On Meeting Leonard Cohen

Back in the 70s, when I lived in Denver, I attended a Leonard Cohen concert at Ebbits Field, Denver’s premier concert hall. The concert was sold out and I was promised comp tickets by a “friend” who was connected with one of the local concert promoters in the area. 

So there I was, with a few others in the same predicament, waiting at the entrance for my friend to show up, as there was no record of us being on the guest list. I had just about given up hope when Leonard Cohen walked through the front door as if he were one of the audience, guitar case in hand. The nice young lady at the ticket counter, knowing how we would be disappointed if we didn’t get in, seized the moment and said, “Mr. Cohen, these people were supposed to get tickets from so-n-so but he hasn’t arrived”. 

Without skipping a beat, he said, “Let them be my guests.” I thanked him and shook his hand. That brief moment meant so much to me and has left an indelible image in my memory. We all have these mental photographs of special moments in time. This is one of mine.

John Bergeron