bring that beat back to me again...

First, let me start off by giving the concert update. It was great! I had a wonderful time. I have a few thoughts on this before I move on to the shockingly horrifying portion of the evening. [See next post.]

Dave Matthews is an interesting phenomenon. We were standing there last night, and as I do at EVERY concert, I find myself watching the crowd just as much as the performer. There was an interesting mix of ages there last night. The drunk woman on my right (who was HILARIOUSLY funny to watch) was probably in her mid to late 40's...however the screaming group of people in front of me were all clearly in college. We saw license plates there from all the surrounding states - we heard the story of one guy who drove 7 HOURS to make the show. (Yes, it's longer from Wilmington, NC to Charlotte, NC than it is from Savannah, GA to Charlotte, NC.) These are some of the thoughts I had while standing there last night listening to that sweet sweet music:

1. Music is such an incredible medium. [And that is such an understatement.] Watching the crowd last night, there was not one person who didn't look like they were having the best time. All these people come from different backgrounds and situations even leading up to the show. But once they got there, it was like they left all their worries at the door. There is very little in life that I have observed that can have that effect on people. In a society where every one has a cell phone, blackberry, or palm pilot, very little makes them turn it off. However, no one was on the phone last night unless they were waving to friends across the pavilion.

2. Work can be fun? As I left my work yesterday, thinking about the night, I was just thrilled to be leaving. I could have been leaving to completely clean my apartment and I would have been happy. Imagine having a job where you just have fun. Not only fun, but you make people's lives better...even if it's only for the few hours they are there. I was watching the performers last night and after having been at it for a while, they ALL looked like they were just having a great time. Clearly something I can't imagine at work. lol...

3. The phenomenon known as Dave Matthews Band. The interesting thing about him and his music is that he has such a huge following, but he has never been a constant on the radio or any other music media outlet (MTV ::cough cough::). He's never done a mix with Timbaland, nor has he had a picture taken not wearing any underwear in Vegas that gets him in the press. But somehow, he remains to be one of the most well known artists of our time. I mean, who among us HASN'T had a DMB sticker on our car at one point or another? It's just interesting to see how the movement has grown since he started out. A friend of ours that went with us last night saw his first DMB show in 1995 [I was 10. He was 18. hahaha] Since then, he's been to 52 shows in 12 years. You may think that's extreme, but there was a woman there last night who had a sign saying "75th show!" I also heard of someone that has been to over 200 shows since 1998. I know that all bands have a following of some kind, but it just seems like Dave does what he wants and the people just come. Quite interesting if you think about it.

More to come later...about the shockingly horrifying portion of the evening. And it's nothing you could have imagined.