An Obsession With a Man Named Dave

It wasn't always like this, I swear.

Here's the rundown. The history of my love affair with a man named Dave goes something like this.

My first exposure was back in 8th grade. I remember always being interested in VH1, and watching the Top 20 countdowns on Saturday mornings. For a period of a few weeks, the video for "I Did It" from the Dave Matthews Band came on quite often. I didn't know much of anything about this band, but I did know I hated this song. It was shit...who in their right mind would like this song? If my memory serves me correctly, the next video I saw was for "The Space Between". Again, same thing. It was very poppy, very lame, and was something I wanted nothing to do with.

Throughout high school I don't remember hearing much of anything else. I just remember all the 'jocks' going to the shows during the summer. Going to a "Dave" show while drunk was the cool thing to do I guess? = /

One day towards the end of my senior year I got into the car with my best friend and he broke the news to me. He had been listening to a song in some store and he said it "wasn't that bad". He said the beginning was awesome, but as soon as that infamous voice chimed in, he felt let down. At that moment something clicked in my head. Could this be true? Did I just hear 'bad' songs on the radio? Sure, he didn't like the voice, but is their music actually good?

During this same time, I was working at a local restaurant in town. For a short time we had some crazy cook that was addicted to two things, cocaine and the Dave Matthews Band. At the time, his obsession almost seemed comical to me. He showed up to work daily with a CD book full of live "crap". I didn't really understand it, and I started asking him a ton of questions. How could one be so devoted to this band? Why so many live CD's? Where they all really that different? He tried to convince me that the live experience was a pretty unique. The band was always changing things up, making them new and fresh. He tried to tell me there were legions of fans around the country just like him. Although I didn't really pay too much attention to the music he was playing in the kitchen, he did convince me go check out a live CD.

I'm still not sure why I did it, but I took his advice. After he told me that the "radio singles" didn't paint a very fair representation of the band, I bought "The Central Par Concert" at Wal Mart for $15. In retrospect, it may have been some of the best $15 I've ever spent. The first song came on and I thought "Oh cool, I can dig this". The 2nd song came on, and I started feeling it a little more. As soon as the 2nd song (So Much To Say) transitioned directly into the 3rd song (Too Much), my eyes lit up. I'm sure it looked pretty funny to the other people driving down Cranberry Highway, but I started ?dancing? in my car. The music was so fun, so tight...so GOOD. This was NOT the Dave Matthews Band that I heard five years earlier. The coke-head was right...this band wasn't bad at all.

I listened to that 3 disc live show for weeks, until I decided I needed more. After a month's time, I had collected 3 of these shows. I loved them all, and I slowly started to 'see the light'. I convinced my best friend to get tickets to the Fenway Park show so we could experience this band in its true live setting.

I get a feeling at these shows that's almost hard to explain. Every time I see them, I feel like it's the first time all over again. I get so excited, and sometimes it's hard not to smile.



So....

12 shows,
170 CD's,
7 nights in a tent,
2,735 message board posts,
and thousands of dollars later....

here I am. I really see no end in sight to be honest. I am having a ton of fun, and I figure there could be much worse things to be addicted to. I really do love everything about this band. A little mix of rock, funk, folk, and jazz. They are so unique, and there is nothing else out there like them. I feel like every member is so talented at what they do. I'm no musical expert, but Cater Beauford is definitely one of the best drummers I've ever seen. Dave himself is quite a character, even if its hard to take him seriously. So many songs referring back to the 'carpe diem' theme, and the questioning of a higher being. They all just seem so honest, even if you do have to go digging for the true meaning sometime. I fear the day all of this comes crashing to a halt, but until then, I'll just ride it for as long as I can.

In case you were wondering, I still can't really get into "I Did It". I'm in love with 95% of the catalogue, but there are still a few sore thumbs that stick out. I guess nobody's perfect, right?