Dave Matthews Band Addiction - A Healthy Habit

A life changing moment varies from each individual.  For some its graduation or you got hired for the job of your dreams.  It could be a day where you lost someone close to you, or fell in love with the person you planned on spending the rest of your life with.  It may be the day you received your first guitar, or even played your first gig.  Maybe, you won the lottery or went bankrupt.  These are moments that we experience in one way or another, and they can have a significant impact on your life.  They have for me.  I have graduated, won awards, lost people close to me and fell in love.  I also remember receiving my first guitar, but I've never had my own gig.  I definitely hadn't won the lottery, or gone bankrupt (in the legal sense).  Although all these things may provide a significant influence in my life, the day that has defined me, a day that started tradition, happiness and musical ambition, is a day that gave me an out when things were going bad as well as a time that brought much joy.  That day is June 29, 2000 at Soldier Field for my first ever Dave Matthews Band show, the start of my addiction.

Their music can be described as acoustic rock or pop, but in its one unique category.  Some may call them a jam band for their jams, or 14 minute long songs.  They have elements of jazz, and with Tim Reynolds and his electric guitar in the lineup they have added more of a rock element.  Their albums were successful and enjoyable, but when you see a live show for the first time you will be hooked.  I have been hooked since that day in 2000 and 35 shows later I continue to be, as I am about to take the 10 hour drive to Virginia to see their last show before their first break in 20 years.

Around 1997,  My best friend, who grew up a couple houses down from me introduced me to this squeaky voiced band that included a saxophone (Leroi Moore) AND a violin (Boyd Tinsley), something I would have never thought to listen to.  Dave Matthews played a type of guitar I haven't heard, Carter Beauford is the best drummer on the planet and Stefan Lessard, the bassist, was younger then the entire band.  Not to mention, the band was racially balanced, something you don't see often.  At the time we were obsessed with classic rock coupled with the R&B/Rap songs of the time, so Dave Matthews Band was a whole new vibe.  For instance, we had burned a few Cd's at the time on software that takes an hour to burn the disc.  The track list would look something like this:

1. Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven
2. The Eagles - Hotel California

3. Santana - Black Magic Woman

4. Ten Years After - I'd Love to Change the World

5. The Rolling Stones - Satisfaction

6. Yes - Roundabout

7. Boston - Foreplay/Long Time
8. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Freebird

1. City High - What Would you Do

2. Outkast - The Whole World

3. Nelly - Ride With Me

4. Jagged Edge - Where The Party At

5. Fat Joe ft. Ashanti - What's Love

6. Timberland & Magoo - Luv 2 Luv Ya

7. KC & JoJo - All My Life

At the time, to us, these songs weren't overplayed.  As a matter of fact, I apparently didn't know the magnitude of these songs when I asked my Mom if shes ever heard the song "Freebird" before.  She just laughed and went on to tell that story to everyone we know.  Now, as I attend a variety of musical acts in an array of venues, I have become "that guy".  You know, the one who yells "FREEBIRD!!" in between songs, for nothing more than to be "that guy."  All we cared about was the music and playing the air guitar.  These bands made us feel great and we looked forward to when we got old enough to step outside the walls of our bedrooms and see this music for ourselves.  It added a new dimension of idolization to my life.  I no longer only dreamed of being Ryne Sandberg, Michael Jordan or Walter Payton.  I dreamed of playing the guitar, going to concerts and rocking out.  I dreamed of meeting Gary Rossington, Steve Gaines and Allen Collins of Lynyrd Skynyrd and learning the guitar to rock like them.  We even had a binder full of guitar tabs consisting of songs we stood no chance of playing, considering we didn't really know how to play the guitar

At the time of this cross interest in music, Dave Matthews Band was always there in the background.  Their music was a lot of fun to me.  We would try to hit the high notes of "Satellite" and keep up with the end of "Ants Marching" or Dave's weird scats.  We analyzed the always interesting lyrics and argued over what songs are better.  It gave me a different opportunity to learn unique guitar rhythms and it showed me how a band can care so much about their fans that they play 100+ shows a year while allowing people to tape their shows and put them on the web for free.  The music we listened to before DMB was unreachable.  All the classic rock bands were either dead or insignificant, and the R&B/Rap "music" was all profit based and didn't provide an interesting enough live show, if they played any shows at all.  

DMB transformed me, not only in the type of music I listen to but who I became and what I decided to do with my free time.  They preached peace, they got me involved in politics at a young age and even gave me interest in protecting the environment.  Going away for the weekend, camping and going to hotels for the shows have formed traditions for friends you don't see that often, or just simply a way to get away from reality.

Being from Chicago, but living in Bloomington, Indiana for the last 6 years, I don't see my friends from back home to often.  In high school, we would pack the cars/vans and head to Alpine Valley in Wisconsin, and we decided to continue that tradition to this very day.  Every year, except this past tour, my Bloomington friends and I would make the trip to Chicago to meet up with some friends from home and then head to Alpine with everyone.  

Here in Indiana, we have started a tradition going to Deer Creek and camping right there by the venue, always a unique experience.  Other traditions are starting, and some are fading but its been a lot of fun and I hope to take time for these trips my whole life and I encourage everyone to do so as well.

It's hard to explain, but finding something that makes you that happy almost seems healthy.  When times are bad, as they have been for me the last few years, it gave me an out - something to look forward to and put a smile on my face.  It has become a hobby to follow their set list, listen to as many shows as I can and critique their every move like I would for my Chicago Cubs, Bears, Bulls, Hawks, and Indiana Hoosiers.  You become a part of something, a community of friends and people you don't even know.  If you have something in your life like that, don't make excuses not to go, including money.  You can always find a way, and it's important you have that time away from all the stresses of life. 

   

Total Shows: 35

First Show: June 29, 2000 - Soldier Field (Chicago, IL)

 - Dave Matthews Band

 - Ben Harper

 - Ozomatli

Most Recent Show: September 18, 2010 - Wrigley Field (Chicago, IL)

- Dave Matthews Band

- Jason Mraz

Next show: November 20, 2010 - John Paul Jones Arena (Charlottesville, VA)

- Dave Matthews Band

- Trombone Shorty & Orleans Ave.

First song ever heard: #41 with Butch Taylor on the keyboards

Most common song heard: Grey Street (17) - First time seen: Soldier Field, June 29, 2000 (included 3rd verse)

Most common venue: Alpine Valley.  Most recent July 19, 2009 and first time on August 31, 2002

Most common opener: Don't Drink the Water (5 times) - First time seen: Allstate Arena, April 27, 2002

Most common Encore: Two Step (8) - First time seen: June 29, 2000 - Soldier Field

Favorite Song: Jimi Thing live @ Central Park ft. Warren Haynes

Favorite Studio Album: Before These Crowded Streets
Cities visited for DMB shows: Chicago, IL - Rosemont, IL - Bridgeview, IL - Bloomington, IN - Tinley Park, IL - East Troy, WI - Noblesville, IN - Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Pittsburgh, PA - Tampa, FL - Charlottesville, VA (Nov. 20)

"Eat, Drink and be Merry, for tomorrow we'll die"