You see, I really would like to get all these concert recaps done by Friday, which won't happen. But, if I do the two night shows together in one post, I should be able to make this go by faster. So we'll do both nights of Noblesville 2009 in one post, but still as the separate shows they are. My guess is that night one will score the highest yet, but we'll see. Just a reminder of the scoring system:
1 = A song that I would gladly go to get a beer, use the restroom, or do anything else that I needed to do during.
2 = A song that will make me want to stay in place, but that I'll hunt down the beer man during
3 = A song that I'll dance a little to, has moments I'll love, but that I'll talk to The Wiese or text during.
4 = A song I'll be totally lost in, and one which brings me the aforementioned joy and happiness.
5 = Epic; a top ten song, or such a rarity to hear live that I am going to lose control, and might knock someone over I'm dancing in such a crazy way. MJ almost got thrown over a balcony for one of these.
And now, to set the mood. As I previously mentioned, I learned from my 2007 and 2008 Nobelsville experiences that it's best to do the two night stay, camp out, and enjoy the whole atmosphere. So, in 2009, Bows, The Wiese and I set off to Noblesville for both nights of DMB. The latest album, released that year, was Big Whiskey and the Groo-Grux King, and it was, by all accounts, a toss back to the original three albums in terms of quality (although it is lacking in 5 score songs, at least at this time, when they are all a bit saturated live). We parked the car in the yard at Deer Creek, and set up camp with the usual suspects. We strolled into the show, and as I returned from the restroom the band was just taking the stage. What ensued was an absolutely epic opening, one which had The Wiese, Bows and me going nuts:
1. Bartender - 5
2. Proudest Monkey > - 2
3. Satellite - 5
4. Seven - 3
5. Shake Me Like a Monkey - 4
6. Funny The Way It Is - 3
7. #41 - 5
8. You Never Know - 4
9. Why I Am - 5
10. Crash Into Me - 4
11. Spaceman - 3
12. So Damn Lucky - 4
13. Lie In Our Graves > - 4
14. Shotgun (Tease) - N/A
14. Squirm - 4
15. Alligator Pie - 5
16. Jimi Thing - 4
17. Time Bomb - 4
18. E: Rye Whiskey - 3
19. E: The Maker - 4
20. E: All Along The Watchtower - 5
A few things to note:
- Bartender to open a show should be a 6, not a five, but I'll respect the scoring system and give it the 5 it is.
- I had to adjust scoring for the Big Whiskey and the Groo-Grux King album: Both Alligator Pie and Why I Am moved up to 5s from 4s. This moves it's overall album score up to a 3.67, tying it for fourth with Crash. I did this after reflecting on my attitude when those songs are played.
- This was my first Watchtower ... and it was epic. Only one other song has given me that kind of reaction: the final encore from night one in Charlottesville. When MJ almost got tossed.
Anyway, night one at Noblesville 2009 was a solid 20 songs (one tease), with the always solid, but honestly too slow "Proudest Monkey" as the only two. A total score of 80 gives us an easy math equation to realize this show scores a 4.0. My previous hunch that taking Stand Up out of the rotation (no songs out of this set list were from that album, and none from Everyday, but also none from the highest scoring album, Before These Crowded Streets) would impact the rankings. So, heading into night two, our rankings look like this:
1. Noblesville 2008: Night 1 - 4.00
2. Assembly Hall 2008 - 3.71
3. Noblesville 2008 - 3.65
4. Noblesville 2007 - 3.43
5. Tinley Park 2006 - 3.32
Night two started off with the best song off of Stand Up, and then (as it was an album tour year) some repeats from the night before. It looked a little something like this:
1. You Might Die Trying - 3
2. Seven - 3
3. You and Me - 3
4. Dancing Nancies - 5
5. Lying in the Hands of God - 2
6. Shotgun - 4
7. Say Goodbye - 3
8. Funny The Way It Is - 3
9. Dive In - 3
10. Crush - 4
11. The Stone - 4
12. Shake Me Like A Monkey -4
13. Alligator Pie - 5
14. Burning Down The House - 4
15. Pantala Naga Pampa > Rapunzel - 4
16. E: Don't Drink The Water - 5
17. E: Two Step - 5
A few notes:
- This show had the only "2" off of Big Whiskey (Lying in the Hands of God), which is a great song that is ruined by the slow, sleepy pace and tune, mixed in with a long and often unnecessary jam session. It's not a 1 because the lyrics and vocals are great, but the jam session is an absolute bathroom break waiting to happen.
- "The Stone" was rated as the number one DMB song of all by antsmarching.org, but I can't give it more than a 4. It's a great song, and I'm excited to hear it, but there are other songs which get me much more excited. It is about Judas, however, which makes it sneaky deep in its lyrics.
- This was my first two step, and a two song encore is usually a disappointment, but with two songs which bring down the house, nothing was lost.
So, 17 songs, and a total score of 64, for a concert score of 3.77. When put up on our big board, my sixth career show stands up like this:
1. Noblesville 2009: Night 1 - 4.00
2. Noblesville 2009: Night 2 - 3.77
3. Assembly Hall 2008 - 3.71
4. Noblesville 2008 - 3.65
5. Noblesville 2007 - 3.43
6. Tinley Park 2006 - 3.32
A couple trends:
- It seems as if we are trending upwards, although I doubt the next few sets will top 4.00.
- It appears my theory about ditching Stand Up material for Big Whiskey material inflating scores has held
- My memory served correct thus far: I would have ranked night one at Noblesville 2009 as my favorite show to that point. In fact, this looks pretty accurate thus far. I'd have to say that moving forward I'd expect the 2010 Charlottesville shows to outscore 2009 night one, but everything else should be close. We are over half way done now ... at least until this upcoming weekend adds three more (maybe a fourth) show to my resume.
- I'm not sure if I should count the ten song (or there abouts) set that Dave and Tim will do Saturday afternoon. I'll have to mull that over.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
The Best of What's Around - Part Four
Hello, and welcome back to my retroactive look at my Dave Matthews Band Con
cert experience. I hope that you all had a great 4th of July, and that your summers continue to go well. Before we dive in too far, click here if you haven't caught up on the first three parts of this series, and let's review the rating system for the songs:
1 = A song that I would gladly go to get a beer, use the restroom, or do anything else that I needed to do during.
2 = A song that will make me want to stay in place, but that I'll hunt down the beer man during
3 = A song that I'll dance a little to, has moments I'll love, but that I'll talk to The Wiese or text during.
4 = A song I'll be totally lost in, and one which brings me the aforementioned joy and happiness.
5 = Epic; a top ten song, or such a rarity to hear live that I am going to lose control, and might knock someone over I'm dancing in such a crazy way. MJ almost got thrown over a balcony for one of these.
Now to set the mood. The previously reviewed Noblesville 2007 show was night one of a two night stay. It was good, but night two was much better according to all reports. So, for Noblesville 2008, Holly and I decided we'd do night two, which was "always" the better night. I picked her up on my way down to Indy, and we made our way over to the show. Of course, night one had been great, and night two wasn't as good. Although, upon further review, this show was absolutely solid, and I'd be pretty happy with a set like this on any given night. This taught me an important lesson: never try to out guess DMB. Also, do the full set of shows. It's worth it. At any rate, we got there, and here's what we saw:
1. Seek Up - 5
2. One Sweet World - 4
3. Granny - 5
4. Grey Street - 4
5. Old Dirt Hill - 2
6. Pantala Naga Pampa > Rapunzel - 4
7. What Would You Say? - 4
8. Rhyme and Reason - 5
9. Out of My Hands - 1
10. Everyday - 3
11. Crash Into Me - 4
12. Lie in Our Graves - 4
13. Money - 4
14. Money That's What I Want - 3
15. Crush - 4
16. Anyone Seen The Bridge - 4
17. Too Much (Tease) - N/A
17. Ants Marching - 5
18. E: Sister - 2
18. E: Little Thing (Tease) - N/A
19. E: Gravedigger - 3
20. E: Thank You - 3
Okay, this was a nice long set of songs, going 20 deep (if you don't count the two teases in the count). It had a nice cover (Money) and a rock solid start with the three oldies (Seek Up, One Sweet World, Granny) and the always dynamic Grey Street. Honestly, I think the main reason that I discounted this show so much looking back on it was that the encore just left a lot to be desired. There wasn't one song in there which added to the show in my opinion. I know there are a lot of people who love "Sister," but I've seen it six times in concert and am not impressed. I'd take a "Baby Blue" any day. Still, 20 songs, a total score of 73 give us a show score of 3.65. So putting that up against my first three shows we see the following results:
1. Assembly Hall 2008 - 3.71
2. Noblesville 2008 - 3.65
3. Noblesville 2007 - 3.43
4. Tinley Park 2006 - 3.32
In other words, this was the best full band show yet (as I discussed last time, Dave and Tim shows set up different and might be tough to take down), and the low scores were again largely from the Stand Up album (my least favorite). My guess is that the 2009 shows, which we'll look at next, will score 3.7 and above, based almost entirely on substituting the solid Big Whiskey and the Groo Grux King album for Stand Up. In fact, just to see if that thesis holds through, here are the average scores that each album gets, giving each song on the album a score from our aforementioned scale:
1. Before These Crowded Streets - 4.45
2. Under The Table and Dreaming - 4.36
3. Busted Stuff -4.09
4. Crash 3.67
5. Big Whiskey and the Groo Grux King - 3.50
6. Everday - 2.17
7. Stand Up - 1.92
So, using our aforementioned scoring system, you'll see that both Everyday and Stand Up rank FAR below the other five albums. Accordingly, it stands to reason that moving away from the weakest album to an album that score 1.58 higher as a whole, on the scale, will drive the score of 2009 and beyond score up. I did not do a full ranking of Dave's solo album, Some Devil, as there are only a handful of songs he plays live from it. It is also impossible to score covers and unreleased songs, due to the large number of potential songs you could hear, but both of those categories score in the same range as the top five here. So, until next time (moments from now), only four days until DMB takes the stage.
cert experience. I hope that you all had a great 4th of July, and that your summers continue to go well. Before we dive in too far, click here if you haven't caught up on the first three parts of this series, and let's review the rating system for the songs:1 = A song that I would gladly go to get a beer, use the restroom, or do anything else that I needed to do during.
2 = A song that will make me want to stay in place, but that I'll hunt down the beer man during
3 = A song that I'll dance a little to, has moments I'll love, but that I'll talk to The Wiese or text during.
4 = A song I'll be totally lost in, and one which brings me the aforementioned joy and happiness.
5 = Epic; a top ten song, or such a rarity to hear live that I am going to lose control, and might knock someone over I'm dancing in such a crazy way. MJ almost got thrown over a balcony for one of these.
Now to set the mood. The previously reviewed Noblesville 2007 show was night one of a two night stay. It was good, but night two was much better according to all reports. So, for Noblesville 2008, Holly and I decided we'd do night two, which was "always" the better night. I picked her up on my way down to Indy, and we made our way over to the show. Of course, night one had been great, and night two wasn't as good. Although, upon further review, this show was absolutely solid, and I'd be pretty happy with a set like this on any given night. This taught me an important lesson: never try to out guess DMB. Also, do the full set of shows. It's worth it. At any rate, we got there, and here's what we saw:
1. Seek Up - 5
2. One Sweet World - 4
3. Granny - 5
4. Grey Street - 4
5. Old Dirt Hill - 2
6. Pantala Naga Pampa > Rapunzel - 4
7. What Would You Say? - 4
8. Rhyme and Reason - 5
9. Out of My Hands - 1
10. Everyday - 3
11. Crash Into Me - 4
12. Lie in Our Graves - 4
13. Money - 4
14. Money That's What I Want - 3
15. Crush - 4
16. Anyone Seen The Bridge - 4
17. Too Much (Tease) - N/A
17. Ants Marching - 5
18. E: Sister - 2
18. E: Little Thing (Tease) - N/A
19. E: Gravedigger - 3
20. E: Thank You - 3
Okay, this was a nice long set of songs, going 20 deep (if you don't count the two teases in the count). It had a nice cover (Money) and a rock solid start with the three oldies (Seek Up, One Sweet World, Granny) and the always dynamic Grey Street. Honestly, I think the main reason that I discounted this show so much looking back on it was that the encore just left a lot to be desired. There wasn't one song in there which added to the show in my opinion. I know there are a lot of people who love "Sister," but I've seen it six times in concert and am not impressed. I'd take a "Baby Blue" any day. Still, 20 songs, a total score of 73 give us a show score of 3.65. So putting that up against my first three shows we see the following results:
1. Assembly Hall 2008 - 3.71
2. Noblesville 2008 - 3.65
3. Noblesville 2007 - 3.43
4. Tinley Park 2006 - 3.32
In other words, this was the best full band show yet (as I discussed last time, Dave and Tim shows set up different and might be tough to take down), and the low scores were again largely from the Stand Up album (my least favorite). My guess is that the 2009 shows, which we'll look at next, will score 3.7 and above, based almost entirely on substituting the solid Big Whiskey and the Groo Grux King album for Stand Up. In fact, just to see if that thesis holds through, here are the average scores that each album gets, giving each song on the album a score from our aforementioned scale:
1. Before These Crowded Streets - 4.45
2. Under The Table and Dreaming - 4.36
3. Busted Stuff -4.09
4. Crash 3.67
5. Big Whiskey and the Groo Grux King - 3.50
6. Everday - 2.17
7. Stand Up - 1.92
So, using our aforementioned scoring system, you'll see that both Everyday and Stand Up rank FAR below the other five albums. Accordingly, it stands to reason that moving away from the weakest album to an album that score 1.58 higher as a whole, on the scale, will drive the score of 2009 and beyond score up. I did not do a full ranking of Dave's solo album, Some Devil, as there are only a handful of songs he plays live from it. It is also impossible to score covers and unreleased songs, due to the large number of potential songs you could hear, but both of those categories score in the same range as the top five here. So, until next time (moments from now), only four days until DMB takes the stage.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
The Best of What's Around - Part 3
After a long day at work ... I'm back for a third post in a single day! And all about DMB. I'm sure that most of you are sick of this already, but just remember that I'll get busy again and this will fall off to the side, just like my breakdown of the new 50 greatest players in NBA history (I'm currently holding at #40). But for now, properly motivated and psyched about my upcoming weekend, here's my third Dave show, which was my only Dave and Tim set thus far (I'll add a second one in this Saturday). First, remember the song ratings:
1 = A song that I would gladly go to get a beer, use the restroom, or do anything else that I needed to do during.
2 = A song that will make me want to stay in place, but that I'll hunt down the beer man during
3 = A song that I'll dance a little to, has moments I'll love, but that I'll talk to The Wiese or text during.
4 = A song I'll be totally lost in, and one which brings me the aforementioned joy and happiness.
5 = Epic; a top ten song, or such a rarity to hear live that I am going to lose control, and might knock someone over I'm dancing in such a crazy way. MJ almost got thrown over a balcony for one of these.
Now, to set the scene. On a beautiful spring day in Bloomington, with my parents in town for an awards banquet, I received a hurried call from a roommate telling me to go a few blocks over, get in line, and I would get free Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds tickets. Dave and Tim tickets are generally expensive and hard to get, and the shows are a different but yet satisfying experience. So, naturally, I left my parents at the bar drinking Old Style and watching the Cubs, and went over to wait in line. Dave and Tim were coming in to do a "rally the vote" show for Obama, as the Indiana Democratic Primary was coming up, and at the time it seemed like Indiana's opinion was going to matter for the first time since RFK (as it would turn out, Indiana's opinion didn't matter; Obama had it wrapped up by then. Still, it was a nice fantasy while it lasted).
So, two tickets in hand, Holly and I went to THE Assembly Hall ... and man did she find a way to push through the crowd when the opened the door. I mean, we got right down by the floor, and had amazing seats. This show involved a number of good songs, but one super epic song which made the day. If I were to rate songs 1-6, with a 6 being saved for songs so unexpected, rare and good that I almost peed myself when they started, Dreaming Tree would be a 6. But, having already evaluated two shows, I'm going to stick with my current system and give it a five. The show went a little something like this:
1. Bartender - 5
2. Save Me - 3
3. Stay or Leave - 4
4. Satellite - 5
5. So Damn Lucky - 4
6. The Dreaming Tree - 5
7. Smooth Rider (tease) - N/A
7. Corn Bread - 4
8. Smooth Rider -1
9. Old Dirt Hill - 2
10. Crush - 4
11. Stream - 2
12. Sister - 2
13. Lie in our Graves - 4
14. Gravedigger - 3
15. Dancing Nancies - 5
16. E: #41 - 5
17. E: Ants Marching - 5
A few things of note:
- this was my first #41, which has a unique double quality: it is a song that I love, and am in total bliss when they start ... which then merges into the greatest restroom break opportunity ever because they jam for a solid 10-15 minutes after the song is over. I rate it a 5 because I love it, but it's a weird mix of a 5 and a 1.
- This show had it's ups and downs as well, including a really weak middle section that involved a 1 (Smooth Rider) and three 2s in a five song run. Still, the set ended with three consecutive 5s, and had SIX 5s over all, with an amazingly solid opening, and a good ending.
-The first time I ran the scores I had "Save Me" down as a 2, when it should have been a 3. That one point difference created a .06 difference in the score, which is pretty substantial for a 1 point difference over the course of a show. It just goes to show the impact of having a "1" song over, say, a "3."
The results are a 17 song set (I didn't count the tease of Smooth Rider, only the full song, so there are two 7s in the list), with a total score of 63, giving us a concert score of ... 3.71. This show was clearly carried by a strong start, a strong end, and six songs which score in the top echelon. Thus far, then, our standings look like this:
1. Assembly Hall 2008 - 3.71
2. Noblesville 2007 - 3.43
3. Tinley Park 2006 - 3.32
I have to say that I'm not surprised this show scored this much hirer than the other two. Dave and Tim shows tend to be an opportunity to hear rarer songs and crowd pleasing songs, and if this show hadn't been close enough to Stand Up's release to influence its' set list it might have come close to scoring a 4. I'll be interested in seeing if any of the other shows come close to that score, given the large amounts of songs they have to deal with. Although, getting away from Stand Up's songs, and closer to Big Whiskey will probably serve to drive the scores up. Time will tell. Next up we have Noblesville 2008, followed by the first year I learned that doing both nights of a show was vastly superior to one night: Noblesville 2010, nights one and two. Until next time...
1 = A song that I would gladly go to get a beer, use the restroom, or do anything else that I needed to do during.
2 = A song that will make me want to stay in place, but that I'll hunt down the beer man during
3 = A song that I'll dance a little to, has moments I'll love, but that I'll talk to The Wiese or text during.
4 = A song I'll be totally lost in, and one which brings me the aforementioned joy and happiness.
5 = Epic; a top ten song, or such a rarity to hear live that I am going to lose control, and might knock someone over I'm dancing in such a crazy way. MJ almost got thrown over a balcony for one of these.
Now, to set the scene. On a beautiful spring day in Bloomington, with my parents in town for an awards banquet, I received a hurried call from a roommate telling me to go a few blocks over, get in line, and I would get free Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds tickets. Dave and Tim tickets are generally expensive and hard to get, and the shows are a different but yet satisfying experience. So, naturally, I left my parents at the bar drinking Old Style and watching the Cubs, and went over to wait in line. Dave and Tim were coming in to do a "rally the vote" show for Obama, as the Indiana Democratic Primary was coming up, and at the time it seemed like Indiana's opinion was going to matter for the first time since RFK (as it would turn out, Indiana's opinion didn't matter; Obama had it wrapped up by then. Still, it was a nice fantasy while it lasted).
So, two tickets in hand, Holly and I went to THE Assembly Hall ... and man did she find a way to push through the crowd when the opened the door. I mean, we got right down by the floor, and had amazing seats. This show involved a number of good songs, but one super epic song which made the day. If I were to rate songs 1-6, with a 6 being saved for songs so unexpected, rare and good that I almost peed myself when they started, Dreaming Tree would be a 6. But, having already evaluated two shows, I'm going to stick with my current system and give it a five. The show went a little something like this:
1. Bartender - 5
2. Save Me - 3
3. Stay or Leave - 4
4. Satellite - 5
5. So Damn Lucky - 4
6. The Dreaming Tree - 5
7. Smooth Rider (tease) - N/A
7. Corn Bread - 4
8. Smooth Rider -1
9. Old Dirt Hill - 2
10. Crush - 4
11. Stream - 2
12. Sister - 2
13. Lie in our Graves - 4
14. Gravedigger - 3
15. Dancing Nancies - 5
16. E: #41 - 5
17. E: Ants Marching - 5
A few things of note:
- this was my first #41, which has a unique double quality: it is a song that I love, and am in total bliss when they start ... which then merges into the greatest restroom break opportunity ever because they jam for a solid 10-15 minutes after the song is over. I rate it a 5 because I love it, but it's a weird mix of a 5 and a 1.
- This show had it's ups and downs as well, including a really weak middle section that involved a 1 (Smooth Rider) and three 2s in a five song run. Still, the set ended with three consecutive 5s, and had SIX 5s over all, with an amazingly solid opening, and a good ending.
-The first time I ran the scores I had "Save Me" down as a 2, when it should have been a 3. That one point difference created a .06 difference in the score, which is pretty substantial for a 1 point difference over the course of a show. It just goes to show the impact of having a "1" song over, say, a "3."
The results are a 17 song set (I didn't count the tease of Smooth Rider, only the full song, so there are two 7s in the list), with a total score of 63, giving us a concert score of ... 3.71. This show was clearly carried by a strong start, a strong end, and six songs which score in the top echelon. Thus far, then, our standings look like this:
1. Assembly Hall 2008 - 3.71
2. Noblesville 2007 - 3.43
3. Tinley Park 2006 - 3.32
I have to say that I'm not surprised this show scored this much hirer than the other two. Dave and Tim shows tend to be an opportunity to hear rarer songs and crowd pleasing songs, and if this show hadn't been close enough to Stand Up's release to influence its' set list it might have come close to scoring a 4. I'll be interested in seeing if any of the other shows come close to that score, given the large amounts of songs they have to deal with. Although, getting away from Stand Up's songs, and closer to Big Whiskey will probably serve to drive the scores up. Time will tell. Next up we have Noblesville 2008, followed by the first year I learned that doing both nights of a show was vastly superior to one night: Noblesville 2010, nights one and two. Until next time...
The Best of What's Around - Part 2
If you missed part one of this series, click here. Otherwise, you'll know that I'm going to be spending some time breaking down my experience as a DMB concert goer, looking at each show to determine which were the best, and which were the worst. My first DMB show was at Tinley Park, IL in 2006. We now flash forward to 2007, Noblesville, and the last year I only saw DMB once. Again, we will use the following breakdown to evaluate the show, although it occurs to me that this limits it to just songs played, and not macro-level ambiance. I'll take that into account when I put all the scores against each other. Anyway, the scoring system:
1 = A song that I would gladly go to get a beer, use the restroom, or do anything else that I needed to do during.
2 = A song that will make me want to stay in place, but that I'll hunt down the beer man during
3 = A song that I'll dance a little to, has moments I'll love, but that I'll talk to The Wiese or text during.
4 = A song I'll be totally lost in, and one which brings me the aforementioned joy and happiness.
5 = Epic; a top ten song, or such a rarity to hear live that I am going to lose control, and might knock someone over I'm dancing in such a crazy way. MJ almost got thrown over a balcony for one of these.
Now to set the mood: 2007, summer. I was on my way to Chicago Bears training camp with my girlfriend, Holly, and we were stopped in our tracks by a phone call that my roommate found out we were being kicked out early. So we turned around and went on our way to Bloomington to move into our new house on super short notice. Thanks goodness our land lord was cool, otherwise we would have been screwed. Anyway, we were met by The Wiese in Bloomington, and he helped us move. Then, tired from the move, and exhausted by the intense heat, we packed in The Wiese's car, and prepared to drive up to Noblesville. He promised me that he'd drive back if I drove up, a deal which I gladly took him up on. We made it in plenty of time, and went into the show, The Wiese, Holly and me. Here's what we got the chance to see:
1. Seek Up - 5
2. #27 - 2
3. Hunger for the Great Light - 2
4. When The World Ends - 2
5. You Might Die Trying - 3
6. Grey Street - 4
7. Corn Bread - 4
8. Sweet Up And Down - 5
9. Sister - 2
10. Still Water (tease) - 2
11. Don't Drink The Water - 5
12. The Maker - 4
13. Louisiana Bayou - 1
14. Anyone Seen The Bridge > - 4
15. Too Much - 4
16. Shotgun - 4
17. Warehouse - 5
18. Stay - 4
19. E: Gravedigger - 3
20. E: Dreamgirl - 2
21. E: Tripping Billies - 5
Okay ... 21 songs, one 1 (Louisiana Bayou again) a handful of 2s, and then a bunch of 4s and 5s. This show was up and down for sure. Only two 3s in the entire show, indicating it was pretty hit or miss. So 21 songs, 72 total points, for an overall concert average of 3.43. With Tinley Park 2006 ranking in at 3.32, our standings look like this so far:
1. Noblesville 2007 - 3.43
2. Tinley Park 2006 - 3.32
Next time, we look at the Obama Benefit at Assembly Hall that Dave and Tim played, and then Noblesville 2008. Until then, just know that I'm finalizing plans to go to NYC to see DMB this summer playing Governor's Island. Yeah.
1 = A song that I would gladly go to get a beer, use the restroom, or do anything else that I needed to do during.
2 = A song that will make me want to stay in place, but that I'll hunt down the beer man during
3 = A song that I'll dance a little to, has moments I'll love, but that I'll talk to The Wiese or text during.
4 = A song I'll be totally lost in, and one which brings me the aforementioned joy and happiness.
5 = Epic; a top ten song, or such a rarity to hear live that I am going to lose control, and might knock someone over I'm dancing in such a crazy way. MJ almost got thrown over a balcony for one of these.
Now to set the mood: 2007, summer. I was on my way to Chicago Bears training camp with my girlfriend, Holly, and we were stopped in our tracks by a phone call that my roommate found out we were being kicked out early. So we turned around and went on our way to Bloomington to move into our new house on super short notice. Thanks goodness our land lord was cool, otherwise we would have been screwed. Anyway, we were met by The Wiese in Bloomington, and he helped us move. Then, tired from the move, and exhausted by the intense heat, we packed in The Wiese's car, and prepared to drive up to Noblesville. He promised me that he'd drive back if I drove up, a deal which I gladly took him up on. We made it in plenty of time, and went into the show, The Wiese, Holly and me. Here's what we got the chance to see:
1. Seek Up - 5
2. #27 - 2
3. Hunger for the Great Light - 2
4. When The World Ends - 2
5. You Might Die Trying - 3
6. Grey Street - 4
7. Corn Bread - 4
8. Sweet Up And Down - 5
9. Sister - 2
10. Still Water (tease) - 2
11. Don't Drink The Water - 5
12. The Maker - 4
13. Louisiana Bayou - 1
14. Anyone Seen The Bridge > - 4
15. Too Much - 4
16. Shotgun - 4
17. Warehouse - 5
18. Stay - 4
19. E: Gravedigger - 3
20. E: Dreamgirl - 2
21. E: Tripping Billies - 5
Okay ... 21 songs, one 1 (Louisiana Bayou again) a handful of 2s, and then a bunch of 4s and 5s. This show was up and down for sure. Only two 3s in the entire show, indicating it was pretty hit or miss. So 21 songs, 72 total points, for an overall concert average of 3.43. With Tinley Park 2006 ranking in at 3.32, our standings look like this so far:
1. Noblesville 2007 - 3.43
2. Tinley Park 2006 - 3.32
Next time, we look at the Obama Benefit at Assembly Hall that Dave and Tim played, and then Noblesville 2008. Until then, just know that I'm finalizing plans to go to NYC to see DMB this summer playing Governor's Island. Yeah.
The Best Of What's Around - Part One
Next weekend I'll be in Chicago, standing in the sun for three straight days. Next weekend I'll be sunburned, dehydrated, and I'm almost sure that I'll not smell too great. I'll be down by the lakefront, and I'll be wearing a wristband. Next weekend I get to avoid the terror that would be a year without Dave Matthews Band. Originally scheduled to take the entire year off from touring, the band decided to do four three-day "festivals" this summer. At each stop they would bring in a variety of bands, large and small, to do the full summer concert festival thing. And, at the end of each of the three nights, the band would do a full set.
When the news of their plans broke I mentioned it to Bows and The Wiese. Both were in without hesitation. We eagerly awaited the announcement of where the shows would be held. We knew there would be four, and the speculation on the internet settled on 1 east coast show (believed to be Atlantic City), 1 midwest show (rumor had it placed at Grant Park), 1 southwest show (rumors placed it anywhere from Texas to LA, with Red Rocks being a popular guess), and 1 west coast show (rumors placed it at The Gorge Amphitheater). We put our hopes in the Chicago show, and sure enough they announced that Chicago would be the second stop (although not in Grant Park; lakefront will have to do). As soon as the rumors of the shows started I joined The Warehouse, the DMB fan club, so that I could pre-order tickets. It only logically followed that these tickets might be hard to come by since DMB sells out cross country, and this would be only 12 shows total in 4 locals. So I signed up, then ordered the tickets the day they were available for the pre-order. All things told it was pretty affordable ... just shy of $200.00 for three days worth of music ... and our plans were set.
Now, next weekend, DMB comes to Chicago. And here I am, wondering a few things about my history enjoying the Band. I know that I've listened to DMB since 1994. I know that my first live show didn't happen until 2006, and I know that I've seen DMB 12 times and Dave and Tim once, for a grand total of 13 concerts. I know I went six times last year to three different locals (Noblesville, Wrigley Field, and Charlottesville). But I'm curious ... upon further review, which show was the best, and which was the worst? Which songs have I had the chance to hear live, and which songs am I still looking for? I don't know how many more times in my life I'll go see DMB live, but I suspect I'll go every summer as long as I can, because I know one thing about DMB: seeing them live makes me totally happy. And you can't put a price on happiness.
So here is a breakdown of my very first DMB show. I'm going to rate each song, on a scale of 1 - 5, based on the following breakdown:
1 = A song that I would gladly go to get a beer, use the restroom, or do anything else that I needed to do during.
2 = A song that will make me want to stay in place, but that I'll hunt down the beer man during
3 = A song that I'll dance a little to, has moments I'll love, but that I'll talk to The Wiese or text during.
4 = A song I'll be totally lost in, and one which brings me the aforementioned joy and happiness.
5 = Epic; a top ten song, or such a rarity to hear live that I am going to lose control, and might knock someone over I'm dancing in such a crazy way. MJ almost got thrown over a balcony for one of these.
With that defined, here is the breakdown of my first DMB show, which was at Tinley Park, IL on September 15, 2006. The Wiese was along for the ride, and we had the Murto Bros as special guest stars. We drove up from Bloomington for the first DMB show of my and The Wiese's life, and got stuck in traffic. We were cutting it close, I was getting pissed, and we could not stomach the idea of being late. After agreeing we'd split a ticket/tow cost four ways if either happened, we abruptly pulled into a residential neighborhood that said "no event parking" and parked. We then ran a few miles to the concert. RAN. The Wiese fell off first, as he was by far in the worst shape. The Murto Bros both ran Cross Country in high school, and left me in the dust. As I struggled to breath, I head my name yelled loudly. I figured The Wiese had just caught up to me. As I turned around I saw, in disbelief, that he had commandeered a vehicle that had A) attractive girls in it, and B) free beer. I quickly joined him. We walked into the show, met up with the Murto Bros, and got to our seats just in time to enjoy the following (all songs in order of play):
1. Pantala Naga Pampa > Rapunzel - 4
2. Everyday - 3
3. Proudest Monkey - 2
4. Satellite - 5
5. Bartender - 5
6. Hunger for the Great Light - 2
7. Louisiana Bayou - 1
8. Can't Stop - 2
9. Dream Girl - 2
10. The Idea of You - 2
11. So Much To Say > - 4
12. Anybody Seen The Bridge > - 4
13. Too Much - 4
14. Jimi Thing - 4
15. You Might Die Trying - 3
16. Ants Marching - 5
17. E: Sister - 2
18. E: Granny - 5
19. E: Stay - 4
If you didn't follow, > means that the song went right into the next, and "E" means Encore. Okay, this show wasn't too bad. Only one song that would have had me running to the rest room (Louisiana Bayou), and a handful of 2s. A total of 19 songs, with a total score of 63 results in an average score for this show of 3.32. I bet that I will end up remembering this show for the fact that it hit my all time top two right out of the gate (Satellite > Bartender) and for the fact it was my first show ... and that probably skews the memory. All told, a solid show. Next, we'll break down my first Noblesville experience, my only Dave and Tim show thus far, and the second Noblesville show, which taught me never again to go to only one of the two nights (camping is a must).
When the news of their plans broke I mentioned it to Bows and The Wiese. Both were in without hesitation. We eagerly awaited the announcement of where the shows would be held. We knew there would be four, and the speculation on the internet settled on 1 east coast show (believed to be Atlantic City), 1 midwest show (rumor had it placed at Grant Park), 1 southwest show (rumors placed it anywhere from Texas to LA, with Red Rocks being a popular guess), and 1 west coast show (rumors placed it at The Gorge Amphitheater). We put our hopes in the Chicago show, and sure enough they announced that Chicago would be the second stop (although not in Grant Park; lakefront will have to do). As soon as the rumors of the shows started I joined The Warehouse, the DMB fan club, so that I could pre-order tickets. It only logically followed that these tickets might be hard to come by since DMB sells out cross country, and this would be only 12 shows total in 4 locals. So I signed up, then ordered the tickets the day they were available for the pre-order. All things told it was pretty affordable ... just shy of $200.00 for three days worth of music ... and our plans were set.
Now, next weekend, DMB comes to Chicago. And here I am, wondering a few things about my history enjoying the Band. I know that I've listened to DMB since 1994. I know that my first live show didn't happen until 2006, and I know that I've seen DMB 12 times and Dave and Tim once, for a grand total of 13 concerts. I know I went six times last year to three different locals (Noblesville, Wrigley Field, and Charlottesville). But I'm curious ... upon further review, which show was the best, and which was the worst? Which songs have I had the chance to hear live, and which songs am I still looking for? I don't know how many more times in my life I'll go see DMB live, but I suspect I'll go every summer as long as I can, because I know one thing about DMB: seeing them live makes me totally happy. And you can't put a price on happiness.
So here is a breakdown of my very first DMB show. I'm going to rate each song, on a scale of 1 - 5, based on the following breakdown:
1 = A song that I would gladly go to get a beer, use the restroom, or do anything else that I needed to do during.
2 = A song that will make me want to stay in place, but that I'll hunt down the beer man during
3 = A song that I'll dance a little to, has moments I'll love, but that I'll talk to The Wiese or text during.
4 = A song I'll be totally lost in, and one which brings me the aforementioned joy and happiness.
5 = Epic; a top ten song, or such a rarity to hear live that I am going to lose control, and might knock someone over I'm dancing in such a crazy way. MJ almost got thrown over a balcony for one of these.
With that defined, here is the breakdown of my first DMB show, which was at Tinley Park, IL on September 15, 2006. The Wiese was along for the ride, and we had the Murto Bros as special guest stars. We drove up from Bloomington for the first DMB show of my and The Wiese's life, and got stuck in traffic. We were cutting it close, I was getting pissed, and we could not stomach the idea of being late. After agreeing we'd split a ticket/tow cost four ways if either happened, we abruptly pulled into a residential neighborhood that said "no event parking" and parked. We then ran a few miles to the concert. RAN. The Wiese fell off first, as he was by far in the worst shape. The Murto Bros both ran Cross Country in high school, and left me in the dust. As I struggled to breath, I head my name yelled loudly. I figured The Wiese had just caught up to me. As I turned around I saw, in disbelief, that he had commandeered a vehicle that had A) attractive girls in it, and B) free beer. I quickly joined him. We walked into the show, met up with the Murto Bros, and got to our seats just in time to enjoy the following (all songs in order of play):
1. Pantala Naga Pampa > Rapunzel - 4
2. Everyday - 3
3. Proudest Monkey - 2
4. Satellite - 5
5. Bartender - 5
6. Hunger for the Great Light - 2
7. Louisiana Bayou - 1
8. Can't Stop - 2
9. Dream Girl - 2
10. The Idea of You - 2
11. So Much To Say > - 4
12. Anybody Seen The Bridge > - 4
13. Too Much - 4
14. Jimi Thing - 4
15. You Might Die Trying - 3
16. Ants Marching - 5
17. E: Sister - 2
18. E: Granny - 5
19. E: Stay - 4
If you didn't follow, > means that the song went right into the next, and "E" means Encore. Okay, this show wasn't too bad. Only one song that would have had me running to the rest room (Louisiana Bayou), and a handful of 2s. A total of 19 songs, with a total score of 63 results in an average score for this show of 3.32. I bet that I will end up remembering this show for the fact that it hit my all time top two right out of the gate (Satellite > Bartender) and for the fact it was my first show ... and that probably skews the memory. All told, a solid show. Next, we'll break down my first Noblesville experience, my only Dave and Tim show thus far, and the second Noblesville show, which taught me never again to go to only one of the two nights (camping is a must).
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Uninspiring: An Updated Presidential Handicapping
A month ago I wrote this, labeling the favorites in the Republican field, and breaking down the "legit" candidates a bit. Well, quite a bit has happened since then. So we'll look at it again, both in terms of likelihood to win the nomination, and also to topple a weak El Presidente. Without any further delay, so you can get your bets in with the best information available (all candidates, again, listed by politico:
The "I Don't Have a Prayer, But I Sure Hope This Raises My Street Cred" Group
This group all comes in at less than 1% of a chance to win the nomination, as well as to take down B.H. Obama. What do they have in common? Obama would be tap dancing if they got the nod. In order from least likely to most likely:
- Buddy Roemer (still ... uh, who?) - 10,000 to 1 for the nomination; 50,000 to 1 to beat Obama
- Gary Johnson (not looking promising in Johnson world) - 10,000 to 1 for the nomination; 50,000 to 1 to beat Obama
-Ron Paul (say what you will, but at least this man has principles he stands on) - 9,000 to 1 to win the nomination; 60,000 to 1 to beat Obama
- Chris Christie (Still not looking good in his own backyard) - 9,000 to 1 for the nomination; 45,000 to 1 to beat Obama; 3 to 1 to be a one term governor
- Herman Cain (mmmm.... pizza) 8,000 to 1 for the nomination; 60,000 to 1 to beat Obama; 1 to 1 to make a killer pizza I wish I was eating right now.
"It's a Long Shot, But, Really, Who Truly Wants This Nomination?"
This group has the distinction of one former real player, plus some others who have distinguished themselves from the "also-ran" group a month ago.
- Newt Gingrich (Mr. "Honesty doesn't always pay") - 1,000 to 1 for the nomination; 10,000 to 1 to beat Obama; 1 to 2 to not even carry one state
- Rick Santorum (Saw him on MTP ... he's crazy) - 500 to 1 for the nomination; 1,000 to 1 to beat Obama; 2 to 1 to be involved in some Christian Terrorism event.
- Rick Perry (not even in the race yet, by the way) - 250 to 1 for the nomination; 1,000 to 1 to beat Obama; 3 to 1 to call Dubya for advice
- Sarah Palin (also not in the race yet) - 250 to 1 for the nomination; 10,000 to 1 to beat Obama; 4 to 1 to have a new reality show by 2012
- Others Not Yet Named (A.K.A. "the field") - 125 to 1 for the nomination; 500 to 1 to beat Obama; smart bet is to hedge this bet with the Romney-Bachmann super team
"Wait, WHO IS SURGING?" or "It's The End of The World as We Know It"
- Jon Huntsman (the dark horse Mormon) - 100 to 1 for the nomination; 250 to 1 to beat Obama; 10 to 1 to win the nomination, select Romney as his VeeP, and thus create a Mormon super team
- Rudi Guliani (Not in the race, but polling well) - 100 to 1 for the nomination; 250 to 1 to beat Obama; 10 to 1 to not declare until California this time, and wonder why he lost again
- Michele Bachmann (no ... seriously) - 50 to 1 for the nomination; 5,000 to 1 to beat Obama; even money to make people realize she's the more dangerous, charismatic Sarah Palin
"The Favorites"
- Mitt Romney (the leading Mormon) - 25 to 1 for the nomination; 50 to 1 to beat Obama; 3 to 1 to flip flop on universal healthcare more than 10,000 times during this election cycle
- Tim Pawlenty (the bland sacrificial lamb) - 20 to 1 for the nomination; 75 to 1 to beat Obama; 4 to 1 to be undone sometime in the future by a sex scandal (no information, just a hunch based on the way things seem to be going. Is it sad that we are more likely to lose a politician to sending pictures of his Weiner than we are for embezzling money? I vote yes).
- Barack Obama (El Presidente) - 1 to 500 for the Democratic nomination; 10 to 1 to beat himself; 1 to 10 to be giggling that, as the most vulnerable incumbent since Carter (if not before) he is running in a year when the Republicans, thus far, have only been able to drum up the aforementioned people.
So there you have it folks. Bet wisely.
The "I Don't Have a Prayer, But I Sure Hope This Raises My Street Cred" Group
This group all comes in at less than 1% of a chance to win the nomination, as well as to take down B.H. Obama. What do they have in common? Obama would be tap dancing if they got the nod. In order from least likely to most likely:
- Buddy Roemer (still ... uh, who?) - 10,000 to 1 for the nomination; 50,000 to 1 to beat Obama
- Gary Johnson (not looking promising in Johnson world) - 10,000 to 1 for the nomination; 50,000 to 1 to beat Obama
-Ron Paul (say what you will, but at least this man has principles he stands on) - 9,000 to 1 to win the nomination; 60,000 to 1 to beat Obama
- Chris Christie (Still not looking good in his own backyard) - 9,000 to 1 for the nomination; 45,000 to 1 to beat Obama; 3 to 1 to be a one term governor
- Herman Cain (mmmm.... pizza) 8,000 to 1 for the nomination; 60,000 to 1 to beat Obama; 1 to 1 to make a killer pizza I wish I was eating right now.
"It's a Long Shot, But, Really, Who Truly Wants This Nomination?"
This group has the distinction of one former real player, plus some others who have distinguished themselves from the "also-ran" group a month ago.
- Newt Gingrich (Mr. "Honesty doesn't always pay") - 1,000 to 1 for the nomination; 10,000 to 1 to beat Obama; 1 to 2 to not even carry one state
- Rick Santorum (Saw him on MTP ... he's crazy) - 500 to 1 for the nomination; 1,000 to 1 to beat Obama; 2 to 1 to be involved in some Christian Terrorism event.
- Rick Perry (not even in the race yet, by the way) - 250 to 1 for the nomination; 1,000 to 1 to beat Obama; 3 to 1 to call Dubya for advice
- Sarah Palin (also not in the race yet) - 250 to 1 for the nomination; 10,000 to 1 to beat Obama; 4 to 1 to have a new reality show by 2012
- Others Not Yet Named (A.K.A. "the field") - 125 to 1 for the nomination; 500 to 1 to beat Obama; smart bet is to hedge this bet with the Romney-Bachmann super team
"Wait, WHO IS SURGING?" or "It's The End of The World as We Know It"
- Jon Huntsman (the dark horse Mormon) - 100 to 1 for the nomination; 250 to 1 to beat Obama; 10 to 1 to win the nomination, select Romney as his VeeP, and thus create a Mormon super team
- Rudi Guliani (Not in the race, but polling well) - 100 to 1 for the nomination; 250 to 1 to beat Obama; 10 to 1 to not declare until California this time, and wonder why he lost again
- Michele Bachmann (no ... seriously) - 50 to 1 for the nomination; 5,000 to 1 to beat Obama; even money to make people realize she's the more dangerous, charismatic Sarah Palin
"The Favorites"
- Mitt Romney (the leading Mormon) - 25 to 1 for the nomination; 50 to 1 to beat Obama; 3 to 1 to flip flop on universal healthcare more than 10,000 times during this election cycle
- Tim Pawlenty (the bland sacrificial lamb) - 20 to 1 for the nomination; 75 to 1 to beat Obama; 4 to 1 to be undone sometime in the future by a sex scandal (no information, just a hunch based on the way things seem to be going. Is it sad that we are more likely to lose a politician to sending pictures of his Weiner than we are for embezzling money? I vote yes).
- Barack Obama (El Presidente) - 1 to 500 for the Democratic nomination; 10 to 1 to beat himself; 1 to 10 to be giggling that, as the most vulnerable incumbent since Carter (if not before) he is running in a year when the Republicans, thus far, have only been able to drum up the aforementioned people.
So there you have it folks. Bet wisely.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Best ... Idea ... Ever!
Man, I wish that I had enough friends to do things like this. Seriously, check out that link. Imagine if I could just do things like draft all-time NBA teams all day. I got giddy just reading this article, even if I disagreed with some of the selections made.
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