dmb show 17 - irvine - 8/25/06

Date: August 25, 2006
Venue: Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Irvine, California
Seats: Orchestra 3, Row A, Seats ___
Show #: 17
Went with: Bunky

Notes: This is perhaps the best show I have ever been to. Everything was perfect. Amazing seats. Fabulous outdoor venue with gorgeous summer beach weather. The guys were amazing and clearly enjoying themselves up there. The crowd vibe was great. The setlist was great and they did a good job keeping the energy up through the whole show. I love it when they start off with Rapunzel, it’s usually a sign that the guys are in a good mood and you can expect a great vibe throughout the show. Bunky enjoyed himself thoroughly and was dancing and singing along – a first! It could have had something to do with the $12.50 Corona Lights (“I’m not trying to buy cocaine!”), but I’m pretty sure it was the vibe coming off the stage. It’s so much more enjoyable when you love the person you’re seeing the concert with and that person is totally enjoying it. Funniest line of the evening was when Bunk turned around and looked at the entire full amphitheatre behind us and asked, "Don't you just want to yell out, 'Suck it, peasants!' to all the people behind us?" Anyway, back to the music, Rashawn Ross (wow, he’s a big dude) brings an interesting sound to the mix and really brings out the best in Le Roi (like he could be any better). At the end of the Robert Randolph jam on Louisiana Bayou, Bunk turned to me and said, “That’s the best jam I’ve ever seen, including all of the bands we’ve ever seen in New Orleans.” On the way out, he said it was the best concert he’s ever been to (yay!) and I have to agree with him. Oh, and it took 10 minutes to get out of the parking lot. I’m not lying! On to the set list…

Pantala Naga Pampa * - Always a good sign...
Rapunzel * - Love the heck out of this song. One of my favorites.
Dream Girl * - Such a great vibe. You could tell Dave’s voice was back. Good to hear with my sweetie at my side.
Proudest Monkey * - Great to hear this one for the first time in a long time.
Satellite * - Definitely one of my favorites and so great to hear it after a long while. Called my voicemail for this one!
Shotgun *- Really enjoyed this new song. Dave was making jokes about his tiny guitar.
Grey Street *- When I saw the 12 string come out, I was hoping for JTR, but Grey Street never disappoints.
You Might Die Trying * - Not my favorite dancing song, but I love the words, which really spoke to me during a scary transition in my life last year. Now that I know how well that transition worked out, it means even more to me and hearing this song was like validation.
So Much To Say * - This was when I noticed Bunky knew the words and was singing along! Loved the vibe on this and the Anyone Seen the Bridge transition to Too Much, where Carter just lets loose was great.
Too Much *- Some people say they’re sick of this, but not me.
Break Free * - Another new one. It has a good feel to it and can’t wait to hear it more.
Crash Into Me – Couples skate! Crowd absolutely explodes when they hear this, I guess because it was the radio hit. Not my favorite DMB love song, but I wouldn’t kick it out of my bed for eating crackers.
Lie In Our Graves * - Love. This. Song. Boyd was on fire. Screamed my lungs out.
Can’t Stop – Loved watching Stefan lay down the funky, sexy baseline and Dave just belting this one out while holding his guitar like a security blanket, even though he wasn’t playing it. I love the parallel that he draws between love and addiction.
Hunger For The Great Light * - More intensity from Dave on this one. Not one of my favorites, but I love the intensity of emotion.
Improv Intro *+ - I got very excited when I saw Robert Randolph’s roadies come out with his slide guitar. I was waiting for this moment when I first heard that they would be opening. The improv was great. I love watching the guys enjoy themselves while they play. The Kanye West “Golddigger” bit was pretty funny, even if Dave copped out with the radio edit.
Louisiana Bayou *+ - I was totally hoping they would play this and it did not disappoint. Robert Randolph has so much energy and takes this already great song to a whole new level. Even Bunky was dancing and screaming. I thought I was going to faint at the end. Probably the best musical performance of any kind that I have ever seen.
__________________

Sister [Dave Solo] – Another new song. So heart-rending to hear him sing about his sister like that.
Everyday *- The crowd loves a sing-along and did a pretty good job. I love the vibe on this song.
Ants Marching * - Always a great closer, I loved the energy on this. A favorite for Mom, so I wish she could’ve been there for this one. Hope they play it at Hollywood Bowl for her.

Guests:
* Rashawn Ross on Trumpet
+ Robert Randolph

in anticipation

in anticipation of seeing my 17th, 18th and 19th dmb shows this weekend, i went to my dmb concert notes to relive a few of the past shows. i thought i'd post my notes on the first show ever, the show where i drank the kool-aid apparently. i went to this show a fan, i left a convert.

Date: May 20, 1998
Venue: Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Irvine, California
Seats: Loge 7, Row HH, Seat 721
Show #: 1
Went with: By myself

Notes: I had the “Under the Table and Dreaming” and “Crash” albums, which I liked a lot, and had recently purchased “Before These Crowded Streets.” I had been listening to it nonstop while I was studying for finals in the spring semester of my second year of law school. Daven was out of town somewhere, so I was home alone. I knew that DMB was playing that night and I was in the library and just decided to go. I drove down to Irvine, bought a ticket from a scalper in the parking lot; he had bought the ticket from the people in the car in front of me. Parking at Irvine Meadows (sorry, that’s what they called it when I was growing up) was, as always, a nightmare and I listened to Two Step and Jimi Thing from the car with my window down, and heard Satellite as I was literally running along that eight million mile long walk to the amphitheatre. I walked in at the end of Satellite and started what will probably become a lifelong obsession! Dave told the crowd that they were going to play straight through without an encore because they had to be done by 11.

Set List:

Two Step – it sounded great from the car.
Jimi Thing – as above.
Satellite – man, I love this song, it was magical to hear it live for the first time, even if I was running while I heard it.
Crush - sounded great.
The Stone – always kind of ambivalent towards this song on the album, it is great live.
Dancing Nancies – Boyd rocked this. he played so hard that he shredded his bow. At the end, I turned to the people next to me and thanked them for selling their ticket.
Stay – Dave sang the “Makes you Wanna, Makes You Wanna” bits on his own, so cute.
Tripping Billies – this was when I realized that everyone in the place knew all the words to every song and sang along.
Last Stop – so intense.
Lie In Our Graves – This song is meant to be heard live, outside with the stars above your head on a warm summer night. I was hooked.
Don’t Drink the Water –with Bela Fleck playing banjo, so it sounded a lot like the album version but it seemed to go on forever as they jammed it out.
#41 – I remember being amazed at how long this song was in concert and telling people after how cool it was that they could jam like that.
Patala Naga Pampa/Rapunzel – I was ready to hear this song the moment that I walked in; it was the first thing I asked the people next to me, if they had played this yet. I was glad not to miss it; t did not disappoint.
Crash – the couples skate song; really awkward to hear if you are alone.
All Along the Watchtower – I had no idea that they did this song live at the time and was completely blown away.

Guests:

Bela Fleck on Tripping Billies, Last Stop, Lie in Our Graves and Don’t Drink the Water.

Bela Fleck & the Flecktones & Jeff Coffin on #41 & Rapunzel.

countdown to dave

31 hours and counting until my first dmb show of the season and 17th total. i. cannot. wait. irvine meadows (that's the old school name for verizon wireless amphitheatre) on friday night. coors light amphitheatre in chula vista (motto: if you spit, you can hit mexico) on saturday night. and, the hollywood bowl on monday night. thanks to the warehouse (official dmb fan association), i won't be sitting any farther back than 5th row. the set lists over the past few weeks have been great and i'm really looking forward to hearing the new songs. i'll try to post setlists and reviews each night.

fuck you, pat buchanan

pat buchanan is a fucking motherfucker.

ice cubes in hell?

so, on saturday afternoon, we were driving on the 405 in west l.a., between the 10 and the 101. typical bumper to bumper. too many goddamned people in this town. yada yada yada. it turns out, though, that there actually was a minor accident in the fast lane just past sunset and just as we were coming up on it, the chp stopped the traffic in all lanes to let the cars move off to the right. we were one car back from where they stopped the traffic and when the chp officer waved us on, i looked up and saw nothing but empty 405 in front of us. happy to be driving the acura and not the hindenwagen, i cut over one lane to the left to get around the looky-loo in front of me, floored it and took off to get myself some quality alone time on the 405.

bunky was my co-pilot, so he took some shots to document this historic event. as you can see above, hardly anyone in front of us. and not too many people keeping up with me, either, as you can see from the rear view below. it took him a few seconds to get the camera out, so, if you can imagine, it was even emptier than this.



it was nothing short of miraculous and (how lame is this) the most fun i've had in a while. i'm not sure, but i believe i may have said, and i quote, "yee ha!"

a few more for the wthiwwjp category...

in this one, they are waking up people in very shocking ways. the first two are so-so, but the last two are outstanding! enjoy!



this one is toilet pranks, done by the same people who did the sauna pranks that i posted a while ago.



it's kind of repetitive, but the third prank will make you laugh out loud. and if you watch all the way to the end where they show the judges (?) [about 7:10] you will see beat takeshi (otherwise known as vic romano in spike tv's mxc) dressed in a sailor suit and sporting a hitler mustache. whaaaa? seriously, what kind of drugs must japanese television producers have access to?

ok, i keep finding more. i really should ration them out and make it a weekly thing. i would have enough posts for the next hundred years. this one is just unspeakably bizarre...

raindrops on roses...

...and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens,
husbands in saturday pj's with dogs in their laps,
these are a few of my favorite things.

ipod, heal thyself!

well, apparently, all the candles i lit and incense that i burnt at my altar to the mac gods have hurried my beseeching prayers to their holy ears. my ipod's trackwheel, which seemed irretrievably broken a couple of long weeks ago, has spontaneously resurrected itself after spending some alone time in my nightstand drawer. it's a miracle, i tell you. praise the lord and pass the podcasts!

What's new pussycat?

That concert was so fucking rad!

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It's not unusual

I am at the Tom Jones concert at the Hollywood Bowl right now! Welsh power!

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