Company.

With gratitude,


Arlene Dick, CA
(bridger15 on the Forum)

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  • Photo of Wade Perry by J.S. Carenza III  (webmaster: Greetings From Camp Cohen)
  • "Larry"  is tour accountant, Larry Morris, who also received a letter from me on behalf of the group.

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