Each moment, the more I love you.

The closest thing I’ve ever had to a religious experience is a Dave Matthews Band concert. I know that sounds bizarre – but it’s the truth. Something about the live Dave Matthews Band experience makes me feel connected with everything, finally at peace and so alive.

As a result, I make my annual pilgrimage to Riverbend every summer for the Dave show. However, in recent years, I have been so addicted to the Dave high (no pun intended – I certainly catch a contact high from all of the pot smokers around me at the shows) that I have gone to more than one concert a year. I can’t get enough.

Every DMB show is different, with its own setlist and unique vibe. I have even seen their concert two nights in a row and left completely satisfied. The setlist changes every night and the repertoire of DMB music is so vast that you can never predict what they will play. The only thing you can expect is something bordering between a life-altering religious encounter and a 2 ½-hour-long orgasm.

There is nowhere I would rather be than at a Dave concert. Even excluding Dave, the musicians are incredible. The rhythm section is astouding with Stefan Lessard on bass. Smiling Carter Beauford is truly one of the most talented drummers in recent years and serves as the perfect band leader. Boyd Tinsley blows me away with his phenomenal violin solos. Tim Reynolds has proven to me time and time again that he isn’t actually a human being, but rather a guitar god. Although they aren’t LeRoi, Jeff Coffin and Rashawn Ross serve as mind-blowing replacements for the beloved, lost GrooGrux King. All of them combine to create multiple layers of intricate music that far surpass the stereotype of ‘frat-boy, jam band’ that some have used to describe the band.

…and then there’s Dave - the single most inspiring and influential musician in my life. Somehow his South African roots mixed flawlessly with the bohemian lifestyle of Charlottesville in the early ‘90s to create the most complex and rich music I’ve ever heard. Although he has started to lose it over the years, his voice is truly amazing as he possesses an incredible range and has mastered vocal inflections. For me, his voice brings to mind a mixture of jazz, country, rock, bluegrass, and blues. It also implies a certain level of human experience – all at once masculine, sexual, sensitive, and contemplative. Depending on the song, his energy can be inspiring, unsettling, erotic, or fun. His dance moves recall his childhood in Africa and have become a signature almost as recognizable as his voice.

His almost-poetic lyrics span the gamut of human emotion. They include vivid romanticism and lust, angst and unhappiness, worship over the beauty of a woman, carpe diem-like messages, inner battles and open struggles with faith and God, political messages (particularly about Iraq), and the pain experienced due to death and lost love. I feel like I can connect with his tortured soul, I struggle with my inner demons (particularly lust) in the same way.

Somehow, Dave also gets away with saying the dirtiest/sexiest things imaginable while still sounding innocent and pristine. Let's be honest - any rapper would be censored for this stuff. Want some examples?

“Crash” - He makes it sound like a romantic song rather than a vow of creepy, voyeuristic obsession. “You come crash into me and I come (sp?) into you. Hike up your skirt a little more and show your world to me."

“Rapunzel” – He turns this classic fairy tale into a bevy of sexual innuendo. "Open wide. Oh so good, I'll eat you. Take me for a ride." ...and later... "Up and down we go, from the top you push me. This is such a thrill."

“Crush” - Is he real? "Lovely lady, let me drink you, please. I won't spill a drop, no, I promise you." *swoon*

“Seven” - "Baby, I am all about you and all I want to do is take a little ride...maybe get inside." ...and later... "I can still taste you. I won't wash my hands."

“When the World Ends” - This song is literally about having sex during the apocalypse. I kid you not. "Your legs won't work 'cause you want me so. You just lie spread to the wall." ...and later... "When the world ends, we'll be burning one. When the world ends, we'll be sweet making love."

“Cornbread” - A song about taking a girl's virginity. The lyrics deal with youthful lust and the battle between inner temptation and the awareness of subsequent punishment from your parents. "You ain't ever had my cornbread, a little bit of heaven and a little bit of oh yeah. Cut it down the middle, open wide, and jump right in." I've also heard live versions with details about spitting in his hand and going down on her.

At any rate, absolutely nothing has spoken to me more than Dave Matthews Band. I feel so connected with their music and when I see them live, I lose myself to it – time and time again. There is nothing more evocative and real to me than standing in the rain, watching the lightning strike nearby, feeling the wind rush by, and listening to DMB.

I first heard DMB’s hit “What Would You Say” in 1994 (thanks to my Dad’s life-long connection with Charlottesville). It took me a few years to truly appreciate the depth of their music, but I’ve been hooked ever since. Although they are taking a much-needed break in 2011, DMB will remain an integral part of my life…and as always, I will be eagerly awaiting the announcement of their next tour dates.

Oh yeah – and it doesn’t hurt that Dave looks like this:

Please leave your wife for me, Dave. Please?