Copyright - RosieRoguerre 2008
When I arrived on the first night, no one could stop talking about Leonard Cohen, even me. For us, it was the highlight of the festival, and for him, his last gig of the summer.
People had flown from across the globe to catch a glimpse of the spiritually seasoned and provocative performer and despite his age (73) he brought the magic.
He walked onto the stage with the air of Sinatra in his glory days and as soon as he opened his mouth my photobud turned to me and said, ‘ I would totally hit that ‘
The boosh crowd had pretty much left the festival and I was surprised at how hardcore his fans were, older rowdy and passionate – but as soon as he opened his mouth, they became hypnotised, mouths agape, eyes stirred with distant memories and wonder.
Towards the end of his set, he said ‘Thankyou friends’ and he really meant it, despite giving very limited press interviews, he made time to speak to my friend Sunny who had travelled from New Orleans, she cried her eyes out with joy and hugged us, there was some serious crown envy going on…
Amy, a fellow papper was a life long fan, and he signed a copy of some lyrics that she had printed off online, she shook when she saw him..and then rang everyone she knew to brag about it.
And I will remember the deepness of his eyes despite his wrinkles when he knelt down on the stage and cooed ‘Dance with me…’ into his microphone, capturing a sea of souls with a breath and exhaling them with another.
