The Daily Procrastinator

On May 1, The Dave Matthews Band played before a packed Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in Woodlands, TX. Among the concert-goers were Pre, who you may remember from St. Patrick’s Day, Mrs. Pre, NewGuy, NewGirl, Eggroll, and yours truly, BigRedPoet. I’m not a big DMB fan. In fact, I don’t own a single one of their albums. I am, however, an avid fan of well-played live music. Everyone I know who has seen DMB in concert has always told me that they put on an exciting, tight, improvisational, and musically outstanding performance. With that in mind, when Pre asked me if I wanted to go to the show, I didn’t hesitate.

This is not my photo, but it's pretty much exactly the stage setup the band used in The Woodlands.

After venturing to The Woodlands in a mini-van, we arrived early and met some of Pre’s friends, who had been saving us a great spot in the lawn seats. We were located at the corner where the sidewalk down out of the lawn meets the fence that divides the lawn from the walkway below. In other words, we had front-row seats in the grass. Almost immediately upon getting settled in our spot, I noticed two things…

First, the opening act, The Avett Brothers, was fantastic! Although I didn’t know a single song, they performed with a laid-back, bluegrass-influenced sound and interestingly constructed vocal arrangements that I truly enjoyed.

Second, beer prices ranged from $8 to $9.25, depending upon the brand of beer. $8.00! $9.25! I’m not above spending money on beer, but the roving vendors accepted only cash, which I wasn’t carrying. The concession stands, located at the edges of the amphitheater, accepted credit cards, but I wasn’t about to give up any part of my listening experience to spend 30 minutes walking over there, waiting in line, and walking back. The end result of all this is simple: I saw DMB stone-cold sober.

Once Dave Matthews Band took the stage, they stayed there for close to two and a half hours. Although I know exactly one of the following songs, I’m told it’s an outstanding setlist.

• Don’t Drink The Water
• Stay Or Leave
• Funny The Way It Is
• Spaceman
• Cornbread
• Raven
• Why I Am
• Jimi Thing
• Beach Ball
• Where Are You Going
• Two Step
• Rye Whiskey (Tex Ritter cover)
• Pig
• #41
• Anyone Seen The Bridge
• Too Much <tease>
• Grey Street

Encores:

• Everyday
• Pantala Naga Pampa
• Rapunzel

I didn’t get to sing along much, except when I could pick up the words to a chorus, but I still had a fantastic time. Every musician on the stage played outstandingly. I vividly recall fantastic performances on drums, saxophone (including one guy playing two saxophones at once!), trumpet, guitar, bass, and electric violin. The high point of the show was a song called “Space Man,” which is apparently brand new and will be released on the band’s upcoming album. I predict that the line “Doesn’t everybody deserve to have the good life?” will be all over the radio in the near future.

This is Carter Beauford. He is a beast. He can drum faster than you can drive.

As you may or may not know, The Dave Matthews Band is taper-friendly. Basically, they allow fans to record their concerts, as long as they don’t sell the recordings afterward. Those of you who have been reading The Daily Procrastinator since the beginning will recall that I own an Edirol R-09HR recorder, which is useful for just such an application. Coupled with a directional shotgun microphone, which I borrowed from WrongFoot, I was able to make a pretty good audience recording of the show. This was my first chance to tape a “big” show, and I’m quite pleased with the results!

It pains me that I can’t give a more detailed review of the show, but without a more thorough knowledge of DMB, I’m afraid it’s difficult to speak in specifics. Simply put, this band is good. Really good. Take it from a guy who doesn’t really know their music but still had a blast at the show: DMB is well worth checking out in concert.

Hello again, procrastinators! This wrap-up will bring you up to speed on what’s been happening here at The Daily Procrastinator for the last two weeks. Normally, as you’ve noticed by now, I’m sure, there’s a weekly wrap-up in your email every weekend. Last weekend, that didn’t happen. I procrastinated. Surely you knew that was a possibility. TDP has been as busy as ever in the past two weeks, and this is your chance to make sure that you’ve read every tasty bit. Let’s take it one week at a time, shall we?

March 16 – March 20

The week began with two posts by TallGirl, addressing first the dust-covered rollerblades she discovered while cleaning her garage, and then the combined narcissism and bad PR decisions of A-Fraud.

After many, many hours of celebrating Irish heritage, BigRedPoet (who’s German and French Canadian, by the way) published Part 1 of the beer-fueled St. Patrick’s Day adventure, chronicling the daylight hours and early evening. Part 2, which is perhaps slightly less coherent, details the happenings of the late evening and pursuant VERY early morning. Because she’s such a helpful friend, TallGirl offered a few hangover cures for anyone whose St. Patrick’s Day celebrations got out of hand.

The week ended with both lasciviousness and laughs as TallGirl wrote about her recent hot upskirt experience, and the newest Procrastinator, Marmite, bemoaned the unfortunate truth that Snuggies are taking over the world.

This break between weeks is brought to you by a grumpy, land-based koala bear. His name is Jeff.

March 23 – March 27

TallGirl started the week by wondering how FaceBook can simultaneously inspire curiosity, nostalgia, and low-level retrograde anger. As someone whose face has not been booked, I’m tempted to go sign up, just to observe this curious phenomenon.

On Tuesday, BigRedPoet offered a review of the Elton John and Billy Joel concert that he and FlashCap attended in Houston. As it turns out, two straight men can attend such a concert without the benefit of female companionship and still have a GREAT time.

Wednesday’s post was drawn from a discussion thread about important childhood memories. Several of the Procrastinators offered interesting tidbits from their young lives. Check it out, and get to know your favorite Procrastinator just a little bit better!

On Thursday, FlashCap expressed disbelief and outrage at a remarkably ignorant news article written by an ESPN reporter and posted on the company’s website. You’ve got to read it to believe it. As FlashCap seethed over the incompetence of paid professionals, TallGirl realized that Spring (the wily bugger) had sneaked up on her while she wasn’t watching. When it jumped out and yelled, “Surprise!“, the resulting joy turned into a TDP post.

BigRedPoet discovered something disturbing on Friday. While he was procrastinating by watching YouTube videos, he discovered that the Starburst Berries & Cream commercial that he found so offensive the first time had been reborn in a techno-remix version. Yikes.

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