Bob Dylan Convention/6th Annual John Green Day: a third view

Readers of this web site were out in force at Saturday’s Bob Dylan Convention/6th Annual John Green Day. Thanks to Ged Guild for his report, the third on The Dylan Daily:

“This year’s Bob Dylan Convention at the Park Inn, Northampton, was the sixth annual event to commemorate the passing of massive Dylan collector, the 43 year old John Green. In fact, the whole event is named after a man who, by all accounts, had the proverbial heart of gold.

“The day was an absolute success. Talks were given by BBC man Duncan Bartlett, who is obviously passionate and sincere in his intellectual fondness of Bob Dylan. Michael Gray is, love him or loathe him, the world authority on Zimmy. He communicates loud and clear that you cannot categorise Dylan – ‘Pop/Folk/Rock/Poet/Writer’ - to use his words, ‘the word talent just doesn't do it’.

“The evening’s entertainment got under way with a fantastic acoustic set from the evergreen Dylanesque; during their opener, Man of Constant Sorrow, you could literally hear a pin drop. Cold Overture, ever present at these events, went out of their way to say that they were not copiers of Dylan, as there is only one Bob Dylan. With the world’s only Bob Dylan tribute about to take the stage, maybe this was not really a grand welcome! Overture were good, though, I have to tell you.

“Highway 61 Revisited were the perfect end to a perfect day. The band featured Rob Stoner and Scarlet Rivera from Dylan's 1975/76 Rolling Thunder Revue, and with Dylan's NET drummer Winston Watson behind the skins, you could hardly doubt the authenticity of Joel Gilbert's band. They were great, in fact! The sound was a little muddy, but you can’t have absolutely everything.

“Fantastic day. Fantastic event. Please put your hands together for all the tremendous artists, speakers and, above all, don't forget the organisers - Chris Cooper, Keith Agars and John Noakes.”