it's not where, but who you're with that really matters

Part II: The Concerts. The People. The Memories.

After so many years and so many shows it's not just about the music anymore, it does play a large part obviously because if it weren't for the band I wouldn't go, but after years it's become much more than that.

There are so many groups, artists and bands that travel the world performing in countless cities, but few can match what DMB does. Yes there are bands like The Rolling Stones, Elton John, U2, and others who have an amazing live act, but they can't do it like DMB does. Every show DMB plays, they sell out. While these other acts are making more money by having their tickets cost up to $250 for face value, they aren't selling out entire 40,000 person amphitheaters. DMB will sell out in minutes for a show that's months away keep prices relatively low. Not saying there aren't scalpers out there, cause there are, but in general no ticket should be over $100. They have toured every summer for the past 15 years and are just now taking the summer of 2011 off. Year after year they put in 50+ shows all over the country and even the world and in those 15 years, no setlist has ever been the same. Bands like U2 will play one tour every few years and within that tour you will see the same songs if you go to more than one show. Not saying that you won't get repeats at multiple DMB shows, but there is always some variations between the concerts.

Each show has it's own element, vibe, mood and experience. I have been to 30+ shows and each one has been a completely different experience. There is no other band (and I have seen my fair share of live acts) that can perform the way this band does. From the first song to the last, they are 100%. They may not play a song that you want to hear or that you've heard before but it doesn't matter because odds are it's going to be different. Whether a solo is different, Dave changes the words, misses a line, has the crowd sing a verse, adds an intro or outro, it's all different. I've heard songs like Two Step and Crush so many times I can't even count them all but each time they've been different. For a while I was starting to dislike every time they played Two Step, then last year at Saratoga Springs Performing Arts Center (SPAC) I heard it again, but it was revamped, Carter added a 2nd badass drum solo. It blew me out of the water. That one moment at the show I fell in love w/ the song all over again.

there are a lot of people who have been to countless shows who go into the next concert expecting the perfect setlist, all the songs THEY want to hear. It's up to the band, they will play what they want to play. If you go into a show with your nose in the air expecting to hear something they haven't played in 6 years, you're going to be sorely disappointed when you don't get it. Going into every show just wanting to enjoy the music that you love you're going to have a good time. They go out there and do what they love for their fans (and of course for the money) going into a venue just wanting to have a great time is going to make the experience 1000x better. What matters most though, I think, are the people you're with.

Yes Dave says it himself "it's not where but who you're with that really matters" and as cliche as it sounds, it's true. I started going to concerts when I was in high school with my mom and a few friends. We'd show up to the show a few hours before, walk into the venue, sit down listen to the opener, wait for DMB and then leave right after the show. It wasn't until 2006 when I really experienced what it's like to be at a DMB concert. What I call my home venue is Alpine Valley in East Troy, WI. To me it's the best place in the country to see a show. Everyone is going to have their own opinion naturally but Alpine is my home. 06 was the first year I showed up early to tailgate with friends, we drank (yes underage) and we had a great time. From that moment on I knew I had to have an experience just like that at every show. Summer 2007 I stayed out on the east coast @ UConn during the previous year I had spent a lot of time on the Warehouse Message Boards (the official DMB fan club) talking to a lot of other fans who loved the band just as much as I did. DMB was coming to Hartford, CT and I was going to both shows, so finally I met so many of these people who I'd become friends with through one common interest. That weekend is a weekend I'll never forget.

Hartford 2007 changed my life instantly. I never thought that I could be embraced by a group of people so easily. I walked up to the tailgate and before I could even get a word out people were running up to me to give me a hug. In high school and somewhat in college I was never really accepted by a lot of people. I was left out of a lot of things for reasons I'll never know, but showing up at Hartford in 07 made me feel at home. I felt like I belonged. After meeting these people I felt whole (yes I know it sounds cheesy). Time continued on and I kept getting closer and closer with these people. Some of them I've become closer with online than some friend I've known for years. We have one thing in common to start w/ the band, but then we grow and expand from there. No judgments, no reservations, just be who you are. I've become so involved with this community that it often has consumed parts of my life. I'd rather go home and see a friend from the Warehouse than someone I went to high school with. They understand me, they get me, and they like me. More years pass, more shows, more tailgates, and more people. While we all have people we are closer with, it naturally happens, every person I've met at these gatherings has been good to me and I wouldn't change the experience for anything.

I've become so close with some of these people that we've even created Blackberry Messenger Chat groups so we have another way to keep in touch. Many people don't understand how we can all become so close with one another over something like a band. It's more than the band now, it's the memories that we're creating every time we get together. We don't even need the concerts anymore, we just need each other. This year may have topped the charts on my experiences at these shows. It started in New York @ SPAC this year. We had our normal group of UConn alumni who went upstate together and we spent the first night at our same tailgate just enjoying one anothers company and having a great time. The 2nd night I convinced them to come to the Warehouse gathering, BALLSfest. It's a huge gathering of hundreds of people with food, alcohol and music. While I only knew probably 50 people, it was a great time to meet new people and still have my friends there with me.

That weekend is always hard to top but then this year I ventured to a new venue: Deer Creek. After hearing so many things I figured I'm in Chicago I can drive down Sat am and go to the 2nd night. Arriving at a friends house around 11 we left shortly after for the Poole House. The Pooles are a truly amazing couple who own a house nearby the venue with of course... a pool. The entire day is spent lounging, drinking, eating, laughing, and just relaxing with friends. We're away from all the under aged kids who are out of control and with the people we care about. That night I was supposed to sit alone in a single seat about 25 rows up from the stage. Another friend of mine had a single as well about 5 rows behind mine so she suggested we sit together. Behind her seat were 2 more of our friends... the other 7 people who were supposed to be around her didn't show up so we had 8 seats for 4 people. While the setlist may have not been the best... we had the greatest time. Thus creating: BEST... SEAT... BUDDIES... EVER!!!!! I woke up the next morning with bruises on my leg because I was dancing so much and hit the seats so many times.

My summer of DMB 2010 came to a close (for the time being, but since Wrigley has been announced 2 more shows were added) at Alpine. Because of work I only planned to go to the first night buttttttt the crazies that are known as my friends of course convinced me to stay for the 2nd night. I arrived in Milwaukee after a brutal commute from Chicago, but even the traffic couldn't get to me because I was so excited. Rather than staying in separate hotel rooms all over the city a friend was kind enough to open her parents home where they had plenty of land for us to camp on for free. Not many communities based around a band can say that they can do this. Friday night before the concerts was spent downtown Milwaukee at bars and camping in the backyard. Not getting back until the wee hours of the morning and we were still ready to go the next day for the shows. We left at noon on our Joy Farm school bus loaded with beer, alochol, and a buffet of food. Not many people can say they can board a bus with 40 of their friends and go to a concert like we do. There are too many things to even try to remember that went on during the weekend but without the people it wouldn't be the same. We created so many inside jokes, memories, nicknames, and whatever else we can think of that will stick with us for the rest of our lives. I mean hell, they convinced me to stay another night that's how much they mean to me.

While the band has a lot to do with our plans and our trips to see one another, without the band next year we're already planning to make the same trip to Wisconsin during Summerfest to check out other bands. Some of us are getting together for Labor Day weekend to camp, when I'm home in Milwaukee I always try to grab drinks with friends. I'm even going to ones wedding next weekend in northern WI. Yes we may have not met what would be considered the normal way, but how is it any different than meeting a random person walking on the street. Plus in our modern world, especially where internet plays such a large factor in all of our lives, who's to say what's not normal. I cherish every chance I get to see these people and so what if we go to multiple concerts a year, so what if it seems obsessive. I love my life and I love my friends that are in it. Judge me all you want, but I'm going to keep going to shows as long as the band is touring.

I love what this band has done for my life, they've introduced me to a world that I never though existed. Happiness, great memories, good music, amazing experiences, life-long memories, phenomenal people, and just an all around "good good time".