DMB on Ellen

This will probably be my last Dave Matthews Band post of the year. (Unless, of course, they reschedule Salt Lake City and I'm magically able to afford another trip!) We are on "Dave Overload" for like 2 weeks a year and then use the rest of the year to prep for next time. What can I say? I don't do drugs, I do Dave. Or DMB is my drug of choice. Either way, I will miss them for the next 11-12 months.

Yesterday I went with my SIL to see them on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. We didn't really know what to expect as the instructions were very vague, but we had tickets so we figured we might as well check it out. I've been to Ellen once before to see Gwen Stefani, but it was totally different. We just showed up to a local park, she played, we watched, we went home. Easy cheesy.

To see DMB, it was quite different. We had to check in at the LA Zoo (at least it was close-by) where shuttles were waiting to take us to the Warner Brothers lot. It was first come, first serve so we tried to get there a little early, which meant waiting in the hot sun for a long time until they shuttled us over. Once we got to Warner Bros, we sat and waited inside the shuttle bus for 45 minutes. It was air conditioned, so I can't complain. Then they herded us onto the lot where we waited another 45 minutes - in the sun - to start the taping. But since we were outside and the studio audience was inside, we could only hear audio. We couldn't see the rest of the show! We just had to stand out there like a bunch of hot, wet rags and wait for DMB to come out at the very end. They sent a warm-up guy out to get the crowd pumped, but we were not having any of it. It was kind of funny because he'd ask us to clap our hands and dance and hug the person next to us - mostly everyone ignored him and stood there with our arms folded, shaking our heads. We were so hot and tired and just wanted to see our guys.

Once they came out, I remembered why I go through these things! It was a spectacular little set. Usually the musical guest on a show will play one song, but they played us four. Only 2 of the songs will air, but they gave us that extra little bonus at the end. Made it seem a little more worthwhile and totally got us excited. Plus it was such a small area that we were super close to the stage! I'm pretty sure I made direct eye contact with Dave at least once. :)

As soon as the band finished, I was sooooo ready to get out of the sun. My typical migraine set in and I got sick on the way home, but once I cooled down and got some food in my belly I was fine. When I sat back and reflected on the day, I thought "Was that worth it?" Maybe not. "But would I do it again?" Come on, you know I would.

Anyway, watch Ellen today and look for me in the crowd!!