I just got back from my weekend in the U.S. For those of you who didn't know (which would be surprising if you know me), I went with a friend to see a Dave Matthews and Friends show in Rochester, NY.

We went on Friday night and stayed at an EconoLodge, which turned out to be a good place to stay, since it was fairly cheap -- We got running water, 2 beds and full cable (including VH1 and HBO!), and that's all that I could ever ask for!

This show was much different from the other DMB shows that I've seen. This is actually the 10th time I've seen DM perform before, but the other times it was with the entire band. This time it was Dave promoting his new solo album, with an all-star cast of musicians to help him do it.

I'm not going to get into specifics, since I would be here all day talking about it, but i will say that this was one of the most INCREDIBLE experiences of my life. Dave came on (no opener) at around 8 o'clock, with just his good friend Tim Reynolds. Timmy is a guitar wizard, and has played with Dave on acoustic tours for years now. This was the first time I've ever seen Dave and Tim (D&T) perform LIVE before, and man, it totally brought me back to the Live @ Luther College CD that I got when I was in high school in '99. There they were man, just like the picture on the back of the Luther CD jewel case... I just couldn't believe it! They played 5 acoustic renditions of DMB songs, 2 of which i have never heard him perform live before.

After the acoustic set, the full band came out. This also included Trey Anastasio (of Phish), who was there for the remainder of the evening. I was speechless seeing 2 lead guitarists (Trey and Tim) both to the left and right of Dave. WOW. They performed Dave's new solo album material, as well as whole WACK of classic rock tunes!

I was really impressed that they didn't perform any DMB songs, only performing Some Devil (the new Dave solo album) or classic rock/folk/country covers. Dave only performed DMB tunes when he was with Tim or Trey acoustically. I think that it was definitely the right thing to do, respecting the other parts of DMB and thus not showing a "i can do this all by myself" mentality.

Blue Cross Arena was definitely a smaller venue that i'm used to when seeing DMB. It's probably the size of mid-sized city hockey areas, like in Kitchener/Waterloo. I would say something between the Waterloo Memorial area and the bigger Copps Coliseum in Hamilton. This smaller size allowed for a more intimate and interactive session. At the beginning of the encore, Dave and Trey came out and sat on a couple of chairs on stage. He started playing the beginnings of a DMB song called "everyday". The crowd also suddenly started to sing the vocal line to a song called #36, a live-only song performed years ago. It's a bit complicated, but basically Dave had an unreleased live song called #36, but later adapted parts of that song to "everyday", a released track on one of the newest DMB albums. The fans all know the old and new songs, so once Dave started to play the guitar part for Everyday, the crowd sang a vocal line from #36 along with it. Before you knew it, Dave was improving Everyday lyrics along with our #36 vocals, while Trey smiled, improved and also grooved to the music. We were now not just the spectators, but also part of the music making. How much better can it get than this??

Overall, the show was over 3 hours. THREE PLUS HOURS! It was basically half Dave songs and half covers. Although I don't know all the names of the classic tunes, I did recognize some of them. A few were "Fire" (Jimi ...let me stand next to your fire!!), Spanish Moon (Robert Palmer), Solsbury Hill (Peter Gabriel) and Up on Cripple Creek (Dylan i think), and of course a Fool on the Rain finale (Zeppelin).

I can safely say that some of my classic rock buds would have actually had a good time at this show. The jams were AMAZING, especially when Timmy is doing is 15-21st fret guitar runs while Trey is bending and soulfully singing with this guitar, and Dave grooving to the music dancing on stage! It was an aural orgasm, indeed :)

Post DM
After the show we went back to the hotel. Usually after DMB shows, I have to hastily get in my car and drive all the way back home. I've had some crazy experiences driving home, trying to stay awake driving until the wee hours over in the morning. This time, i could just chill and relax. When we got back to the hotel, i was totally feeling like a bong (and not a pipe), so i pulled some MacGyver styles and made one with the objects around me. Here's my recipe:

1. Take an empty diet coke bottle, and rinse it out
2. Use a safety pin and pinch out a hole near the bottom (bowl), and a hole near the top (shotgun)
3. Use the free hotel pen and widen the holes
4. Rip a piece of aluminum found in the takeout container of food you ordered earlier
5. Twist and mold the foil into a conical shape, and stick the smaller end into the bottom hole. This will be your bowl, so make sure there's room to put your weed into it, as well as a hole for air to pass through
6. Seal the hole using the sides of bandaids found in your toiletries bag
7. Fill the diet coke container up until the bottom of the aluminum foil bowl is submerged (for filtering)

And you're set! I worked perfectly, and I do believe I do have a picture which i will post shortly. I don't have a digital camera YET, so there will be a lag for developing of my 8mm camera film. I can't wait to get a digital camera... the possibilities will be endless!!

Anyway, we got back to Toronto on Sunday afternoon, somewhat rested yet still reeling from the trip. I wish I could have made it to the other show, b/c I hear that it went to 3.5 hours! that's ok, this show was better than I could have imagined. My friend also bought me a wicked DMB calendar to remind me of the weekend too.

It was a time to remember, and definitely lightened up my spirits after the interviewing grind. Now it's Christmas, and so much food and presents to enjoy!

Take care,

RE

"Eat drink and be merry"