Dave Matthews Band Caravan

Images courtesy Brandon Morrison.

Chicago--Last Thursday, @fillerwriter, @kristilynn66 and I began a journey that would leave us both ecstatic and riddled with sunburns and poison ivy. We drove to Chicago for the second stop on the Dave Matthews Band Caravan. None of us were really DMB fans. I wanted to see Michael Franti, and they wanted to see Ben Folds.

Friday run-down:

The main stage, South Works, was our stomping ground for the first day.

Up first, we saw Gary Clark, Jr. I can't remember anything specific about his set other than that I couldn't stop thinking about Jimi Hendrix. Amos Lee was up next. Prop to him for wearing a Memphis Grizzlies t-shirt. I didn't know any Amos Lee music before the show, I don't know any now. I did like it, however, and I'll be keeping my eye out for future shows. The third artist on the main stage was Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, another band I'd never heard. They were interesting. I'd do it again. To round out the set of increasingly Americana artists, Ray LaMontagne played just before Dave Matthews. My biggest complaint for LaMontagne was his lack of interaction with the audience. I did love his Nashville-sound though.

We made it to the 4th row for the Dave Matthews show. He was scheduled to play a 3 hour set. I say "scheduled" because I have no idea how long he played. We stayed for 1.5 hours before leaving. I didn't recognize a single song in that time. I'm sure DMB is great, so many people dig them, but I'll have to add them to my list of shows I walked out on: Bob Dylan, Counting Crows, Dave Matthews Band. Don't get me wrong though, I'd see any one of them again (and I have tremendous love for CC).

Saturday run-down:

Saturday was pretty chill. Rather than fight our way to the front of the main stage, we settled in the shade of a teeny lil tree within viewing distance of the stage screens. The entire weekend was hot, but Saturday was by far the worst topping out in the low 90s. I honestly didn't pay attention to any of the bands on the main stage on Saturday, but they were: TR3, Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk, Liz Phair, Bend Folds, and DMB. Everyone agreed that the Ben Folds set seemed really short. We ran over to the Lakeside stage to see Kid Cudi before DMB. I don't really know much KC, so the highlight of the show for both myself and @fillerwriter was Kanye West's "All of the Lights". After that, we stayed for about 5 DMB songs before calling it a night.

Sunday run-down:

It's what you've all been waitin' for ain't it? -- "Barry Bonds" // Kanye West

On Sunday, we hustled as soon as the gates opened to the Slip stage. There we saw the Jeff Coffin Mu'tet, Emmylou Harris (with a surprise opening by Dave Matthews!), and Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings before the long-awaited Michael Franti & Spearhead. JC Mu'tet was good, although I'm not really a jazz fan. Emmylou helped me feel my country roots [insert toe tapping here], and SJ & the Dap-Kings were AMAZING. I was totally not expecting such an energetic, soulful experience. The Dap-Kings were all in suits and played a variety of instruments: brass, percussion, woodwinds?, and strings. Sharon is a petite, 55-year-old black woman with a HUGE personality. I'm not sure if I would like the music recorded, but seeing the show live was definitely an exciting experience.

For me, the Caravan was all about Michael Franti & Spearhead. This was my 7th show, and it was just as fabulous as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th shows. Franti played a setlist that included 'Everyone Deserves Music", "I'll Be Waiting", "The Sound of Sunshine", "Ganja Babe", a guest appearance by Crystal Bowersox, and to everyone's amusement, "Sesame Street/C is for Cookie."

From the front-row, slightly right of center (my preferred location), we saw all the action and got lots of attention from the band. @kristilynn66 and I braved the stability of our recently healed broken ankles to jump enthusiastically whenever Franti uttered, "I want to see y'all JUMPING!" I also was able to complete another '101 in 1001' goal: #005 // Make (and give) a t-shirt for (to) Michael Franti. I'll write that up with my inspiration in a separate post.

My favorite song at MF&S shows is "I'll Be Waiting". The first time I heard the song was in Grand Rapids at my first show. I spent weeks getting amped up for the show, and loved every minute of it. "I'll Be Waiting" came near the end and included lyrics, "Tonight won't last for long. Soon it will be gone, but I won't leave you alone. So whenever you call me, whenever you need me, whenever you wander until you see me, I'll be waiting. I'll be waiting for you." [insert misty eyes here].

The upsides: MF&S, I got a little tan/sunburn, free Brita water, the venue brought a lot of people and attention (and hopefully money) into an area with a bad reputation

The downsides: @kristilynn66 got horribly sunburned, @fillerwriter had to drive his car-baby through the wretched parking areas filled with holes, woodpiles, scrap metal, and glass bottles. Oh, and I got poison ivy.

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