Thursday, March 24, 2011

Home of the Tripping Billies

This post comes per request of some guy named Brett Carter. You see, I'm like a blog DJ, if you request a post I will write it. If you are asking yourself who Brett Carter is, that's a good question. I don't know him, I have never actually met him, and he may or may not be joining my family in the next year.

So what is this post about you ask? Well judging by the title and using common reasoning it appears to be a post about Dave Matthews Band. It is exactly that. Sort of. I'm not going to sit here and write about Dave Matthews Band. Instead I will write about my change of attitude about the band.

Where do we start? Oh yea, I hate Dave Matthews Band. His songs are annoying and I will never be a fan the band. From the first time I heard "Ants Marching" I have hated his annoying voice. I will never have any of their music on my iTunes, ever. It's just not my kind of music.

That's what I thought a year ago. Last year I had big plans for the 4th of July weekend. I was going to go to Des Moines and go see one of my favorite bands Modest Mouse. I was very excited for this. That Thursday I learn that it was supposed to rain hard in Des Moines. There goes those plans. Now what will I do with my weekend? I get an invite from a friend of mine, we'll call him Josh, to go camping in Wisconsin and see Dave Matthews Band. I jump at the opportunity to go camping and hang out with people. I couldn't care less about seeing Dave Matthews Band. I knew maybe three songs and I was not a fan of the band at all.

The first day/night of camping was great fun. A lot bags playing, sausage eating, fire burning, and of course, drinks flowing. However I still wasn't sure about the concert the next night. How much fun am I, someone who knows essentially nothing about the band, going to have at this Dave Matthews Band concert? But I stop questioning it and take another sip of my drink as I swat away bugs trying to get my blood.

We wake up the next morning, the day of the concert. We start drinking right away, and by "we" I mean not me. I sat in the car sipping a beer trying to recover not from a hangover but the 6 hours of sleep I got in two night combined. I soon come around and we start playing more bags and eating more sausages. We hang out at the campsite for most of the day. We then get in the car and start driving to the concert, I'm wondering why I am going, I don't even like the band. We get to the site of the concert and begin tailgating. I grow tired of drinking nothing but beer for two days straight. I tell Josh to get me a drink that isn't beer. He comes back with a Whiskey and Coke. I have never had this drink and until then I had a firm no hard alcohol policy. I took a sip. I took another sip. I took a drink, and another, and another. This is delicious. Since then whiskey/coke has been my drink of choice.

It's now time for the concert. Zac Brown Band is opening as we walk in. I hate country music so I pay little attention to them. All these drinks have caught up to me by now and I really have to go to the bathroom. The bathroom is packed. As I stand in line something completely unexpected happens. The crowd in the restroom start singing "Chelsea Dagger" by The Fratellis, better known as the song played every time the Chicago Blackhawks score a goal. This is followed by a stirring bathroom rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner", better known as the National Anthem of the United States of America. This is by far the greatest bathroom break I have ever had.

I walk back out and it's now time for Dave Matthews Band to come on. They play a bunch of songs I had never heard before. They played the three songs I did know. But most importantly they completely changed my mind. I went from not being fan to completely loving the band. After the concert I decided I needed to see them again after I listened to more of their songs. That concert was on July 4th. I saw them again on September 17th at a little known place in Chicago called Wrigley Field. More than likely the best concert I have ever been to. That weekend was also very fun. I enjoyed two things I hated just a month and a half earlier, Dave Matthews Band and whiskey/coke. Now I have a bunch of their songs on my iPod and I even have one of their albums on vinyl.

It's amazing what seeing a band live can do to your perception of said band. I went from not liking them to loving them in the matter of one concert. That's all for me today. I hope you enjoyed. Also, if your name is Brett Carter, you're welcome. If your name is not Brett Carter, thank you. Goodbye.


What I'm Listening To:

"Everyday" by Dave Matthews Band

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