Warning: I might ramble a lot in here, cuz this will be in lieu of my journal entry!
The night started pretty early. In fact, it started at 4:30. I was all equipped in my stalker mode, camera and all. My crew, Tram and Chris, were all hoping to get a glance of him. Perhaps we were pushing our luck, but it was worth a shot to try the whole Memorial Auditorium thing again. Well, we got there around 5, and were one of the first people there. However, our luck ran out cuz the band was already inside. We hit the two radio station's tables, trying to win prizes. From there, we waited bout a half hour in line before they started letting people in. I, unwittingly enough, thought they would pat me down for a camera, so I left my camera in Chris' car. However, they didn't even touch me!! Geez..it's bad enuf I didn't get a good pat-down, but when we saw our centered our seats were, I really was kicking myself. Anywho, the first thing we headed to were the dave merchandise. $24 bucks for a freakin' t-shirt!! You all know how rich I am, so I sacraficed a few bucks for a cool sticker! We hit the snack bar, got some food, and chilled in our seats for like a half hour. Seven o'clock rolls around and Jimmy Cliff comes. Lemme say..he's quite the performer. From stage stunts like doing cool lil splits and spins to getting the audience to chant.."Save the planet Earth". However, I think his highlight was when he sang that song, "I can see clearly now, the rain is gone..I can see all obstacles disappear.." There was then a half hour break for stage set up. In the meantime, I was feeling queezy either from the elevation or from the drugs. At around 8:20 p.m., the greatest band on earth took the stage.
I do apologize now to Chris and Tram for me trying to guess every song..sorry guys! Anyways..Seek Up was a great way to start off the night..which then lead to a great solo by Carter on the drums into "Say Goodbye". However, the night took a big upswing when they played one of my favorite songs, like Won Suite World, the prelude to One Sweet World. One great, relaxing song..ahh! The upswing continued as he played "Crush". I haven't until recently appreciated Crush..but I do love how he sings the last part of the song. Outta the whole BTCS album, The Stone and Pig, are my faves..and lookie lookie..here he plays Stone. This here was the moment where there was a big ass smile on my face, cuz the night was going so perfectly. I almost leaked from the eyes cuz the moment was soo great..but i held it in. I wasn't too familiar with Help Myself except for my tapes I got a few days ago, but of course, it was great. Jimi Thing is always a great, how-ya-doin' song, that can get u in that great mood. In fact, this guy two rows down in front got up and started dancing..and we saw him numerous times being told to sit down..hehe. Even Dave broke out an awesome, monster spin that amazed me..hehe. Tram was fascinated by his footwork..as was I near the end. And let's not forget the light show!! Excellent job on the lights!! Of course, they jammed to that for like 10 minutes. After that song, he was teasing us with Crash, but slightly outta tune..that Dave. I thought he wasn't gonna break it out cuz I thought he didn't play it much anymore after the crash tour. That was the whipped cream on my sundae!! Then, the cherry came with Recently..a recent fave of mine! I think at that point, I told Chris if he played #40 for the encore, I'd rape Dave..hehe. Yes, that smile was permanently plastered on my face for the whole night! By that time, I think Chris was high offa "the cheap marijuana"..hehe..I would never know the difference, Chris.
He then satisfied the loud people behind us by playing Billies. Long Black Veil is a new song that I never heard before, but heard lots bout it. It was a beautiful song..would u expect anything less from Dave? And, well, he hadda satisfy the other Crashheads out there by playing So Much To Say and Too Much..songs I don't care much about. After Too Much, Dave and company left the stage, my Dave was once again playing hard to get. The encouragement for an encore was INSANE AND AMAZING!!! It was a beautiful sight to see..the lighters were high in the air around the whole arena..non-stop clapping, hootin' and hollering for 5 minutes or soo, chants of "Dave, Dave, Dave!" broke out, foot stomping.. something I will never forget!! Tram and I both think he hadda go take a pee break after all that water he drank..but he came back to play Angel from Montgomery and Two Step. Not exactly my #40, but both are beautiful songs. I'm just very grateful he didn't play any stupid songs from Crash like "Drive In, Drive Out". Whew..oh, well, I know, other people are not fortunate enuf to hear a great mix as I did Tuesday night. We left a tad early to beat a 11 o'clock curfew, grabbed a cool "Wilco" tape, and was outta there!! All I have to remember the first of many Dave concerts are my crew, my memories, and my ol' ticket stub.
