Celebrate we will, Because life is short but sweet for certain

Today, I am going to talk about the Dave Matthews Band and how I became a fan and how that flame burned brightly until in began to dwindle and eventually went out. I am no longer a fan and not interested in seeing DMB perform, even if I was paid to see them. Maybe I would go see them if I could write the setlist and the band performed it. But that is never going to happen, so let me just tell you how it went down.

At Deer Creek in 1992, I went to see the Dead with an old friend. He lost his walet and wanted to go home. I offered to pay for everything. We ended up staying, but he was beside himself. I didn't have fun at the shows because the scene was full of beggars and people trying to sell ice-cold plastic bags. It was a joke. The younger fans didn't know any better and would yell during the band's jams or sing while the band was performing. I had not yet written off Phish. I went to see Phish a bunch in 1992 and 1993. I liked most of the songs, but some just seemed stupid. I remember that the Spin Doctors opened up for a few of their shows. I don't remember a lot about those shows, but remember that I had a good time. About 1993, my friend was regularly giving me Phish tapes and I still have a bunch of them today. What happened basically was that I didn't like the Phish fan base. They all seemed like "The Corduroy Kids," who were living on family money and trying to chase the scene. I gave up on Phish and stuck with the Dead. Well, that lasted until Jerry died in 1995. I was really disappointed at the way things went down with the Dead. I continued to listen to the music and I certainly had my favorite shows that I listened to over and over, first on tape, then on CD, finally on iPod.

I had never even heard of the DMB in 1995. A friend of mine gave me their first disc "Under The Table and Dreaming" and I listened to it often. I really liked it a lot and sought out some of their older music. I learned about the band and really liked their sound. I went to see them in 1996 and became hooked. They had a sound unlike any other that I had heard. I did not really notice the large allegiance of frat kids, nor did I care. The music made me happy. I started getting SBDs of old shows and of new shows. RCA was just beginning to crack down on SBDs, but allowed regular taping. I started seeing tons of DMB shows, including the Bela and DMB run in Winter 98. I was having a blast. The band began promoting its fan club, The Warehouse, and things began to run amuck. People were singing so loudly over the band, even from my 3rd row seats. There were fights in the parking lots and fights to get out of the venue. People seemed pushy. Meanwhile, the band's music began to change after "Crash" and it was not changing in a good way for me. I began noticing that the band was not playing its old stuff as much and began paying homage to its touring CD. They would play 8 songs off of their new CD at every show. On the years when there was no CD, it was better, but the band still played their newer stuff.

We began to see the same shows every year and would occasionally travel to other places to see the band, but mostly we were in a routine over the summer. It was great seeing Dave and Friends, which included Trey and Tim Reynolds. That was the jam!! But, by 2004, we were growing increasingly discontent with the overall shows. There were song highlights, but overall shows were not what they used to be. I tried to keep going and I did for many years, thinking that it was going to be different this year. It never was. So, I goty backstage and had a drink with Dave in 1999. By the time I had gotten ripped off by the Warehouse membership and then gotten my lame upper pavilion seats, I really didn't want to go that much. 2005-2007 were years that didn't do much for me. In 2008, the band invited Tim Reynolds on tour and it seemed like the band was stepping it up a notch, covering Neil Young and Pink Floyd, even The Talking Heads. So, I was very discontented by late 2008 when the band just didn't seem to do it for me. I had grown tired of them, plain and simple. Listening to a show from 1995 seemed like a foreign band because there was no chance that the band was going to take risks like it once did. So many songs annoyed me because either I had heard them too many times or because I didn't like watching people cuddle at shows. So, when Phish announced that it was doing a three run show at Hampton, I naturally decided to try to get tickets.

I got tickets. I went to the shows. I mingled with the crowd. I could feel the excitement each night. It was palpable the first night when the band came on stage. By the third night, I was sold on a new band. I could call this band home. They cared about how they sounded and they wanted to play old songs for their fans, even though they sprinkled in a new one or two. But "Backwards Down The Number Line" was such a great song and was so great to hear, that I didn't care if it was overplayed in 2009. Meanwhile, I went to a few DMB shows in 2009 and I had lost my feeling for the band. I could tell that they were good musicians, but their music had changed. It became background music for ABC College Football. The band had completely sold out. In all of my years, I saw 99 shows. I do not plan to see them for the 100th time. I just can't take it. There was a lot of good times with great friends at DMB shows, but I have moved on. I just had no spark left for them. When I compared the $90 that I paid for crappy seats to see DMB to the $50 that I paid to sit front row, or 3rd row closest to the stage to see Phish, there was no comparison. Even when Phish played songs that I didn't know, I still enjoyed myself because I knew that I was not going to hear several songs that I disliked and I knew that I was going to be blown away by Phish's in sync jamming and improvising. I am not comparing DMB to Phish and trying to say which is better. I am merely saying that I got totally burned out on DMB and feel like they were going in a different way than I was. They are still going that way. It is great if they want to just play new music and continue to evolve on their specific course, but I did not and do not want to go along. Without Phish, I would be looking for a band, like Umphrey's McGee. They are great, but are not Phish. I want to try The Disco Biscuits, but am very much immersed in Phish. I find that Phish touches many of those exploratory places that the Dead's early music touched and that Phish tries hard to give the fans what they want. I am all for a band that stays in touch with it fans--something not even the Dead did. Even when I listen to a fantastic "Scarlet>Fire," I still can't help but think about some of the awesome jams that Phish pulls out of the sky. They do not keep things safe by playing similar, but different, shows. They play totally different from one night to the next, always leaving fans wanting more.

Maybe you were a closet DMB fan or you just blew them off completely. Maybe you always thought the Dead were not your sort of thing. I can understand any one's point of view. I hope that you can understand mine. I chose to follow DMB and feel like it reached its peak and then just fizzled out. I rarely even listen to Dead shows anymore, and I have all of them, mostly SBDs. I have found a new band and am going to stay loyal until I have had enough--which I hope won't be for a long time.

Once in a while you can get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right

Here are pictures of Lexi and Lizzie. Lexi was 2 1/2 there and is 4 1/2 now. Lizzie was 5 and is 7 now. Lexi is the one with the corn. I think that picture epitomizes summer, unless you don't have kids and then maybe you would want something more beach or water-themed. It has been really hot here this week and I do not like hot weather. I prefer it to stay under 70 degrees. In Louisville, the summers get really hot and humid. It is too early to be sweating already. It makes for a long summer. I remember the hottest that I have ever been. It was at the Grateful Dead in Alpine Valley 1988. Wisconsin had one of its longest droughts in history and had record heat. We were sleeping in tents back then and it was almost 120 degrees in the tent. The temperature was insane. Sleeping was almost impossible. By the time I got to sleep, people were up and moving around. It was unbearable. The shows were good, although they played a lot of new stuff then, including one of my newer favorites, "Foolish Heart." Back then, shows were still fun and people were not selling things like ice-cold garbage bags and napkins. You were treated like family and if thirsty, someone would give you a cold one. Today, people are selling their ticket stubs from the night before. The scene has changed a lot.

I am not really ragging on things today, but just noticing the difference. I remember when shows were all general admission and people did not fight or save an entire section for their friends. It was way calmer. At Hampton, in 1985 and 1986, they used to play volleyball on the floor before shows. People looked out for each other and the recreationals were real. The hustlers were not paid much attention. The Dead, for all intents and purposes, were really done before I started getting into their music. I had a short introduction to them at summer camp in 1978, but didn't start seeing them until 1985. Jerry was way into H and the band suffered from it. Shows were predictable and rarely did the band take a lot of risks.

I remember my introduction to Phish clearly. A couple of my friends who went to UVA gave me a board from 11.15.91, Trax, in Charlottesville. I remember listening to it a lot, especially the "Mike's Song > Hydrogen > Weekapaug." I really liked it and began seeing the band whenever I could. All in all, I saw them about 25 times in 92-93. I also remember clearly making the decision that I could not like both bands because one occupied enough of my time and also because I was not really sure about the new Phishheads. The band's music was kind of weird and I didn't really get the jokes or the humor. I was never much into Monty Python and they had a sort of humor like that. My friends and I used to talk about how it was either the Dead or Phish, but not both. I sided with the Dead. I don't know why, but I thought it was a sound decision. I loved more Dead songs than I did Phish songs. Thinking back over it reminds me of a joke I once heard. How many Deadheads does it take to change a light bulb? A million, but they just follow it around, waiting for it to burn out.

Burn out is what the Dead did. They still had their moments, but had way too many go to songs and lazy moments. They did not challenge themselves and made excuses for it. So when I decided at Deer Creek 1992 that I had had enough, I quit going. To read about the destruction of the scene and the gate-jumpers really made me sick. Once America finds out about something good, it destroys it. Good things are rarely a secret. Okay, so you probably want to know why I am so optimistic about Phish and why I am using the same approach with them that burned me out on the Dead and on Dave Matthews Band. It is valid to assume that I will get sick of Phish, too. But, this is where things differ. Both the Dead and DMB stopped playing the songs that people want to hear. It was a rarity to hear "St. Stephen" and the band stopped playing "Lost Sailor" in 1986. They folded up most of their psychedelic music and traded it in for a more relaxed groove. Granted, there were moments of sublime jamming. Same with DMB. They totally stopped playing songs that made them famous. In the end, it sucked and still does. I would not see DMB if someone bought me a ticket.

Phish, on the other hand, plays the songs that people want to hear. Take Hampton, for example. When the band broke into the first few notes of "Fluffhead," it ended the drought of the song during Phish 2.0. The band brought back old songs, such as "Curtis Lowe." The band mixed that with new songs, most of which were decent. But for the most part, the band plays songs that people want to hear, such as those from "Lawn Boy" and "A Picture of Nectar" and older tunes. They are not afraid to take musical risks and practice to hone their musical skills. They care about how they sound and it shows. They mix things up most of the time. It is hard to predict what song is going to open the first set or what the encores might be. Of course, there are those of you who have seen them 300 or 400 times and might have a better idea than me. You are probably skeptical and pessimistic toward the band. You dislike some of their stuff. Granted, I am not a fan of "Ocelot." But, even then, you can't compare them to the Dead. I am not saying that I made a mistake by choosing the Dead. Not at all. I have almost every show that is available in SHN/FLAC of the Dead's. But I don't listen to them nearly as much. I have memorized certain jams and they feel old to me, sort of like my college fraternity brothers or playing beer pong. It is just not as much fun for me.

I hope that I don't get burned on "Punch" or "The Lizards" because then I may not have anything left to listen to. I guess that I could try The Disco Biscuits, but I think I have a lot left in me. I am always amazed at Phish's shows. There is typically at least a few songs that create magic and I have a lot of shows to listen to. That is the great thing about it. Things seem fresh and new to me. It is "an obsession but it's pleasin'." I like meeting new people and there are lots of people my age at shows and I have no problem talking to younger folks either. I cannot really believe that after I completely turned my back on Phish that here I am getting ready to take my newborn son and my wife to a bunch of shows and traveling the old-fashioned way--driving it. Although we are staying in hotels, maybe I won't shave every day or refuse to brush my teeth one night, just for old time's sake. I still haven't gotten completely obsessed, like I don't study Trey's equipment or know who his high school girlfriend was. He and my step brother went to TAFT together, around the same time. That is enough about the Dead and Phish for now.

Today, my wife is having a lot of contractions and pain. I am so helpless and don't know what to do for her. It is hard, because she is clearly in pain and uncomfortable, but doesn't need anything from me. I am here for her, though. I hope that she carries Eli to term and he doesn't come early. I want things to go just perfectly, and so far so good. We are going to have the baby, and then move before we hit the road. Our stuff will probably still be in boxes when we get back, but I will make sure to have broadband and cable before we leave. Essentials. That, and AC. It will be really hot by the time we get back. I tend to freeze the family out. They walk around in sweats during the summer. I can't take any more clothes off. I just get so hot. Anyway, I just hope that my wife starts feeling better soon. It is scary to think that she is carrying our baby in her womb and in like six weeks, we will have a son. I have been playing "The Clifford Ball" video (on my iPod) to him lately, because I know that he can hear it. He even kicks back at some songs more than others. I wonder if it is distracting and noisy or if he likes it. He responds to my touch and to my voice whenever I touch Eliz's stomach or talk to him.

In the next couple of weeks, I am going to put together a mix of 70 songs or something as go to playlist for the road. That should be a lot of fun. One last thing. I want to shout out to Kenny over at Ghetto-Fab Remasters, www.phishauds.com. He really gave me some good suggestions on how to get more readers and improve my audience. I appreciate the time he took to respond to me. I am hoping that I can get Mr. Miner to help me out a litle with his thoughts. His site is great-www.phishthoughts.com. I always enjoy his thoughtful prospective on Phish. Hope that all of you are having a great Friday night and have a great weekend. Remember that the NFL draft starts on April 22-24. I will for sure watch the first two rounds. Later.