It seems fitting to me that my first post here at The Deli would be about last night’s Daniel Johnston Birthday Tribute at The Knockout.My personal taste has never pulled me in the direction of folk, as a genre.Yet, Daniel Johnston has very rapidly become one of my, if not favorite, songwriters over the last year.I hesitate to call him the anti-Dylan, Dylan comparisons can be the kiss of death for almost any artist, but I will say that I find Johnston’s approach to songwriting to be one of the most unique and genuine I have ever heard.

The tribute/birthday party (complete with cupcakes and balloons) at The Knockout was varied, and definitely displayed Johnston’s work as a prolific and eclectic artist. The evening was hosted by Uni & Her Ukelele and showcased 19 bay area artists ranging from solo acoustic artists to two full band performances.

The evening started off with two songs from recently relocated solo Baltimore-ian, Thomas Grogan, who definitely set the tone for a variety of “freak folk” renditions of Johnston’s tunes.Personally, I feel “freak folk” is a spot on description of Johnston’s style. Major highlights included Old Hack’s rollicking version of “Don’t Play Cards With Satan”, The Cons very modern versions of the DJ classic “Walking The Cow” (this is a tune you have probably heard someone else do, my personal intro to Daniel Johnston was on a Pearl Jam bootleg tape with a “Walking The Cow” cover I had as a teen) and a Q&A sessions with Henry Rosenthal, producer of the Daniel Johnston documentary “The Devil and Daniel Johnston” (this is the place to start if you are interested in finding out what Daniel Johnston is all about).

Though I missed the end of the night, it was a school night and all, I got wind that the evening wrapped up with Uni performing “True Love Will Find You In The End”, a Johnston classic.I have heard Uni play and I know the tune well, it is a real heartbreaker, I am sure it was beautiful and I regret missing it.

If you are looking for a place to get into Johnston’s music I recommend starting here:The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered. The songs themselves are more accessible, as covers, than Johnston’s original recordings as a starting point.Though I think Old Hack summed it up last night when he said, “…his [Johnston’s] music reminds you of what it was like to be 14 and writing songs for the first time."Johnston just managed to retain, rather than refine, that sound.

-Phil Matarese