Bryan Dunn @ Rockwood II

Bryan Dunn 
@ Rockwood II
New York, NY - April 6, 2012

Every now and then Gotham can still have one of those nights made just for the windbag hack of a writer that is your obedient servant. Up at the Arena of the Gods, one Bruce S. of Freehold was doing his version of a Night 1 Passover Seder with a Haggadah for a new generation. Over in Brooklyn, the War on Drugs - not an un-Springsteen-like band of fine repute were doing their bit, with the Metric gang boasting of their attendance in the crowd, a call-out for friends to join them. And further south in Brooklyn, the gem of a thunderous rock band, punk-metal wonderkids the Screaming Females bashed out what they do like no one else can.

Where was I? I had the pleasure of being with yet another of those gems, one patented and polished right here in New York City. I was at the record release party for Bryan Dunn, freshly armed with his new document, the extremely wonderfully titled Sweetheart of the Music Hall. As I watched Bryan and his handsome band do what I have known they have done for quite a bit now, I couldn't help but think of these other names I mentioned above and how this fits right in. There is that generational connection, across age and genres, that binds this all together. And there are very few cities that can keep it all together in one place, at one time. The extra benefit of seeing and hearing Bryan Dunn though is that we can say he's ours. He's of this city. And for crusty old "it was better back when" types like yours truly, he's also a refuge. But better than that, he's a reminder of that connection, he's a link in that connection. I can't ask for more than that and frankly, I wouldn't want to.