William Congreve once said, “Music hath charms to soothe the savage beast”. Music can change anyone, even the most tortured soul. Sometimes music is the only thing that can get your mind off of everything else. It can speak to what you feel inside and make you feel better. There are millions of different music genres: rock, rap, alternative, reggae, classical – the list goes on. The best music, however, comes from jam bands. According to the Oxford dictionary, a jam band is a rock band that plays music characterized by long improvisational passages. Jam bands are known for impeccable continuations from one song into an unknown or unexpected song choice. Ever since I was a little girl – wait, scratch that, ever since I was a fetus in my mother’s belly I’ve been listening to what I would call the best jam band known to man: the Dave Matthews Band.
Some of my earliest memories include my mom and I creating spreadsheets of all of the songs Dave and the band played on his summer tours just so we could figure out the probability of hearing our favorite songs live. If you ask any of my peers, they will most likely tell you they have no idea who Dave Matthews is. That’s blasphemy. Everyone needs Dave Matthews in their life. He has gotten me though some of my toughest life moments. Dave was there for me when my mom had cancer. Dave was there for me when I didn’t have very many friends. Dave was there for me when I was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. Dave has always been there for me. The Dave Matthews Band is the best band in history.
DMB has a way of speaking to me. When I listen to their music, a certain feeling of relief washes over me. “Celebrate we will, for life is short but sweet for certain.” Life is a wild roller coaster ride and DMB helps me to stay calm during the dips and helps me to celebrate during the highs. The lyrics speak to me and say the things that I can’t find the words to say myself. There is a particular line in one song that goes “my head won’t leave my head alone” that describes how I feel when I’m overwhelmed. Another line that goes “just love will put the hope in our minds” describes how I feel when I need know that things will get better. It helps to know that there are other people out there who get how I’m feeling. “If you hold on tight to what you think is your thing then you may find you are missing all the rest” teaches me to go out and experience new things in life.
Dave Matthews Band has changed my life for the better. Now let’s establish one small piece of background information; I am a hardcore DMB groupie. In my short 19 years of life, I have already seen 17 shows. Because the band only plays in outdoor venues, my mom and I dedicate our summers to traveling around the country to hear them live. Actually, we have a concert venue bucket list and love when we can check another cool venue off of our list.
One of the coolest venues ever would have to be The Gorge in Washington. Every year the band plays a 3-day show over Labor Day weekend. Fans usually refer to it as Labor Dave weekend. The Gorge is like the Mecca of all things Dave Matthews. I feel so lucky to be able to say I’ve made this pilgrimage twice now. Because of the Dave Matthews Band, I traveled to Arkansas, Kansas, Washington, Georgia, Indiana, and Canada. When I travel to these awesome places to see this awesome band play, I also get the chance to meet some pretty awesome people. You can find a Dave Matthews fan everywhere you go, and they are usually fairly easy to point out. You can just look for the fire dancer sticker that most fans have on their car.
Another thing I love about DMB is how charitable they are. The band has had numerous benefit concerts, including one for tsunami relief. Bama Works Fund is the Dave Matthews charitable fund that responds to a wide variety of needs both nationally and internationally. This DMB fund has made over 1200 grants available and has raised over 40 million dollars since it was started. Some of the many charities that this fund supports are AIDS, American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, Big Brothers Big Sisters, wildlife charities, youth sports, music and art charities, food banks, environmental projects, pet charities, Habitat for Humanity, sexual assault charities, services for the elderly, homeless shelters, and many more.
Dave is also humble. Whenever approached by fans, he never hesitates to stop, say hi, and snap a quick picture. While I’ve never met him, I have met another one of the band members (Jeff Coffin – saxophonist) and he was humble just like I imagine Dave to be. When my mom and I ran into Jeff, we literally ran into him while entering one of the shows last summer, he was gracious to stop and chat with us for a few minutes before the show started and he even took a picture with us so we could prove to everyone that we met Dave Matthews’ saxophonist. Lame I know but that’s how crazy I am about the Dave Matthews Band.
And while I have never met him, I just know that we would be best friends. Yes, I know that sounds strange. Why on earth would I want to be best friends with a 48-year-old man? Well the answer is simple. When I was a young girl, maybe 7 or 8 years old, my mom and her best friend went to the show every time the band was in Kansas City, leaving me and my friend Helen alone with the babysitter because we were “too young to go to a Dave Matthews concert”, according to our moms at least. But I will never forget that first concert that I was allowed to go to. It was June 7th, 2008. I had never been to Busch Stadium before, let alone Saint Louis. I remember walking to our seats and asking my mom, “Why am I the youngest one here?” I thought every other 10 year old listened to DMB religiously just like I did. Little did I know, I was so wrong.
After listening to an awesome set list, I remember driving back to Kansas City and telling all of my friends about the amazing time I had at the concert! They didn’t seem very enthusiastic about it, though, and I realized that I was unique. Later that summer, actually only about a month later, my mom was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer. That was a scary time in life. I was getting ready to go into the 5th grade and at the same time my mom was getting ready to start chemotherapy. Dave was there for me at my lowest point in life. And he’s been there for me ever since. And that is the true definition of a best friend.
The Dave Matthews Band is so much more than a great band. They are more than a fun night at a great outdoor venue under the stars. They are hopes and dreams. Listening to their music soothes my soul and feeds my energy. Their lyrics speak to me and say the things I’m feeling and spell out everything that is too hard for me to say out loud. The message of love is loud and clear. They are great role models and they echo my passion for charitable works and volunteerism. Millions of other fans will join me for as long as Dave and the boys will play and United we will JAM! And that is why the Dave Matthews Band will forever live on in my heart as the greatest band ever!
