Positively Bob Dylan » Events

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Mike Hobo — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:08:11 +0000

Punkified version of “When the Ship Comes In”. Find out more about the original song here.

Drawn Blank Series 2009

Mike Hobo — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:16:32 +0000

Bob Dylan’s Drawn Blank Series of drawings 2009 is now exhibited at Breeze Gallery in Scotland. These pieces of art will not be released in the USA and are highly collectable. The eight new limited edition standard format graphics are hand-signed by Bob Dylan! They are being sold on paper only for £1250 or framed for £1495. The complete set of eight, presented in a special edition box is available for £9250.
If you are interested in owning one of those rare pieces of art you should hurry up, for sure they will be sold out quickly.- Visit this page to view, reserve or buy the artworks.

Limited Edition Swiss Watch & Memorabilia Exhibition

Mike Hobo — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 06:47:31 +0000

The free lunchtime concerts of this year’s 12th Annual Oris Spirit of Jazz Concert Series will coincide with an exhibit celebrating the music of Bob Dylan. The exhibition of rare Bob Dylan memorabilia and photographs, including original posters and a selection of original album covers, will be on display at the Tourneau TimeMachine Exhibit Hall on 57th & Madison Avenue in New York from now on through August.

Exhibit hall viewing hours are 10:00 AM-6:00 PM on Mon – Wed; Fri and Sat. 10:00 AM-7:00 PM on Thursdays and from 11:30 AM-5:30 PM on Sundays. The displayed items are provided by ICON Collectibles of Sony Music, who offer original music memorabilia art prints for sale. You can browse many items online and buy them on their website.

The Spirit of Jazz Concert Series is presented by Oris Swiss Watches along with WGBO-Jazz 88. Since 1997, Oris has created a series of Limited Edition watches, each one dedicated to jazz and blues legends. This year Oris honors Bob Dylan with an Oris Limited Edition Timepiece, limited to 3,000 pieces worldwide.

Heylin presents “Revolution in the Air”

Mike Hobo — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 20:36:14 +0000

On Monday, March 30, Clinton Heylin – author of the biography “Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades” and “Bob Dylan: The Recording Sessions” – will speak about his new book “Revolution in the Air: The Songs of Bob Dylan, 1957-1963″. The most comprehensive book on Dylan’s song lyrics ever written, including songs that no one has ever heard, is the first of two volumes that tracks the creation of Dylan’s first 300 songs. It will possibly change how Dylan’s lyrics are interpreted and understood. Arranged in a surprising chronology of when each song was actually written rather than when it appeared on albums, it uncovers surprising facts spanning Dylan’s career up prior to Blood on the Tracks. Newly discovered manuscripts, anecdotal evidence, and a seemingly limitless knowledge of every Bob Dylan live performance contribute to this definitive resource.
Heylin’s event will take place on Monday, March 30 at 7pm at Spoonbill & Sugartown, Booksellers (218 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11211). It is free and open to the public. A book signing and Q&A will follow.

New Dylan exhibition in Berlin

Mike Hobo — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:55:06 +0000

Egbert Baqué, founder of the Egbert Baqué Contemporary Art Gallery in Berlin opens the exhibition “A Tribute to Bob Dylan” on March 28. Eleven artists approach the subject in very different ways: through portrait paintings, songs, lyrics, visual elements, related literature or other representations of an era.
Egbert Baqué has always been interested in Bob Dylan. Ever since founding the gallery, every year he has been hosting a Bob Dylan birthday party with a solo concert “Baqué Plays Dylan”. The current exhibition is taking place concurrently with Dylan’s European tour and the release of his new studio album “Together Through Life”, which will be released on April 28. “Eine Hommage an Bob Dylan/A Tribute to Bob Dylan” will be opened until May 24, 2009.

UPDATE FROM MAY 20, 2009:
The exhibition was extended and will now be shown until June 6.

Dylan’s second exhibition of original paintings

Mike Hobo — Fri, 09 May 2008 19:48:18 +0000

As the Bob Dylan magazine ISIS reports in its latest issue, there will be an exhibition of original paintings and limited edition prints by Bob Dylan from 14 June 2008. The exhibition will include new, previously unseen works. It will take place at London’s Halcyon Gallery in Mayfair, one of Europe’s leading galleries for contemporary art in its 25th anniversary.
Bob Dylan’s interest in painting was probably influenced by artist Suze Rotolo, Bob’s girlfriend in the early 1960s. Examples of his early works can be found on the covers of his albums of “Self Portrait” (1970) and “Planet Waves” (1974), but only recently he agreed to a very first official exhibition at the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz in Germany from October 2007 until February 2008, entitled “The Drawn Blank Series Watercolor and Gouache Paintings Exhibition”. The initial idea for that came from a book of drawings and sketches done by Dylan from 1989 to 1992, which were published under the title “Drawn Blank” by Random House in 1994. You can read the official press release by Columbia Records here, or take a look at some of the paintings on this page of the Guardian website.

New Dylan exhibition and events at Skirball Cultural Center

Mike Hobo — Tue, 06 May 2008 08:35:18 +0000

“Bob Dylan’s American Journey, 1956–1966″ is a new exhibition at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles more than 160 artifacts, including Dylan’s handwritten drafts of classic songs, rare concert posters and a recording of his first concert, which has never been commercially released. It follows Bob Dylan from his Minnesota roots to his growing fame as a rock star. The presentation is complemented by a newly developed satellite exhibit, which offers a unique opportunity to experience the creative process. Visitors can simulate playing along with Dylan on keyboards, electric and acoustic guitars, drums and organs, as well as experiment with a mixing board on an authentic Dylan recording!

The exhibition can be visited until June 8, 2008 at the Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 North Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049. General admission is $10.

The Skirball Cultural Center is an affiliate of Hebrew Union College. Its mission is to explore the connections between four thousand years of Jewish heritage and the vitality of American democratic ideals. It features a museum, changing exhibitions, engaging music, theater, comedy, film, family, and literary programs in an architectural setting designed by renowned architect Moshe Safdie. Over 500,000 people visit the Skirball each year.

Symposium “Defining Dylan”

Mike Hobo — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 08:12:35 +0000

The Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles will be holding a symposium on influences that helped shape Dylan’s music. The event on March 30 will be hosted by Bob Santelli, director of the Grammy Museum and author of “The Bob Dylan Scrapbook”. The presented topics will include Dylan’s Minnesota roots, his Jewish upbringing, connections to black female gospel singers, and an examination of folk music before and after Dylan. One of the presenters will be Greil Marcus, cultural historian and author of “Like a Rolling Stone: Bob Dylan at the Crossroads”.
Ticket prices range from $35 (general) to $15 (students) and can be ordered online here.

Also “Bob Dylan’s American Journey, 1956-1966″ is still on view at the Skirball Cultural Center through June 8, 2008 . The exhibition features more than 160 artifacts, including Dylan’s handwritten drafts of classic songs, rare concert posters and a recording of his first concert, which has never been commercially released.

Rare vintage Dylan photos exhibited

Mike Hobo — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 16:00:33 +0000

The Steven Kasher Gallery in New York is currently hosting an exhibition of Fred McDarrah’s photographs from the 60’s and 70’s. Among the photos are 6 very rare original gelatin silver prints of Bob Dylan.
The vintage photographies have an average size of 8″x10″ and range in price from $3,000 to $4,000.

“Fred W. McDarrah: Artists and Writers of the 60s and 70s” celebrates the former Village Voice photographer’s 80th birthday. It is the first ever gallery exhibition surveying McDarrah’s work, and the first exhibition ever curated from his entire archive of published and never-before-seen prints.

Fred W. McDarrah was the primary photographer and picture editor at “The Village Voice” during that newspaper’s first thirty years (and he is still with The Voice as Consulting Picture Editor). His pictures were the graphic expression of the United States’ first alternative weekly as it recorded the most vibrant decades of New York City.

Besides Dylan the exhibition also shows iconic images of Andy Warhol, Allen Ginsberg, John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Lou Reed, Jack Kerouac, Martin Scorsese and Elvis among many others. It can be visited through January 6, 2007.

> Steven Kasher Gallery

“The Times They Are A-Changin’” Rocks Broadway

Mike Hobo — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 16:06:40 +0000

Come gather round Dylan fans.

“The Times They Are A-Changin’” is a new Bob Dylan inspired circus playing at the Brooks Atkinson theatre on Broadway. A standing ovation greeted the performers at a packed preview performance on September 30.

There was magic in the air from start to finish. The audience was more sedate at the beginning, but there was appreciative hootin’ and hollering that grew.

Eric Clapton made a surprise appearance as he was in The Big Apple for his concert tour. A spotlight shined on Clapton who was playing guitar with the theater company band in a balcony above the stage. I was dancing next to the stage and Clapton imitated my move! He had an amused facial expression and I’m sure mine matched his. Amazing how 30 seconds is likely to stay with me forever!

“Times” will mainly attract Dylan fans as it strings together 26 back to back songs throughout the one hour and a half show. I think this play might also appeal to the poets and dreamers out there, but not to the theater-going set accustomed to a strong story line with the usual dialogue. The story line may be the weakest part of the show for those lacking a love for poetry. It is about a circus family and their personal struggles. There is no talking throughout the show, but the lyrics tell the story.

The song selection is fabulous and spans Dylan’s five decade career. It included some of my all-time favorites, such as “Just Like A Woman”, “Desolation Row”, “On A Night Like This”, “Forever Young”, “I’ll be Your Baby Tonight”, “Mr. Tambourine Man”, “Blowing In The Wind”, etc. I won’t give them all away, but there wasn’t a miss in the group.

Twyla Tharp has choreographed a program of acrobatics and dancing that dazzles and breathes new life into deeply poetic lyrics that have withstood the test of time already.

Kudos to the top three actors, Michael Arden, Thom Sesma and Caren Lyn Manuel. They had lovely voices and invoked emotion that was moving. Dylan has said publicly that he never imagined a play could capture the lyrics of his songs as this does.

Let’s face it, Dylan is at the top of his game considering his latest CD. Modern Times was released and skyrocketed to number one on the charts. He’s one of the best songwriters of all time.

May the “Times They Are A-Changin’” soon shake your windows and rattle your walls! This is a must-see for all Dylan fanatics. Even if you’ve never listened to Dylan, this is a stimulating entree into his varied song catalogue.

(By Maureen Shames)

> “The Times They Are A-Changin’” Website