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Walking to the Brighton venue we started talking to a group of ladies who were walking our way and asked if they were going to see Leonard Cohen. They just 'looked' as if they should be. They answered 'Yes' and added that they had seen us in the same restaraunt as they had been eating in and thought that we were also going to the concert.
So... What makes us stand out as Leonard Cohen fans?

Years ago I would have said... Hippy looking ladies with long hair (although this is completely opposite to me); serious looking men with beards and patches on their elbows (Vicomté had a beard 40 years ago and patches but they were on his jeans not his elbows).

So, what does one look like today?

Looking around the venues the majority of us were of a 'certain age' but I was pleased to see a sizable number of under 40's and even under 30's. Perhaps that's why we were recognised as Leonard Cohen fans; Brighton is a very young town and us oldies possibly stand out. Walking back to the car after the concert we passed loads of bars that were noisy and filled with young people spilling out onto the streets. It made me feel a bit out of place.

Over the years I haven't met that many Leonard Cohen fans and those who I have met seemed to be rather dour, now though they seem to be much more fun. Perhaps in his youth as with many young people Leonard was very intense and with maturity and experience he has written lyrics which reflect the absurdity of it all. I loved his comment at an earlier concert where he said something like... 'I've studied all the major religions of the world but cheerfulness kept breaking through!' ...Just brilliant!

With Leonard cohen; you either 'get it' or you don't! We all do that's why we're here.

Good question Vicomtesse. I ask myself that at most gigs I go to these days! Due to my (very) eclectic taste in music, I'm usually short of an answer.

But you're right. Forty years ago 'we' were all serious (? Dour) young things, and Leonard matched that mood and our own perceptions. He too personified someone at the end of their tether, and bound with frustrations. Perhaps as we grow older we become more aware of our own mortality, so you've got to "lighten up", as Leonard says.

I too wore 'flares' (bootlegs to the young things reading this), and had a rather fetching blue velvet jacket. Whispery beard, which I gave up trying to cultivate into something more impressive quite soon on.

These days, it pleases me at gigs I go to, that there is a huge mix of ages and genres in attendance. It goes to show that music has no defined parameters.

So, in answer to your question - there is no answer. You look like whoever you are.

Robert