Dylan... I get it now

There are fewer holier entities in the house of rock than Dylan. He may be pope, in fact. Strangely enough, a friend of mine accompanied Dylan to see the actual Pope some years ago. But that's another story.

So like the rest of you, I can warble a Dylan impression with the best of you. But I was only a casual fan until I saw him live... and luckily it was within the last ten years when many Dylan fans have told me that he was basically reborn, both through mesmerizing live performances as well as a series of three stellar studio albums.

As it goes, a rather quickly announced gig was timed around the release of his Time Out of Mind album, which I was already in love with... an amazing collection of haunting songs, with some uplifting and some taking you to the dark place. I was excited to see the show, if only because I loved the album and he was playing an uncharacteristically small venue for someone like him, especially in NYC. This was going to be intimate!

I did not think I had a shot at getting in, until an hour before when my boss handed me a ticket and said enjoy... what a magician. Off I went alone, grabbed a drink at the venue and tried to carve out a space in the oversold hall. There was a small group of guys who seemed thrilled to be there and I found myself sandwiched next to them. Scanning their faces, I noticed that one of them happened to be Ethan Hawke. Beyond being a relatively famous actor, he also wrote a novel which I liked a lot, The Hottest State. Funny enough, I saw the movie a couple days ago and thought it was a snore.

Ethan was in good spirits, if not HIGH spirits, and it was surreal standing next to him as he screamed "SUSAN! SUSAN! Put me in your next movie!" to Susan Sarandon, who was in the balcony.

But anyway, enough about him (great in Training Day). I cannot say enough about Dylan. It all made sense that night. He was holy. With a band which was literally on fire. They were the best band in the world that night. No lasers, no smoke machines. Just a "Ladies & Gentlemen... please welcome Columbia Records artist Bob Dylan!" and two hours of the best music you've ever heard. I've been a fan ever since, but I truly believe it took that one show (and numerous since) to convert me.

Ethan offered to share his wacky weed a couple times during the night, but I was high on tunes already.