Dave Matthews

So a couple friends and myself decided as of a few days ago that we're going to see the Dave Matthews Band concert at the Gorge on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. To be quite honest, the qualifying attraction for my dear friends is the notion of booze and fun, but it'll be a bit of nostalgia for myself and for the evolution of my taste in music.

Before I began listening to Dave and Co., I was woefully addicted to top 40 bullshit and the popular "modern rock/adult alternative" hits of the day. From Dave I was introduced to the jam band scene, and from their I became hooked on Zappa and started brushing up on the classics that I used to hate my dad for playing. My indie breakthrough was via the fan message boards that I had started browsing as a DMB fan.

I still maintain that up until 2001, there were few bands putting out records as diverse and well-recorded as those produced by the Matthews Band. While I (along with most of the rabid fans who made up the fanatical fanbase of the early 2000s)have lost interest in the group over the years, I honestly can't wait to experience their live performance, the first one I've been to since seeing their Gorge shows from 2000-2003. It'll be a nice little walk down memory lane.