DMB Caravan. I am dead.

This weekend, Jenn and I made our way to Chicago for the Dave Matthews Band Caravan.

If you don't know by now, I'm grossly obsessed with DMB. So, when they announced last year that they would not be doing a summer tour (for the first time since 1993), I was devastated. Then, one glorious day, they announced they would be doing four weekend-long music festivals, one of which was in Chicago. I didn't have to be convinced. I was going.

In an effort to avoid traffic and expensive hotels, we stayed in the Spring House Inn in Porter, Indiana. The place was quaint and had a pool, big rooms with a balcony, and breakfast every morning. Score. The drive was only 45 minutes to Lakeside (the concert venue) and parking was free.

Porter, Indiana is a cute town, home to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. We had lunch Friday at a Mexican restaurant called Santiago's and Saturday at a bar called Whistle Stop. The people were all very nice and, in case you're ever in Porter (HA!), Friday night karaoke is the place to be.

Lakeside was both awesome and awful. It used to be an old steel mill, but now it's just a huge empty space near Lake Michigan. Unfortunately, the terrain was horrible - tons of rocks, sharp mulch, endless dust, and painful sticks. I made the horrible decision of packing only Old Navy flip-flops and I paid the price. The walk from the car to the venue was easily 25 minutes and I left every night, limping and covered in mud and specks of blood.

The venue itself, however, was really cool. Three big stages, free water fill-up stations, food and beer vendors, merchandise tents, a log-rolling booth, a view of Lake Michigan, an off-roading Jeep course, tons of seagulls, and a giant multi-colored ferris wheel in the middle of it all. The weather was perfect all weekend - except for a little bit of rain on Sunday evening. It was a bit hot, but the breeze kept it nice for the most part.


Day 1. We went swimming for a bit, had lunch, and drove to Lakeside. We exchanged our tickets for 3-Day admission wristbands. I bought a DMB Caravan Nalgene bottle and Jenn bought sweet pink sunglasses. We listened to a bit of Amos Lee, including his big hit, "Sweet Pea." We walked around Lakeside, checking out the stages and vendors. We decided to be crazy and get as close as possible for Ray LaMontagne and DMB.

The crowd was insane. Tons of annoying frat-boy-types, wearing pastel-colored shorts and neon sunglasses at night, drinking way too much for the heat, and completely oblivious when they elbow you in the face. Plenty of annoying girls, who wear multi-colored headbands (in an attempt to appear hippie-ish at a musical festival), have the obnoxious Chicago accent, and wear barely-there jean shorts that look more like Huggies jean diapers. I saw hundreds of fans with Fire Dancer tattoos, willing to do anything to get close enough to scream endless song suggestions at Dave. Many others were there for the atmosphere, not the music. So, getting close to the stage wasn't an easy task.

We ended up around the 20th row (if there were rows at all). Ray came out with the Pariah Dogs and did an incredible, hour-long set. Ray sounded amazing, his pained, soulful voice grips me unlike any other I've ever heard. He weaved flawlessly between heart-wrenching folk ballads and upbeat, blues songs (complete with harmonica). I can't find his setlist, but I know it included:

Beg, Steal, or Borrow
Repo Man
For the Summer
Burn
Devil's in the Jukebox
Jolene
Trouble
Shelter
Henry Nearly Killed Me


Unfortunately, no one around us was feeling it at all. Everyone was waiting, rather impatiently, for DMB to come out. After Ray finished, we waited, rooted to our spot, fighting the crowd and listening to the distant sounds of OAR. When DMB finally took the stage, even more people tried to cram into the tiny cracks. I tried my hardest to ignore the battles being waged around me by angry fans, fighting for a closer spot. Some guy behind us passed out cold, then stood up and insisted he was fine, although he couldn't stand up straight and his eyes were seemingly inspecting the inside of his head.

Finally, DMB took the stage. They did not disappoint. With the exception of two tour bus run-ins, I have never been as close to Dave as I was on Friday night. I took a million pictures and screamed alongside the rest of the obsessive fans. I also noticed his wife and three kids, watching the show from backstage. About halfway through the set, we couldn't handle the crowds (and rude people) anymore, so we made our way to the back.


Here was DMB's setlist on Friday:

Squirm
Big Eyed Fish
Don’t Drink the Water
Pantala Naga Pampa
Rapunzel
Write A Song
You Might Die Trying
Out Of My Hands
Louisiana Bayou
Funny The Way It Is
Joy Ride
Corn Bread
What Would You Say
Dive In
You and Me
Good Times Bad Times (Led Zeppelin)
Tripping Billies
__________________

New Song
Stay Or Leave
Jimi Thing
Shake Me Like a Monkey
Stay (Wasting Time)

Day 2. After lunch, Jenn and I made our way to Lakeside for the most crowded day of the caravan. Ever since Farm Aid, I've wanted to see another Dave and Tim Reynolds acoustic set. My dream came true. Here was their setlist:

Save Me
Where are You Going?
So Damn Lucky
Oh
Eh Hee
Old Dirt Hill (Bring that Beat Back)
Tim Solo
Grace is Gone
Blue Water
Dancing Nancies

Amazing set. Dave and Tim are so perfect together. Dave also made comments like, "It's as hot as the dickens" and "I don't like wearing sunglasses because they leave lines on my face and make me look chubby and menacing." He also apologized for the rocks at Lakeside and said he felt like he was walking on the moon. Marry me.


Afterward, we stayed put to see another favorite of mine - G. Love & the Special Sauce. I saw G. Love in April of 2007 and I've been dying to see him again. In complete honesty, he is (and has been for quite awhile) one of my many celebrity crushes (Proof: Pretty blunt entry from my old blog). His music is a fun mix of blues and hip-hop, perfect for any summer outdoor concert. He also did a number of awesome covers. Here was his setlist:

Milk and Sugar
Fixin' to Die
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (Paul Simon)
Sweet Sugar Momma
Hot Cookin'
Booty Call
Why Don't We Do it in the Road? (Beatles)
Back to Boston
Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash)
Cold Beverages
Just a Friend (Biz Markie)
Freestyle

We heard G. Love was doing a meet-and-greet after his set, so we made our way over to the merchandise tent. The line was surprisingly short, so I bought G. Love's new CD (which I didn't have yet) and got in line. Ben Folds was playing on a stage nearby, so we listened to his music ("Zak and Sara" and "Still Fighting It") while waiting.

After what seemed like forever, G. Love showed up. I instantly noticed two things: 1. He is still gorgeous. 2. He is tall, about 6'4" (my own personal KRYPTONITE). The caravan workers told us that time constraints prevented G. Love from posing for pictures. As the line got shorter, I started to get nervous. I checked my reflection in Jenn's sunglasses. I wondered what I should say. Some girl had him sign her stomach. I rolled my eyes. The couple in front of me asked me to take their picture with him. I did. Then, it was my turn.

He looked right at me, smiled a huge smile, and exclaimed, "HEY, SUGAR!"

I nearly passed out.

He reached out, put his arms around me, and gave me a huge hug - a really good, bear hug. Like a weirdo, I smelled him. He smelled good. Really, really good.

I died. Then, I mumbled something like, "Great show. I love you."

He posed for a picture (that Jenn took). Cute couple? I wish.


I handed him my CD, he asked me what my name was, and he signed, "To Brittany, (something completely illegible that might say G. Love)."

Then, like an even bigger weirdo, I told him, "I tweeted at you this morning."

Like the incredibly nice, amazing man he is, he responded, "Oh yeah? Then, I saw it." and smiled again.

Dead. I thanked him. Jenn had to scrape me off the ground.

Next, we headed over to the Lakeside stage to see Kid Cudi. The energy was incredible. People were dancing, singing along, and smoking all around us. It was infectious. Of all the artists I saw this weekend, Cudi was absolutely one of my favorites. His style of psychedelic stoner rap (shared by Wiz Khalifa) has quickly become one of my favorite genres of music. I can't find his setlist, but here is what I remember:

Soundtrack to My Life
Marijuana
A cappella mixtape raps
All of the Lights (Kanye West cover)
Cudi Zone (MY FAVORITE)
Memories
Day n Night
Pursuit of Happiness


After Cudi's set, we walked to the back of the Dave crowd for another incredible show. Midway through the set, Dave even acknowledged how awesome Cudi's performance was. Night #2 was definitely my favorite setlist.

#41
Seven
Burning Down The House (The Talking Heads)
Break Free
Why I Am
Proudest Monkey
Satellite
Black Jack
Crush
Granny
Lying In the Hands of God
Alligator Pie
Lie In Our Graves
Too Much
Crash Into Me
Grey Street
__________________

A Whiter Shade of Pale
Time Bomb
Two Step

Day 3. After breakfast, we checked out of our hotel. We had some time to kill, so we saw Horrible Bosses. It was one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time. Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, and Jason Sudeikis are a dream team. GO SEE IT. We bought some new flip-flops and ate lunch at BW3s.

When we arrived at Lakeside, I bought a DMB Caravan shirt and had a massive minor panic attack when I noticed my phone was missing. However, Jenn talked me down and we found a spot to enjoy David Gray and wait for DMB. Sidenote: My phone was in my car the whole time.

DMB's final set was filled with mostly old songs and a few covers:

One Sweet World
Bartender
Say Goodbye
Best of Whats Around
Captain
Shotgun
Warehouse
Spaceman
Seek Up
When The World Ends
Rhyme And Reason
Sweet Emotion (Aerosmith)
The Idea Of You
Buena (Morphine)
Gravedigger
Cant Stop
All Along The Watchtower

__________________

Some Devil
Sister
Ants Marching
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (Sly and the Family Stone)

With tears in my eyes and a farewell to Dave, we made our way back to the car for the 5-hour drive home.


So, 185 pictures, a hoarse voice, black lungs, a dirt-filled nose, two feet covered in scabs, a new pair of shoes, three tanks of gas, and tons of awesome memories later, here I am, counting down the days until Dave comes to Cincinnati next summer.

I'm so damn lucky to have amazing opportunities like these. Dave is right when he says, "Life is short, but sweet for certain."

Mine must be the sweetest of all.