It's Just a Blog: Happy Labor Dave Weekend!

Monday, September 4, 2023

Happy Labor Dave Weekend!

I can't believe I've never told the story of my relationship with Dave Matthews Band's music before. I've ranked their songs on here and given brief introductions but I haven't explained myself properly, so I will do that now.

In 1997 I had met a girl who was into the same kind of music as me. It was the late 90's, you had Matchbox 20, Marcy Playground, Pearl Jam, etc. on the radio. I was getting tired of hearing the same old crap on the alternative jams, and this friend (I met her online, she lives in California) introduced me to Dave Matthews Band, and said she saw them live once and they were amazing.

I think I bought the "Crash" album before even listening to it, because she was raving about them so much. I instantly fell in love, and fast forward a year later, I was meeting Dave who kissed me on my "side-lip" area which was super cool. If I was a straight girl that would've been sexy. But, I'm not. I'm a big lesb. It was still great though. It's Dave Matthews, I mean. Superstar!

How did this come to be? Well another online friend of mine gave me their producer's contact information, and he and I began chatting. I visited him in the studio when he was producing an album for Guster, down in Sausalito, CA. That was neat, too.

Anyway, at first had all the studio albums but when my friend told me they were the best live in concert, I picked up a copy of Live @ Red Rocks and I was blown away! So I started trading tapes. Yes, tapes. This was the late 90's early 2000's when we used cassettes still. Anyway so I had this huge collection of live Dave Matthews Band concerts, going as far back as 1992 (they formed in 1991). Some rare, and some fan favorites. I honestly am not sure what happened to them all but I have an idea they might be in my step-father's attic.

Anyway I went to my first Dave show in 1998. 5.17.98 at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountainview, CA with my California friend. Her favorite song at the time was Crash Into Me and she just thought Dave was so hot, and adorable. So he sang Crash Into Me and looked right into the camera at one point in the song, and it looked like he was looking right into HER eyes, it was pretty cool. I had a blast, and I agreed they were amazing to watch live. Thus began my adventures with seeing Dave at the Gorge, the big amphitheater in the middle of the state of Washington (where I am from). It became an annual pilgrimage for me, my friends, and many others across the country (and even the world) to see them perform live every Labor Day weekend (beginning of Sept or late August in the US if you didn't know). It's affectionately referred to as "Labor Dave" for obvious reasons. The Gorge is seated atop a, well, Gorge, overlooking the beautiful and might Columbia River that cuts the state of Washington in half. It's majestic views are one of the main reasons people love it so much, I think.

When I met my now mate (of the soul variety), she liked them but had never seen them live, so we started seeing them at the Gorge. We have many excellent memories of these times. From tailgating, drawing DMB Firedancers on my arm (that's the Dave symbol), to the beer we drank, to the songs we loved. It's labor Dave weekend right now which is why I am writing this. Here are some pictures from the Gorge: