For the past 42 years Leonard Cohen has been making some of the most important, beautiful, passionate songs ever written. His ability to infuse a song with emotion transcends time, only getting better with age and experience.  Actually being able to see the man himself onstage is a little like the second coming. After all, he is the “jew who wrote the bible”.

On Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival the legend took the stage to a sold out crowd.  With only about 50 minutes to entertain us he gave us all the hits from Bird on a Wire to Everybody Knows. The 74 year old’s voice flawlessly delivered every nuance of his signature sound. He even got down on one knee serenading us into a velvet trance. At one point after a heart felt rendition of I’m Your Man, he removed his hat and earnestly replied to the thunderous applause, “Thank you friends” (sigh). I just want to put him in my pocket.

Among the crowd there was much discussion before he hit the stage as to who was the better songsmith, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, or Bob Dylan? Not to take anything away from the masterful stylings of both Waits and Dylan but I’d have to say it’s hands down Cohen every time. His genius lies not only in his poetic lyrics, but his ability to deliver them wrapped in a sound that’s tuned to the frequency of your heart.

His performance was one of the absolute highlights of this year’s festival (possibly of this year period). Through teary eyes I watched him take his final bow and exit by youthfully skipping off stage. Those of us lucky enough to have been influenced and inspired by Mr. Cohen are still pinching ourselves.

Words and photos by Barbie Brady. Additional photos by Matthew Brady.