Donovan - DeBaun Auditorium - Hoboken NJ

I've been listening to Donovan for about ten years now, and though I saw him in concert once in 1997, he's not someone I ever would have gone far out of my way to see live, as my extensive collection of his CDs satisfies all of my cravings.

However, when I heard that he was playing at the Hoboken Arts and Music Festival this year, literally right outside my front door, I was more than thrilled. Though I always enjoy what the Arts Fest has to offer, knowing that one of the singer/songwriters that has inspired me for the greater part of my life was going to perform was so exciting. To add to the excitement, one of my favorite New York City bands, the Demolition String Band, was scheduled to play right before.

Unfortunately, this spring's Art & Music Festival was postponed two weeks because of the threat of inclement weather. But Donovan's performance was just moved to an indoor venue, the beautiful DeBaun Auditorium on the Stevens Tech Campus.

When I saw Donovan in 1997, it was strictly a solo-acoustic performance. I didn't want anything more, as Donovan's beautiful voice and the sing-along format of much of his music is appropriate like this. When I walked into the theater in Hoboken though, I was surprised to see a drum kit and a few amps on stage. The thought of a full band backing Donovan up seemed unrealistic, since he is in semi-retirement living in Ireland, and only flew in for this one performance.

The show started out with Donovan in natural form, solo acoustic, for the first 45 minutes. His set went back and forth with each song from newer, less-familiar, material and classics from the archives. His voice was stunning as the new songs told Irish fables and stories with an unmistakable power. And when he played the classics, like Jennifer Juniper and Colors, the crowd sang along with the choruses and everyone seemed to be having fun. Some of the less well-known older material was especially stunning. Particularly Universal Soldier and Lelena. The latter being perhaps the most beautiful performance of the night, and Universal Soldier being the most powerful.

After about 45 minutes acoustic, Donovan explained that he recently got a phone call from a few local musicians who wanted to perform with him for the Hoboken show, and that after flying in from Ireland the night before, they spent the entire day rehearsing. A guitarist, bassist, drummer and trombone player emerged, and they went right into an absolutely rocking version of one of Donovan's biggest hits, Sunshine Superman.

All of these musicians looked familiar to me, and I was able to gather from a friend that the bassist was from Patti Smith's band. But regardless, they were professional, tight as could be, right on with the backing vocals, and absolutely smoking. They transformed Donovan from the folkie, back to the rock star he was in the 1960s. What I was seeing in concert was what I had always dreamed of seeing from Donovan. The energy in Donovan's performance was incredible. You could tell he was having the time of his life up there, and the band was on fire.

They blazed through about 45 minutes of Donovan classics and new songs alike, and finally capped off the show with a haunting and powerful rendition of Season of the Witch. It was such an amazing show, and judging Donovan's enthusiasm for his makeshift bandmates, I wouldn't be surprised if he signed these guys on for a full tour.

It was truly and amazing show, and such a privelege to see one of my musical heroes performing again with such passion and enthusiasm.

	Donovan - DeBaun Auditorium - Hoboken NJ - 5/2/04

	I've been listening to Donovan for about ten years now, and though I saw him in concert once in 1997, he's not someone I ever would have gone far out of my way to see live, as my extensive collection of his CDs satisfies all of my cravings. However, when I heard that he was playing at the Hoboken Arts and Music Festival this year, literally right outside my front door, I was more than thrilled. Though I always enjoy what the Arts Fest has to offer, knowing that one of the singer/songwriters that has inspired me for the greater part of my life was going to perform was so exciting. To add to the excitement, one of my favorite New York City bands, the Demolition String Band, was scheduled to play right before. Unfortunately, this spring's Art & Music Festival was postponed two weeks because of the threat of inclement weather. But Donovan's performance was just moved to an indoor venue, the beautiful DeBaun Auditorium on the Stevens Tech Campus. When I saw Donovan in 1997, it was strictly a solo-acoustic performance. I didn't want anything more, as Donovan's beautiful voice and the sing-along format of much of his music is appropriate like this. When I walked into the theater in Hoboken though, I was surprised to see a drum kit and a few amps on stage. The thought of a full band backing Donovan up seemed unrealistic, since he is in semi-retirement living in Ireland, and only flew in for this one performance. The show started out with Donovan in natural form, solo acoustic, for the first 45 minutes. His set went back and forth with each song from newer, less-familiar, material and classics from the archives. His voice was stunning as the new songs told Irish fables and stories with an unmistakable power. And when he played the classics, like Jennifer Juniper and Colors, the crowd sang along with the choruses and everyone seemed to be having fun. Some of the less well-known older material was especially stunning. Particularly Universal Soldier and Lelena. The latter being perhaps the most beautiful performance of the night, and Universal Soldier being the most powerful. After about 45 minutes acoustic, Donovan explained that he recently got a phone call from a few local musicians who wanted to perform with him for the Hoboken show, and that after flying in from Ireland the night before, they spent the entire day rehearsing. A guitarist, bassist, drummer and trombone player emerged, and they went right into an absolutely rocking version of one of Donovan's biggest hits, Sunshine Superman. All of these musicians looked familiar to me, and I was able to gather from a friend that the bassist was from Patti Smith's band. But regardless, they were professional, tight as could be, right on with the backing vocals, and absolutely smoking. They transformed Donovan from the folkie, back to the rock star he was in the 1960s. What I was seeing in concert was what I had always dreamed of seeing from Donovan. The energy in Donovan's performance was incredible. You could tell he was having the time of his life up there, and the band was on fire. They blazed through about 45 minutes of Donovan classics and new songs alike, and finally capped off the show with a haunting and powerful rendition of Season of the Witch. It was such an amazing show, and judging Donovan's enthusiasm for his makeshift bandmates, I wouldn't be surprised if he signed these guys on for a full tour. It was truly and amazing show, and such a privelege to see one of my musical heroes performing again with such passion and enthusiasm.