Disclaimer: If you are not a DMB fan, this post may bore you to tears.
So it's not that Logan didn't do anything cute today (he always does), but I wanted to take some time to blog about my amazing Dave Matthews Band concert experience in Berkeley on September 5th.
First of all you have to know that I became a huge DMB fan earlier this year. Of course I knew all of the hits like Crash, Where Are You Going, Ants Marching, etc. It wasn't until I was bored with all of my music on my iPod and Chris offered his Live at Luther College album to me that I fell in love with all that is Dave related (seriously I am driving Chris insane with all of my new found Dave knowledge which borders on a serious addiction/obsession problem).
So naturally when I heard they were going to be playing a three night show in Berkeley California at the Greek Theatre (which was paid for be William Randolph Hearst), I just had to go. I have heard some wonderful things about DMB and their live performances being amazing and I was not disappointed. And then tragedy struck. About two weeks before our concert, the sax player for DMB, LeRoi Moore passed away from complications surrounding an ATV accident. I thought for sure they would cancel our show. Not ONLY did they not cancel our show, they didn't even cancel the show at the LA Staples Center the night their good friend and band member passed away. They knew he would want them to play, so they did. To quote Dave, "LeRoi Moore gave up his ghost."

Fast forward. Chris and I get to Berkeley five hours before the concert and we change (Insert cute picture of us to the left :P) eat and catch a cab over to the campus. We got there two and a half hours early and there was already a HUGE line. Thanks to some confusion and a little poor judgement on our part, we managed to skip half of the line (SO SO sorry to everyone we cut in front of, it was an honest mistake...at first). We get inside and OH MY GOSH!! This place is GORGEOUS. We could have been in the very front (General Admission Seating) but decided to stick back a little bit so my short self could see. Our seats were still AMAZING. It wasn't too long before Dave came out himself to introduce Sharon Jones at the Dap Kings, the opener. I just adore that woman. She is so full of like and energy and spunk and she can sing like no other. She did a great job, but this blog is not about her so that's all I will say. If you are interested in checking out soul music, check her out.
(UGH!! There are so many things to say and I feel like I am rambling already.)
There was a thirty minute break between Sharon Jones and Dave Matthews so I figured "Hey, I'll go to the bathroom and get a t-shirt so I won't have to later or I won't miss out on an awesome shirt." I wandered over to the bathroom and there was a line of about fifty women. I figured I would do the t-shirt thing first, then the bathroom. I turned around. There was a line of about fifty people in the merchandise line. CRAP! Do I have to pee or do I need a shirt? I can only pick one! I decided to hold it and wait in the line for the shirt. Little did I know that everyone in line had to look at every shirt and every size of every shirt. *Sigh* Okay so it's finally my turn and then..THEY WERE OUT OF THE SHIRT I WANTED!!!. WHAT?!?!? *Cries*

So I got a totally awesome limited edition poster for our concert and an awesome flame dancer sticker for my car. Then I went back to wait for the concert and not a moment too soon because as soon as I got back to my place the band came on stage.

It was electric! Everyone on their feet, chanting and yelling and waving signs and...what's that smell?! Pot!! My first concert where I actually saw a pipe being passed around..crazy! My eyes where burning by the end of the concert and I'm sure I got a contact high, but overall the pot-heads were mellow and cool and well..like everyone else just there for the company and the music. I can't even begin to describe the feeling of being there. It all went by so fast. I can tell you there is nothing like Carter's drumming pounding out through a huge speaker so near you that you can feel every low note in your chest. Ahhh!

Carter, Rashawn, Boyd, Dave, Tim (Reynolds, yes he was there and it was awesome! Chris and I had no idea he would even be there because he doesn't usually tour with the band) and Jeff Coffin blowing on the sax in LeRoi's place...you can see the pure joy on their faces when they make music together. They all get such pleasure from entertaining us, which makes them the best live band in...well in my opinion in forever.
We also got to see Warren Haynes of the Allman Brothers who did a cameo on #41.
The only downfall was that Dave's mic was either too low when he was talking in between songs or the crowd was too loud, but we missed a lot of what he said. Overall the atmosphere was just perfect, weather perfect, show perfect, all perfect.
PLUS...I joined an online fan group at antsmarching.org and found an awesome guy to send me a recorded copy of all three nights of the Berkeley show (I LOVE YOU HOSS!!!) so that I can enjoy it on my iPod for years to come. He said the recording is pretty good and that I will be impressed so this makes me happy.
The Ants have been great so far. I even got some good pictures from one of them of my night of the show since I had to take mine on my cell (tickets said no camera's and I didn't want to risk not being allowed in with mine) and they came out a little blurry as you can see. They usually try to meet up before the shows and hang out, so I am looking forward to meeting more of them this year via the forums and next year at the Gorge (*crossing my fingers*).
I will probably bore you with more Dave posts in the future as I am trying to butter Chris up to take me again next yet. Below is the set list from our show in case you care and I hope you enjoy the pictures and video (which isn't mine, but I wanted to show you anyway).
Until next time!
Set List: The Greek Theater September 5, 2008
The Stone *
One Sweet World *
Don't Drink the Water *
So Damn Lucky *
Dancing Nancies *
Eh Hee *
Water Into Wine *
Gravedigger *
Grey Street *
Dreaming Tree *
Stay Or Leave *
Corn Bread *
Burning Down The House *
#41 *+
Anyone Seen The Bridge *
Too Much Intro *
Tripping Billies *
Encore:
Sister ~
Two Step *
Special Guests:
* Jeff Coffin
+ Warren Haynes
~ Dave, Tim, Carter and Rashawn
And for those of you who stuck with me long enough to read this far, for your viewing pleasure: Burning Down the House: (I couldn't imbed it, but you can follow the link)