Bob Dylan is 85 years old, and SoHO threw the Nobel Prize–winning inscrutable artist the ultimate birthday party on Sunday night. Santa Barbara musicians Maxton Hunter and Roberto Johnson curated Positively State Street, an all-star tribute show featuring local artists doing their best Dylan impressions spanning a lifetime of songs. However, in true Dylan spirit, these performances were way more than impressions. Sure, there were plenty of velvet vests, ankle length pants, and boots of Spanish leather, but these songsters breathed new life into his songs, reinventing them in engaging ways.
Lily Forte’s booming Amy Winehouse-esque vocals on “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue” captivated the crowd and made it clear that Dylan’s music is living, breathing, and up for adaptation. After her powerful performance, a friend looked at me wide-eyed, noting with a smile, “Now I’m awake.” The dedicated house band held down the fort for every song while lead guitarists, singers, and multi-instrumentalists filtered in and out. Jackson Gillies’s endearing vocal tone and effortless guitar stylings were the perfect match for “When I Paint My Masterpiece.” Antonio Barret’s strong vocals and smooth piano playing in his cover of “The Man in Me” had the audience la-la-la-la-la-ing together in pure joy.
A standout performer of the night was Ojai-based producer, musician Scott Hirsch. The New Jersey–born musician has more in common with Dylan than just his homebase. He recorded and played bass for many years in the band Hiss Golden Messenger and still mixes most of their albums. He has honed his Americana stylings through many tours, and his focused yet seemingly effortless performance entranced the audience as they swayed and hummed through his warm as pie covers, including the jaunty “Meet Me in the Morning.”
Guitarist and singer Jacob Cole, donning a jean jacket, bolo tie, and dark Ray-Ban shades, more than looked the part; he sang it and played it with precision and heart. His cover of “Most of the Time,” had us all wistfully hypnotized. Jess Bush, who took command of the keyboards, soared through a luscious cover of “Make You Feel My Love,” sung in the style of Adele, but ultimately all her own.
It wouldn’t be a party without a good old fashioned sing-along and the band more than provided. Fronted by the dynamic lead singer of Plastic Harpoons, Taylor Casey, and complete with a rollicking band shaking tambourines and filling the stage with passion, the closing group’s cover of “Like a Rolling Stone” was the ultimate tribute. For an artist who’s always recreating himself in every note, I have to think that Dylan would tip his hat to this tour de force of young artists proving that no matter our age, we’re always “busy being born.”
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