Dave Matthews Band

Brad is a huge fan of Dave Matthews Band. He was the only person I had ever really met who has repeatedly gone to see the same band in concert year after year. Now that I am a converted Dave Matthews Band fan, I have also been to quite a few shows. Usually when you tell people that this is your 8th time seeing the same band they look at you with this "what is your problem, you're such a stalker" look. I would probably agree with that look, but to be fair, DMB is a band that actually changes their set list every show and you NEVER see the same show twice because there's always something different, like the length of the jam session, who's on stage, Dave's ramblings...the list could go on and on. Anyway, once you actually go to a DMB show you realize that the number of shows is more like a bragging right showing your loyalty, then they start talking about all this other stuff like your membership number and all this, it's all quite interesting to listen to, especially since I'm not a die-hard fan and not a member of the Warehouse fanclub. So I think we figured out that this was, in fact, my 7th and 8th show and it was Brads 14th and 15th show (he'll have to correct me later). DMB does put on a great show, so I would advise anyone to go see them once, even if you don't really like their songs on the radio, because their live concerts are so different! With that out of the way we will now divulge the weekend.


Friday night was a concert in Marysville, CA. Brad and I had pit tickets which meant we were right in front of the stage, in standing-room only space for the duration of the concert. That was fun, and then not so fun. We were about 7 people back from the stage and it was amazing! I also made a sign to try to win ourselves some sort of stage goody like a drumstick or a guitar pick. Well, settle in, because here comes the story.


Before the show we were sitting on the concrete holding our place closest to the stage. We got to know some of the people around us, just chatting and making small talk. Sitting right in front of us was a couple, this was the wife's second show and her husband's first show, and she had got these tickets for his birthday. He commented on my sign he liked it and thought it was cool. We then proceeded to tell them our story about how we caught a drumstick at a concert at the Gorge but knew that the stick was meant for the girls behind us who had a sign that said "Brazil Chix love Carter's Stix." So we took a picture with the stick (below) and then gave it to the girls since it was rightfully theirs and hopefully we would be lucky enough in the future to get one of our own.


So back to present time, we told that story and then we said to the couple, "hopefully karma is with us and we can get a stick." Yadda yadda, time passes, now it's time for the opening act to begin. So Dave comes out to introduce the band and Brad holds up the sign at which point Dave makes a comment like "ah, that's a nice sign" but he mumbles a lot so it could have been something else, but it was definitely about the sign because he made eye contact and pointed at the sign. So that was super exciting!


We were stoked that he noticed our sign and hopefully that would materialize for us! The opening act comes on, does great, then the intermission, there's some technical difficulties which they attempt to fix and DMB comes on a bit late but the show is amazing and we have a great time. The last song ends and carter is throwing out drumsticks. Brad is holding my sign because he's taller and can be seen above the crowd, then Carter sees the sign points at it and tosses it in our direction. It was a little too high, Brad had a piece of the drumstick in his hand, he's pushed out of the way by someone who then proceeds to grip the stick and grab it from Brad, lo and behold, it's the man that we had been talking to before the show. So Brad tries to reason with him and brings up the karma story and all this and that, but the guy is like "but it's my birthday" and Brad will have to fill in the conversation because while he was doing that I was becoming more emotional than I ever thought I would. I started crying! What's wrong with me!!! I shouldn't be crying, how ridiculous! But I was hurt and felt betrayed and was full of rage and hatred and it all came out in tears, how pathetic! But I wasn't going to get violent or confrontational, not yet, so all that emotion turned into stupid tears. Yeah, I'm not proud of this fact. Then the people around us who saw what happened were sympathetic with us, one girl touched my arm and asked me if I was okay, she was really concerned, which I thought was sweet. But they couldn't do anything about the rude people, but they at least seemed to act in a way that made me believe that if it were one of them that caught it they would have given it to us as the rightful people the stick was being tossed to. So I relished in the fact that there were decent people still left in the world, the stick just didn't end up with a decent person with concert manners. So the encore begins, and the whole time I'm standing stick straight with my arms folded because I'm pouty and not interested in having a good time, I just want to go home but there's still a chance at the end of the encore that we could get something. So the encore ends, Brad's holding the sign again, I'm still upset, then we see Dave toss a pick out in the crowd it bounces off a few people and Brad pushes me forward and I swoop down and try to create a bubble of space and lucky me, I got Dave's guitar pick!


That should be enough right? but no, I'm greedy and I want that stick that was mine! so the rest of the band has left the stage and Carter is still passing out sticks, so I grab the sign push and shove my way to the front to try my luck at getting closer. well, it didn't work, he was basically done by the time I got to the front. I stormed back to where Brad was standing and he was still trying to reason with the selfish rude people with our stick. Apparently the guy told Brad, "it's just a stick man" and I'm not sure what Brad's response was. Well, I'd had enough and decided to let them know how I felt. So I told them (yelling with all kinds of emotion) "at least you could say thank you because it was MY sign that got you that stick" then you should have seen the ugly glare from the woman and I walked away. She apparently then told Brad that she shouldn't be guilted into giving us the stick. Brad came after me, he told me if I hadn't walked away he was going to follow them out of the concert and steal the stick because the guy just had it hanging out of his pocket. I told him he should have done that anyway since I knew how to get back to the car. We were both in such bad moods. Luckily we didn't take it out on each other. We just hope that karma will find those people and they get what's coming to them. Whew!


So Saturday night was a concert in Mountain View, CA and we had seats up high, so we didn't have to worry about things being tossed to us. We thoroughly enjoyed this show. And Brad loved the set list way more than Friday night, he got to hear the one song he wanted to and he was so happy, which made me happy! We had some funny people around us, one woman who had gotten in a fight with her friend and didn't know where her friend was and didn't seem to care, she figured she'd find a ride home one way or another, a man with a panda hat that started striping, and another woman that actually asked Brad to not sing along for one part of one song which I thought was both weird and slightly rude. But maybe Brad's voice carries more than the other thousands of people singing along? It was very cold that night so I was bundled up and got hot chocolate so I was happy as a clam!




After Saturday's show my Aunt and Uncle let us stay at their home for the night, which was wonderful since they live, at most, 30 minutes from the venue. We had a lovely brunch and then we all rode downtown on their Vespas and I rode on the back of my Uncle's Harley. We had a great time and we even got to stop at a place called Psycho Donuts and got a little treat. Overall it was a great and memorable weekend!