The funny thing is I didn't even know about it until a friend I met though a very good friend told me about it. Bon Vivant of NYC, attorney, agent to actors and actress, the only man I have seen drive everywhere in NY, including going out at night, one night in particular when opening a beer in his old 5 series he rear ended a brand new M3 way past midnight (and yes, the guy had personalized plates) and talked his way out of it. A man who runs 24/7 and still finds a way to be successful, a man who is probably the closest I've seen in person to Jack Keuroic's Dean Moriarty. Honestly.
And that night, before we rammed that M3 we were driving around Manhattan with my scared ex in the back seat BLASTING Van Morrison screaming down sixth avenue. I've met a few people in my life that feel the way I do about music but very few who have connected to the music I like in that very same way. And a casual remark about Dylan led to my introduction of Dylanfest.
Held on Bob's birthday down in the Bowery it is an event that draws a lot of small names that should be big, or would have been if rock and roll was still #1 on the charts. Lots of hipster bands and names I barely knew would crowd the stage and the vibes.......man the vibes were amazing.
One year they opened with this song. A song that I always bypassed while listening to his albums. And that was the best part of the show. It wasn't the intimate venue, the people or listening to Norah Jones sing backup with no one even mentioning her name or that she was there. The great thing was Dylan has been heard so many times, been proclaimed the best by so many that eventually you stop listening, it becomes boring. BUT that night with all these new, young faces singing their hearts out to Bob's tunes, it all makes you fall in love with Dylan again.
About a seven months later I was at the Union Club outside the humidor smoking a cig and drinking whiskey and who should show up but my version of Dean himself. We caught up, talked about that night I missed this or missed that (he was also a good luck charm, it seemed as every night I had planned to go out with him I would grab a drink somewhere and meet someone, obviously to push him aside which he always understood). Out there on the balcony overlooking 69th street I told him how Dylanfest made me rediscover Dylan and fall in love all over again to which we locked eyes and he over joyously agreed. Again, right on point.
We stayed out that night until five after getting locked out on the balcony and having to break a window to get back in only to come in and get a full two hour tour of the club and its history by a very old but nice member and then off to Bar and Books on 73rd until the sun came up. A great night, but not even close to Dylanfest.
