Well, for me it goes something like this:  First, he has been doing his thing for a quarter of a century and is still going strong.  No easy task unless you are very strong.  Second, the boy opened his own show!  When was the last time (if ever) you saw that from any band on tour?  Again, not easy to pull off without being in terrific shape physically and emotionally.  Third, a triathlete only has to go 140 miles to cross the finish line whereas Dave ‘I can’t get enough time on stage’ Matthews was still going strong at almost midnight after opening at just after 8 pm.  If I calculated correctly that’s 200 plus minutes of grinding it out.  Fourth and finally, although he brought many loyal fans to the show, over 15,000 I was told, he outlasted many of them who couldn’t make it all the way through to the end of this marathon performance.

Watching Dave Matthews perform made me wonder if I somehow crawled under a rock back in the early 90’s and just came out from under it on this Saturday night?  It was the first time I’d seen him live, yet I learned that some of his fans in attendance had seen him 200 or more times.
I might have handled this knowledge differently if I’d discovered that I just didn’t care for his music.  However, given how much I enjoyed him and his band it was a little embarrassing.  I ran into a dear former colleague, one of the many fans who were seeing Matthews for the umpteenth time, and had to confess my shortcomings.  Yep, I’m a first timer…shocking!

Hey, at least I finally made it.  Along with the rest of this loyal and enthusiastic crowd, I was treated to the opening nine song acoustic set (including Crash Into Me, one of his most recognizable hits).  This was followed by more than a dozen songs plugged in with the band.  And they just couldn’t stop there, so down the home stretch and across the finish line we got a 3 song encore of Sister, Ants Marching, and Halloween.

As a new and now initiated fan, I feel Dave Matthews may be a kindred spirit of sorts.  After all, we’re both named Dave, we both have roots in Virginia, and we both have a strong dedication to our crafts.  His passion for his music no doubt equals mine to my photography.  Thanks Dave Matthews Band for an enjoyable and enlightening evening!

Until next time please remember there is no time to kill,

dwc