Despite having tickets to two game in Washington DC for this week, I decided to take the week off from attending baseball games and eat the cost of the tickets.  I figured it would cost at least $80 per game to travel there, and if I didn’t go, I’d actually be saving myself money.

My decision to stay put this week was made easy because I had a weekend of Dave Matthews Band ahead of me.

I attended the concert on July 9th in Hershey PA at Hershey Park Stadium.  Since I’m a Warehouse fan club member, I got early admittance and ended up being in the front row.

Unfortunately, the battery of my phone was sapped after an intense game of Scrabble, and I only got one picture before my phone died.

It was Dave Matthews introducing the Zac Brown Band:

I didn’t know much about the ZBB coming in, but they were really good.  Highlights were the songs Toes and Killing In the Name of (which Zac Brown cautioned parents to remove their kids due to the lyrics, which you’ll hear if you choose to watch the video below that I found on youtube:)

As for the Dave Matthews Band concert, it was decent.  It was my 43rd show, and would rank somewhere in the middle. 

Since it was a “one night stand” meaning only one show at the venue, I expected a bunch of songs off of their new album, as well as songs to please the ‘radio’ crowd (those that only know the singles).  Therefore, I had to lower my expectations a little and realize that I wouldn’t get songs that super fans like myself love.  Such as the Song That Jane Likes.

The setlist was rather different.  The band played more songs off of Dave Matthews’ 2003 solo album, Some Devil, than any other album.  That’s the first time that’s ever happened.

So, on to the highlights for me:
1) Warehouse – which at the end, Dave’s guitar fell apart with strings hanging off.
2) Say Goodbye
3) Pig

I looked around on youtube and found one fan who made a little montage of a few clips of the songs from the night.   You can see that here:

The next day it was off to Pittsburgh to see Dave Matthews Band once again at PNC Park.

I had early entrance tickets again, and like usual, none of the security guards knew what was going on.  There was one man screaming at everyone outside of the gate center field gate, “WAREHOUSE TICKETS ONLY, NO COOLERS, DRINKS… etc”   There were three lines that had formed at the gate, and it turns out that the line that I was in (the one that is the line I go into PNC Park at every baseball game) was for non-Warehouse members. 

I moved into the Warehouse line near the front, as I wasn’t going to go to the end of the line, which at this point snaked down the stairs and to the river.  I had been there long enough, I couldn’t help that the lines weren’t marked. 

When the gates opened, I ran in, cut to my left and under the left field bleachers.  The access points to the field were between every section in left field in the aisle ways.  Large decks with stairs had been built for people to walk up and over the six foot high left field fence and down onto the field.

There was a bottle neck at the first two entrance points between sections 138/137 and 137/136, so I ran down to an entrance closer to the foul pole that no one was using.  It was a smart move, as I ended up getting the front row again, in virtually the same spot as last night in Hershey.

After claiming my spot, I broke away for a bit to buy pretzels, water and cracker jacks.  (My spot was being saved).  I used this time to take some photos:

Before leaving to go to the concession stand looking in towards home plate:
The highlight of the concert for me was the song I’ll Back You Up, which was the first time in I’d ever seen it in my 44 shows.  As a side note, this was the first song Dave Matthews ever wrote.

Found the performance on youtube:


I would rank the show somewhere in the middle of all of the shows I’ve seen.  The show was pretty long, clocking in at 2 hours and 31 minutes of song time (not including gaps between songs).  It was the 40th long DMB concert of all time.

I didn’t really care for PNC Park as the venue though.  The general admission crowd was beyond annoying.  I was surrounded with drunk people and folks trying to sneak their way up to the front.  I even ended up with a nice bruise on my hip from pressing my weight up against the fence to keep the drunks from trying to get past me.  I was pretty much 90 degrees against the rail, as everything I cared about was to my left anyway.  Three of the completely drunk girls behind me threw their underwear towards the stage, one falling short, one narrowly missing a security guards face, and one actually making it.  I had never seen that kind of behavior at a DMB concert, but then again, those type of folks are usually out on the lawn, where I have never sat.

I’ll be out of action from baseball this Friday, and maybe Saturday too.  My next game may not be until next Monday, but who knows.

I plan on attending at least two more Dave Matthews Band concerts this year, which may be my final ones for some time, as the band has announced that they are taking 2011 off – the first year ever since their inceptcion that they will not tour.

STATISTICS: (from DMBAlmanac.com)