Night One: Tuesday, 7/21/09

It rained all day and I was starting to get nervous that I would see DMB for the second time in 2 months in the pouring rain.  I drove in with my friend, Louise (@LovelyLu) and her son.  Despite the rain, the tailgating was in full swing when we arrived.  We parked in the back corner of the lot and started to make the walk over. I took a picture…the clouds were looming.  I had the poncho ready. I had bought a single ticket so me and Lu went our separate ways when we got in.  My friends were in the VIP parking lot, but I unfortunately didn’t find out they were there until I was inside.  Unless I hopped a large planter next to the fence in front of 10 security guards, I wasn’t getting into the VIP lot.

So, I stood in front of the VIP area and stared inside and wished I could be in there.  The wonderful and completely unfair thing about the VIP section at Jones Beach is that you can DRINK.  The tickets are about $20 extra and you have to pay $12 for a bottle of beer and $15 for a glass of wine, but you can still drink.  You only get offered a chance to buy VIP tickets if you purchase orchestra tickets or have season tickets.  What about the 10,000 other people in the theater that would like a beer? Just messed up. I saw a few other friends and then decided to stop dreaming of VIP and go find my seat.  On the way in, I stopped and I bought a bottle of water. $6. I asked the girl if she felt bad charging people that.  How does she sleep at night? I know it’s not her fault, but $6 for a bottle of Dasani water is a little ridiculous, don’t you think? I can understand the beer for $12.  That’s beer.  This is WATER.  A life necessity.

My seat wasn’t horrible.  I was in section 13L row K on the aisle.  The people around me were a little annoying.  The two seats next to me were empty and 2 girls came up before the band started and asked if they could sit there.  I told them I didn’t care, so they took their towels and wiped the seats dry. Then, they asked me to watch “their seats” while they went to get food.  They weren’t even their seats!! 2 songs later, they didn’t come back yet but another 2 girls show up, surprise! At least the seats were dry! Directly across the aisle from me were a group of what looked to be high school students that took up the first 6 seats of 2 rows.  They were completely drunk (from the parking lot, I guess) and by 9pm, one of the guys had passed out.  They continued to use his arms like a puppet and take funny pictures with him.  It reminded me of that anti-drug commercial: “If you aren’t in control, who is?” The people next to me took pictures of him too.  I was just taking pictures of Dave.  I suppose this blog post would be a lot better had I had a photo of him. Sorry, but it was pretty funny.

Here is the set list:

Nikon at Jones Beach Theater, 7/21/09

Funny The Way It Is *
You Might Die Trying *
Seven *
Everyday *
Squirm *
Dreaming Tree *
Lying In the Hands of God *
Burning Down The House *
Where Are You Going
Spaceman *
Corn Bread *
Shake Me Like a Monkey *
Louisiana Bayou *
#41 *
Don’t Drink the Water *
__________________

(#40) +
Rye Whiskey +
All Along The Watchtower *

Show Notes:
* Jeff Coffin
+ Dave Solo

(song name) indicates a partial song
indicates a segue into next song

Overall, the mood of the show on night one was mellow.  I was very happy with the setlist.  Song highlights for me were Cornbread (such a great song), #41, Burning Down the House and a solo acoustic Rye Whiskey by Dave.  My friend Sue sat second row and the cameraman gave her the setlist he had.  She said Tripping Billies was on there, but they didn’t play it.  My friend Carissa was in the Orchestra and caught a stick from Carter.  She said there was a little fight about it with all the people around.   Sue was also telling me that someone was in the third row heckling Dave and he had him thrown out.  Seriously, why would someone get 3rd row if they hate DMB?

Night Two: Wednesday, 7/22/09

Night two started off much better.  It stopped raining. I drove with my friend Brandy and we met up with friends from high school (who I haven’t seen SINCE high school) and my friend Carissa and her husband Dave.  We met up in the parking lot and tailgated for a few hours.  The mood in the parking lot was great. Again, I had a single ticket and the seat was a little better then the first night.  This time, I had brought a sealed water bottle from home.  Every person is allowed to bring one bottle and I’ll be damned if I give Jones Beach another $6. I met two cool guys whose seats were in nosebleed, but they snuck down into my seat.  One had been to 25 shows, so it was nice to be next to someone who actually knows the music. Check out the setlist from night two:

Nikon at Jones Beach Theater, 7/22/09

Pantala Naga Pampa *
Rapunzel *
One Sweet World *
Seek Up *
Why I Am *
Grey Street *
Dive In *
Dancing Nancies *
Crash (Into Me) *
Alligator Pie *
Jimi Thing *
Gravedigger
Funny The Way It Is *
Shake Me Like a Monkey *
You and Me *
Time Bomb *
Two Step *

__________________

Sister +
Anyone Seen The Bridge *
Too Much (Fake) *
Tripping Billies *

Show Notes:
* Jeff Coffin
+ Dave, Carter Rashawn and Tim

indicates a segue into next song

I felt like I was thrown back to my first show in 1998 again.  The first three songs blew me away.  I knew we were in for a good show.  Then they played my two favorite songs Two Step and Dancing Nancies.  The Too Much tease in the encore was a bummer, but I was really happy to hear Tripping Billies.  I had the inside info from Sue, so I was hoping they would play it.

Dave was very chatty both nights.  He said “its been awhile since we’ve been here…it still smells funky,” (Which is really funny, but true).  Jimi Thing was AWESOME.  The first 2 verses were sung by just the audience while Dave just stood there danced all cute.  Towards the end of the song (about a 15 minute version) the whole group started singing “sexy motherfuckers shaking that ass…shaking that ass…shaking that ass.” At first I didn’t hear it, but the whole audience was cracking up. I really love their new album and didn’t mind the new songs at all.  If anything, I like the new songs better hearing them all live.  Tim Reynolds and Jeff Coffin were incredible, as always.  Jeff had some pretty big shoes to fill and I think that LeRoi is up there jamming and proud of his replacement.

The second half of the second night the boys next to me were greated by 2 girls who also squeezed in.  I felt like I had let someone cut-in front of me in a parking lot and then let all the other cars go.  I hate when people take advantage of your kindness.  The two ladies, who turned out to be lesbians were in my personal space dancing while making out and falling over into me.  I snapped a picture, just to show you.  Yes, they were literally ON TOP of me.

So, it’s all over.  I figure the next show I will see might be over the winter…it’s going to be a long 6 months.  Thank you Dave, Stefan, Boyd, Carter, Tim and Jeff for a fantastic two nights.  Jones Beach is really the best concert venue and it’s been 12 years since you’ve played there.  Please come again, let’s not make it another 12 years.