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  • Nikki's Blog

    Posted on May 29th, 2010

    Written by nikki

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    Hello Again Indeed, Hartford

    Let me begin by saying that I don’t expect much out of tour openers. And I don’t mean that in a defeatist or cynical kind of way. I just mean that, typically, the opening show follows a fairly significant break from playing and DMB is just getting their sea legs back. Which, presumably, is exactly what Hartford was last night. Don’t get me wrong—opening night is extremely exciting. But it’s exciting because it marks the beginning of summer and the start of the great rolling tidal wave of music, fun, and travel that comes with it. As for the great surprises, debuts, and jaw-droppers, they usually start coming a few shows in. For me, on a non-album tour, one surprise on opening night would have been enough to send me home pretty darn happy.

    Uh, yeah. As we all know by now, such was not the case at Hartford last night. I’m still trying to wrap my head around what I saw. I could barely figure out what was going on around me last night even as I was watching. I guess it was sort of like the concert equivalent of playing dodge ball, getting pelted by five balls at once, and not knowing which way to run. Only it’s painless. And the dodge balls are JTR, Hello Again, Busted Stuff, Kit Kat Jam, and Break for It (let’s just hack away at that Liberation List, shall we boys?). Not to mention a crazy sing-for-your-dinner Nancies unlike any version I’ve ever seen before and even a spiffed up Ants. Holy Batman!

    I almost fell on my face when the band opened up with JTR last night. That was all I needed for them to make their big statement that they were here to play this summer. If they would have launched into a more standard set list from there, I still would have gone home jazzed about the summer. But this?!?

    I know it’s sort of like opening day of baseball—one phenomenal first game and you can spin tales in your head about how you’re going all the way to the Series. But considering this year is a bit different to start out with due to the impending and unprecedented 2011 break, I would say we’re in for one damn fine summer. And I know that I personally can’t wait. To me at least, this looks like a band that’s ready to play and have some fun.

  • Nikki's Blog

    Posted on May 25th, 2010

    Written by nikki

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    The Virgin Voyage

    Photo courtesy of Sheila Van Noy

    One of the best things about shows is they’re a rare opportunity to kick back with old friends. But there’s also something really thrilling about taking a newbie to a show, sitting back, and watching them take it in. And all the better if they’re a hard sell. I recently interviewed someone who spent about a decade trying to convince a hardcore anti-DMB friend to come out to a show. After years and years of protest, this guy told me, all it took was one show for his friend to turn into a fanatic. Maybe I like these stories so much because they remind me of my own first time. I was not a happy camper when I was hauled off to the Fleet Center on October 2, 1996. But by about two minutes into the Seek Up opener I could barely pick my jaw up off the floor. More than 13 years later, I still get the chills when I listen to that version of Seek Up.

    Over the years, I’ve taken a variety of newbies to shows. No matter how bitter or uninterested they may be walking in the gates, I’ve yet to see anyone come out unimpressed. Of all these experiences, though, there have been a few really stand-out moments. In 2002, I happened to have an extra ticket for the N2 MSG show. My friend from California was on the east coast for the holidays so he decided to join me. He was a pretty hard-core Deadhead and ready to be thoroughly unimpressed. Watching him dance around in pure joy and freak out with the rest of the crowd that night as the floor of MSG literally started rocking when James Brown came onstage was a huge highlight in a show that, to this day, stands out as one of the most amazing spectacles I’ve ever seen.

    And, I have to say, much as I was absolutely mortified when my parents insisted on escorting me to concerts in junior high, in adulthood, taking (OK, dragging, might be a more accurate word) them to their first DMB shows with me was just the best feeling. On our car ride down to Berkeley’s Greek Theatre for N1 in 2008, my dad told me he was only going to “get this out of the way” so I’d stop harassing him to come see DMB with me. He was completely won over before we even walked through the entrance, just from spending a few hours in line talking with waiting fans. I’ve never seen as big of a smile on his face as I saw while he was watching the show. For the next few weeks, it really tripped me out that my dad was driving around listening to a CD of the Greek show, calling me to point out things about the music and DaveSpeak, and offering commentary on it all. Much the same with my mom. After a 5 a.m. wake-up call to start the trek from California up to the Gorge the morning of N1 and a long day of traveling, I figured she’d be absolutely destroyed by the end of the show. Surprise, surprise! As I began to drag myself up the steep incline out of the pavilion at the end of the night, I saw her practically skipping down the path toward me, looking more happy and lively than I can remember seeing her in a long, long time. It was yet another great moment. This year my parents are going to a show on their own accord, taking their own friends to see DMB for the first time. They’ve done me proud.

    My checking account has taken a slaughtering at the hands of this band for many, many years now, yet there are still moments when I can barely believe what they can do when they’re really on fire. But no matter how many shows I go to and how many amazing things I see and hear, there’s no way to go back and experience that first rush again. Luckily, watching someone else take it all in for the first time is a close second.

  • Nikki's Blog

    Posted on May 14th, 2010

    Written by nikki

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    Twenty-eleven

    It seems like almost every year there are rumors out there on the message boards: DMB won’t be touring next year or, the rumor’s more dramatic step-brother, DMB is breaking up. Turns out this year, the “no tour in summer 2011 rumor” that’s been circulating for the last week or so is actually true.

    Is this the end of the world? No. We’re one of a small group of fan bases that gets to see our favorite band play live every single summer. Plenty of bands tour on a very infrequent basis. However, when summer tour happens like clockwork every year, it’s difficult to imagine a summer without DMB.

    The great news for us here is that DMB made the announcement ahead of time which, in my own personal opinion, will make summer 2010 even more special than usual. I also think that when the tour does recommence in 2012 the excitement is going to be pretty darn near explosive. In my humble opinion, the fact that DMB actually made an announcement that they wouldn’t be touring in 2011 at this early date (or at all) is a testament to the band. This isn’t something they had to do and it speaks highly of their appreciation for their fans and their understanding that annual summer tours have come to be a significant part of many people’s lives.

    Although this is only a temporary situation, it reminds me of an interview I had with someone a few weeks ago. He’s been a DMB fan since 1992 and was a Deadhead long before that. In the course of our conversation I asked him what it was like when Jerry died and all of a sudden this lifestyle he’d been accustomed to came to an abrupt halt. He laughed and told me, “Well, I was able to save up some money for the first time in my life.” And ain’t that the truth? Whether it’s saving up to go big in 2012, having a bit more time and money to go on new adventures in 2011, or putting that usual ticket and travel money toward all the things you’ve been forgoing in lieu of DMB, one thing is for sure: Our wallets will all be a bit fatter than usual come September 2011.

  • Nikki's Blog

    Posted on April 29th, 2010

    Written by nikki

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    Summer Tour is Nigh

    This is one of my favorite times of the year: When I can officially say that summer tour is less than a month away. The anticipation of upcoming shows is obviously a very different kind of excitement than the shows themselves, but nonetheless exciting in and of itself. That’s why most of my favorite DMB shows are the ones that aren’t local–I love plotting out insane road trips, finding hotels, figuring out who’s going to what shows. It’s kind of like a break from life, having this great event looming out there in the near future. The closest thing I can equate it to is being a kid and anxiously counting down to Christmas. Maybe you’re having a bad day on December 10, but you can comfort yourself by knowing that in just a few weeks, Chrismas will be here and you’ll be celebrating. And by the time Christmas Eve rolls around, you’ve almost worked yourself up to a boiling point, where it feels like the excitement is actually going to burst on out of you. DMB shows are my adult version of that.

    I recently spent some time chatting with Dr. Barry Barnes, a Grateful Dead scholar and professor of leadership at NOVA Southeastern University’s business school, who has built his classes around the Grateful Dead’s sense of community and active involvement. You can debate the similarities and differences between the Deadhead culture and the DMB fan base until you turn blue in the face, but the shared appreciation of live shows and the community aspect that comes with them is undebatable. I thought Dr. Barnes summed it up perfectly when he spoke about how, in the end, it’s about so much more than just the show itself. “The early times that I would see the Dead, I’d get there at the last minute and go into the venue. Then I realized, I’ve got to get there early and just see this whole thing begin to build up. The anticipation was so palpable. The idea that I had tickets for another show and thinking, ‘Oh, god! I can hardly wait.’ All the planning and all the anticipation. And the hotel room and the flight and talking to your friends. ‘Are you going to be there? Let’s share a hotel room. How many can we get in a room?’ There’s just nothing like it.”

    And from the interviews I’ve done so far, it sounds like a lot of other people feel the same way. All across the country, people plan road trips and meet-ups with old friends. For some of you, your only chance to see these friends is at the summer shows. So, in the end, it’s about a lot more than just seeing phenomenal live music. That’s what brings everyone together in the end, but it’s so much more than that. I’ve also found that this is the big difference between European shows and American shows. Because DMB plays Europe less frequently, fans there haven’t had the chance to develop the ritual, regular meet-ups that we have here in the States. Nearly twenty years of consistent touring provides a whole lot of time for traditions and friendships to take root. It’s amazing to me how many of those have grown from DMB. We’re very, very lucky and I can hardly wait for another summer filled with traveling adventures, good friends, and phenomenal music.

  • Nikki's Blog

    Posted on April 21st, 2010

    Written by nikki

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    Trekkin’ to Trax

    Ah, Trax. Most of us have heard of it, though few of us ever actually witnessed a DMB performance there (and seeing how it was demolished to make room for an extension of the UVA Hospital in 2002, suffice to say that the Trax days are long gone, never to return again). And as the years have passed, it’s become more and more difficult to even find people who actually did see DMB play the 900-person capacity club down the street from UVA back in the 90s (trust me, I’ve tried).

    Nate, however, is one of the few lucky ones that did manage to see DMB play Trax back in the day. On November 23, 1993, to be exact. A Hartford, CT native, Nate found DMB quite accidentally when his friend somewhat inadvertently ended up with a DMB DAT in the midst of a Grateful Dead tape trade. (more…)

  • Nikki's Blog

    Posted on March 21st, 2010

    Written by nikki

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    The Next Generation

    Those of us who have been going to shows for long enough can’t help but notice that more and more children that have been popping up over the past few years. There’s no doubt that the next generation of DMB fans is on its way.

    Matt McKibben, a DMB fan since 1994, has seen the DMB gene spread to the next generation up close and personal. Matt proudly refers to his 14-year-old son as “a seasoned DMB vet,” with six shows under his belt already. (more…)

  • Nikki's Blog

    Posted on March 14th, 2010

    Written by nikki

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    Fonzie for the People

    Perhaps one of the biggest draws to DMB is that they’re good to their fans. It’s hard to find any other major act in the music industry today that’s as fan-friendly as DMB: annual summer tours, show taping, mixed up setlists (though some will argue this depending on the year in question), and an abundance of band-fan interaction are a huge part of what makes DMB so alluring to hard-core fans. The sum total of all of this results in more than just following a band around; it’s about actually being a part of something.

    Social networking has allowed certain members of the band to have greater contact with fans and really engage in a one-on-one dialogue. Most notably through this, bassist Stefan Lessard has emerged as the great DMB fan advocate, in large part due to his Twitter account. (more…)

  • Nikki's Blog

    Posted on March 2nd, 2010

    Written by nikki

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    Feelin’ the LoVE

    Boyd signs the LoVE sign in Germany / Photo courtesy of Kayla Fisher-Poling

    Most of you probably know that it’s pretty hard to encapsulate the DMB experience in just a few words. But one fan, Matt Wadleigh, managed to do just that ever so succinctly and accurately: LoVE.

    If you’ve frequented Southern California shows in the past few years, chances are you’ve seen Matt himself quietly holding up the his simple LoVE sign. And if you were at any show post mid-June 2009, chances are you saw one (or more) Love signs being held up proudly.

    Following Matt’s passing in the summer of 2009, his simple message of love took wings as a duplicate of his sign was passed from one fan to the next, from venue to venue, ultimately working its way across the USA on DMB’s 2009 North American tour. (more…)

  • Nikki's Blog

    Posted on March 1st, 2010

    Written by nikki

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    Poster Mayhem … iPad Style

    One of the great things about DMB is that they open people up to a whole host of new things: traveling, new friends, other bands, and any number of other new interests that cover a wide range of hobbies and even professional endeavors. With that in mind, many DMB fans may be interested in a new project by Rob Banagale, who many of you may know as the founder of WeeklyDavespeak.com.

    For Rob, WDS was always a melding of two of his passions–music and new media/technology. He is, obviously, a DMB fan but also a dedicated music fan in general–ask him about any music festival in recent memory and chances are he’s been there, written about it, or has something insightful to say about. (more…)

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