Celebrate We Will - Life is Short But Sweet, For Certain...

"It's always easier to leave, than to be left." - Dave Matthews

Last night was pretty heavy. It was the start of my Summer O' DMB Concerts. I'm only going to 3 shows this year but it's something I have been doing since '99 and I always look forward to. As we found our seats, we heard some girls behind us talking about how sad they were. They couldn't believe LeRoi had died. LeRoi Moore is the saxophone player in the band. We looked at each other like, "Oh shut up. Why would they say something like that? It can't be true." But they were going on and on about how they had gotten a text message on the way to the show and it was confirmed on CNN and the band's website. Hubby checked CNN on his phone and sure enough - there it was. LeRoi Moore had died earlier today due to complications stemming from an ATV accident that happened over 2 months ago. As whisperings of his death were starting to spread through the audience, you could feel a change in the room.

The band came out and it was clear that LeRoi wasn't present. They started playing Bartender.

"If I go, before I'm old
Oh brother of mine, please don't forget me if I go.
And if I die, before my time
Oh sweet sister of mine, do not regret me if I die."

I felt a little silly getting emotional, but I couldn't help it. The words hit extra hard tonight. During EVERY song. And this one was especially rough. But that's part of the beauty with a Dave Matthews Band song. The words and music always have the ability to hit your heart in one way or another. They make you think. Its definitely not the first time I've cried at a DMB concert. I always cry when they play me and hubby's song, but that is very rare. And I cried last year when they played a new song called "Sister" because my own sister was going through a hard time and it just fit so well to our lives. After the first song, Dave made the announcement.

We were sort of in shock that they were even still playing. But apparently LeRoi hadn't been with the band all summer because of his injuries, so they had another musician sitting in on the sax. And the band said they just felt like it was where they needed to be. They dedicated the night to him and said they were playing LeRoi's favorite songs. Dave told a story about how they met. It was the quietest I have ever heard the audience at a show. About halfway through the show, they really turned up the heat and played some awesome stuff. It was one of the best and saddest shows I've ever been to.

The husband and I have talked about something like this happening in the past. Like imagine if the band stopped doing the summer tour. Or if something happened to one of them. It would be so hard to let that part of us go. I don't know what the band's intentions are from this point on, but I do hope they will continue on.

Farewell to a very talented musician. The shows won't be the same without him.