Who: Dave Matthews Band with Brandi Carlile
When: July 3, 2012
Where: Darien Lake Performing Arts Center/ Darien Center, NY
With: Zach, James & Chelsea
Of Note: Influencing the next generation ...
There are so many things I want to say, that I need to say about this show. Brace yourself.
Seeing the Dave Matthews Band at Darien Lake is a summer tradition for me and I love all of it. The smell of sunscreen, the great lot for tailgating, the terrible traffic getting out of the venue, the (usually) day of roller coasters that precedes it...I love it all. Sadly, my comrades in Dave at Darien have either moved away or have new responsibilities/different priorities now so I was afraid it might not happen this year. No big deal, I'm seeing two other DMB shows this summer, right? Then, a stroke of genius hit me and I asked my nephew if he'd like me to take him to his very first concert. He agreed, asked if he could bring some friends (which, obviously!) and we were set to go.
There's a lot to be said about the activity leading up to the concert - getting heckled on Elmwood while walking to Jim's Steakout Monday night when they arrived, Zach being deathly afraid of roller coasters (which I didn't know), Chelsea's intermittent exclamations of, "I'm SO EXCITED," (not unlike me at that age, I dare say), the "children" being so impressed at my mad tailgating skills, seeing Boyd wandering around the lawn while Brandi Carlile was performing (what?!). Those aren't the stories I want to tell.
There's even more to be said about the concert itself, and how much the music rocked my face off. Completely, totally rocked my face off. From the opening of Stefan and Tim tuning to 'Star Spangled Banner' all the way through the end of the encore's 'Two Step', this show was epic and definitely my favorite of the three I've seen this summer. There was so much good about the music, and so much that surprised me. The tease of Clapton's 'Wonderful Tonight' during 'Lie in Our Graves' made me lose my mind, looking around to make sure that others heard it. The really long vamp into 'Funny the Way It Is' was everything a jam should be - a long, slow tease that built and built (with Dave muttering random song titles over it) until it exploded into the first verse. I love that Dave has pretty much stopped singing 'Jimi Thing', preferring to let the crowd take lead vocals, only piping in at the bridge. Hearing 'Stay or Leave' was a treat; it's such a beautiful song, as was 'You and Me' (the "children" were particularly excited about that one). And then there was the encore, which was just absolutely fantastic. It started with 'Space Between', which always takes me to such a specific place in my life (sophomore year of college, holla!), and made me tear up. Then, 'Time Bomb' into 'Two Step' with the lyrics of 'Time Bomb' over the intro to 'Two Step', which blew my mind. Then, full-on, balls-out 'Two Step' complete with a MAJOR drum solo. But, those aren't really the stories I want to tell either.
I could also talk about how Dave continues to be such a funny guy, noting that it looked like, "some people needed to take a piss," after he played a new tune that people used as a bathroom break. Or that he put on some American flag print aviators to round out the end of 'Jimi Thing' and the 'Shake Your Sexy Ass' tag. I could talk about the middle aged man a few rows up from us who knew every word, played air guitar like a champ, and rocked so hard that he flipped his hat off his head multiple times (I decided he was my new spirit animal!). However, that's not really the point here either.
The story I want to tell is how incredible it was to see Zach (and his friends) get so much enjoyment out of something that I love so much. The first time I looked over to see him completely rocking out - air drums, head bob and all, I was overcome with such gratitude at what a great young man he has turned out to be and the relationship that he & I have. I asked him, after the show, "Do you see now? Why this is what I do with my time?" He just kept saying how incredibly epic the night was. Having the opportunity to share that, to "pass it along to the next generation" was so personally rewarding. And, I'm so glad that, though we're a bit atypical in structure, us Levanduskis really do stick together and as much as I joke about it, family is an essential part of my life. (It almost makes me understand why people have kids. Almost.) It also does wonders for my ego that he & his friends, 10 years my junior, think I'm pretty cool.
That would be a great place to end it, right? Warm and fuzzy? Click here to read about the rest of the night. (You'll want to, this is hilarious.)
When: July 3, 2012
Where: Darien Lake Performing Arts Center/ Darien Center, NY
With: Zach, James & Chelsea
Of Note: Influencing the next generation ...
There are so many things I want to say, that I need to say about this show. Brace yourself.
Seeing the Dave Matthews Band at Darien Lake is a summer tradition for me and I love all of it. The smell of sunscreen, the great lot for tailgating, the terrible traffic getting out of the venue, the (usually) day of roller coasters that precedes it...I love it all. Sadly, my comrades in Dave at Darien have either moved away or have new responsibilities/different priorities now so I was afraid it might not happen this year. No big deal, I'm seeing two other DMB shows this summer, right? Then, a stroke of genius hit me and I asked my nephew if he'd like me to take him to his very first concert. He agreed, asked if he could bring some friends (which, obviously!) and we were set to go.
There's a lot to be said about the activity leading up to the concert - getting heckled on Elmwood while walking to Jim's Steakout Monday night when they arrived, Zach being deathly afraid of roller coasters (which I didn't know), Chelsea's intermittent exclamations of, "I'm SO EXCITED," (not unlike me at that age, I dare say), the "children" being so impressed at my mad tailgating skills, seeing Boyd wandering around the lawn while Brandi Carlile was performing (what?!). Those aren't the stories I want to tell.
There's even more to be said about the concert itself, and how much the music rocked my face off. Completely, totally rocked my face off. From the opening of Stefan and Tim tuning to 'Star Spangled Banner' all the way through the end of the encore's 'Two Step', this show was epic and definitely my favorite of the three I've seen this summer. There was so much good about the music, and so much that surprised me. The tease of Clapton's 'Wonderful Tonight' during 'Lie in Our Graves' made me lose my mind, looking around to make sure that others heard it. The really long vamp into 'Funny the Way It Is' was everything a jam should be - a long, slow tease that built and built (with Dave muttering random song titles over it) until it exploded into the first verse. I love that Dave has pretty much stopped singing 'Jimi Thing', preferring to let the crowd take lead vocals, only piping in at the bridge. Hearing 'Stay or Leave' was a treat; it's such a beautiful song, as was 'You and Me' (the "children" were particularly excited about that one). And then there was the encore, which was just absolutely fantastic. It started with 'Space Between', which always takes me to such a specific place in my life (sophomore year of college, holla!), and made me tear up. Then, 'Time Bomb' into 'Two Step' with the lyrics of 'Time Bomb' over the intro to 'Two Step', which blew my mind. Then, full-on, balls-out 'Two Step' complete with a MAJOR drum solo. But, those aren't really the stories I want to tell either.
I could also talk about how Dave continues to be such a funny guy, noting that it looked like, "some people needed to take a piss," after he played a new tune that people used as a bathroom break. Or that he put on some American flag print aviators to round out the end of 'Jimi Thing' and the 'Shake Your Sexy Ass' tag. I could talk about the middle aged man a few rows up from us who knew every word, played air guitar like a champ, and rocked so hard that he flipped his hat off his head multiple times (I decided he was my new spirit animal!). However, that's not really the point here either.
The story I want to tell is how incredible it was to see Zach (and his friends) get so much enjoyment out of something that I love so much. The first time I looked over to see him completely rocking out - air drums, head bob and all, I was overcome with such gratitude at what a great young man he has turned out to be and the relationship that he & I have. I asked him, after the show, "Do you see now? Why this is what I do with my time?" He just kept saying how incredibly epic the night was. Having the opportunity to share that, to "pass it along to the next generation" was so personally rewarding. And, I'm so glad that, though we're a bit atypical in structure, us Levanduskis really do stick together and as much as I joke about it, family is an essential part of my life. (It almost makes me understand why people have kids. Almost.) It also does wonders for my ego that he & his friends, 10 years my junior, think I'm pretty cool.
That would be a great place to end it, right? Warm and fuzzy? Click here to read about the rest of the night. (You'll want to, this is hilarious.)
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