Leonard Cohen fans take Montreal

The first anniversary of Leonard Cohen's death saw fansmeeting in Montreal to celebratehis legacyand share the very personal impact he had on each of them.

Monday, the star-studded tribute concert, Tower of Song, made Montreal the centre of the musical world with artists including Sting, Elvis Costello, k.d. lang and fan-favourite of the evening, Damien Rice, delivering covers to a packed Bell Centre.

The week of Cohen events continued with the inauguration of agiant mural downtown, an expansive museum exhibition opening and even a public karaoke nightin one of Montreal's Metro stations.

Cohen was sometimes called the poet of sorrow, and early in his career, his albums gained the tongue-in-cheekreputation among critics as "music to slit your wrists to."

Those labels conjure up images of a similarly dark and gloomy fan base but upon meeting scores of those fans, they are, in fact,just the opposite.

The Cohen fans in Montreal this week were a markedly upbeat and sociable bunch whose energy seemedsuited for an Abba revival tour morethan a finalfarewell to their idol.

But here they were, meeting each other and sharing stories of how his musichelped them through dark periods of their lives.

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Field Commander Cohen, Quebec's ambassador

On the anniversary of Cohen's death, Nov. 7, people lingered near his Plateau duplex offParcdu Portugal.

There were no big crowds singing So Long, Marianne, as there had been the night his death was announced a year ago.

People arrived one by one to stand in front of his door and contemplate for a moment.

A young woman arrived at the doorstep with roses MarianaRedondofrom Spain, named after Cohen's Marianne.

Her parents were devotedfans, she said.

For the two months she's living in Montreal, ofcourse she chose an apartment nearParcdu Portugal.

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With her wasQuebecerEliotSkene, who said he's benefited from Cohen's ambassadorship during his travels.

Skene lived on the Greek island ofKalymnosfor three years in the1990sand said, "Everyone knows Quebec because of him."

Cohen owned a home in Hydra, Greece, which he bought in 1960.

About half a dozen peopleloitering within earshot of our Cohen conversation moved closer tolisten in.

Nexus of Cohen fans

Cohen's Plateau home has becomea popular drawfor Cohen aficionados throughout the year.

When AnitaParmarmoved to Montreal tostudy atMcGillUniversity 21 year ago, she moved into the area.

The exact location of Cohen's home was only a rumour to her, but she would sit inParcdu Portugal hoping to see him.

She received scholarships to study close to homein Ontariobut disappointed her parents and came to Montreal instead, because of her love for Cohen.

"[I came] to study at the same school as Leonard Cohen. But more importantly, to live in the same city that Leonard Cohen grew up in and to experience the romance that he writes about,"Parmarsaid.

She did graduate studiesin the U.S. and then came back to Montreal with her Ph.D. in physics to openthe innovation and collaboration spaceB21atMcGillUniversity, where groups such asthe university's student poetry club now meet.

Florida sun on a dark Montreal afternoon

On the eve of the Cohen tribute concert, a group of international Cohen fans boarded two buses, Tower of Song #1 and #2, on Peel Street.

The itinerary includedCohen landmarks such as his family synagogue, childhood home, Plateau duplex and therestaurant on the Main that he used to frequent, Moishes.

Eagerly sitting at the front of Tower of Song #2 was Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bacon-Smith.

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She was so happy about being in Montreal that the misery of the cold day was lost on her she only saw it as a nice change from her routine Florida heat.

"You're such a happy person. It's hard to believe you're a Cohen fan, his music is so heavy," I said, as we both got rained on at a stop in Westmount.

She disagreed vehemently with that calculation.

"It goes deep inside. We all have that angst. That's where he goes, to heal that," she said.

Later, we lost track of time talking about Cohen inside Saint-Viateur Bagel.

The rest of the group was nowhere to be seen as we walked back to Parc Avenue where, luckily, one of the buses was still waiting.

She started to run down the street, and I yelled goodbye she stopped, wanting to run back for a picture together.

A feeling of long-lostfamily marked the connection between the ardent Cohen fans riding those buses.

Singing through stage fright

A motley crew of singers assembled later in the week at Montreal's Place-des-Arts Metro station to sing Cohen songs.

Anyone was free to sign up and serenade the crowd.

The event began at 4:30 p.m., and the crowd quickly swelled until commuters needed tosqueeze pastto get to theturnstiles.

The karaoke event was organized as an accompaniment to the nearby Muse d'art contemporain's exposition on Cohen which opened that day.

Singers read lyrics offa monitor, while a band played behind them.

Third in line was Lydia Yakonowsky who sang Tower of Song softly into the microphone.

"It was terrible, I was shaking," she said.

If there isany artistfans can feel comfortable commemorating despite a bit of stage fright it's Cohen,who famously struggled with it for most of his career.

Despite her nerves, she felt she needed to be a part of this commemoration because Cohen's been such a big part of her life.

She said she lives near his Plateau homeand was the second person to get flowers to his doorstep after news broke of his death last year.

She added that playing his songs is"the little light in the middle of my day."

And citing his song Anthem, as so many have done this past week, she said his work reminds her that personal struggles and pain aren't altogethertragic.

"It's so beautifully put, 'That's how the light gets in.'"