Meeting Dave Matthews

One of the most exciting things about being able to go to some of the Dave Matthews shows in Europe is having an audience of anywhere from 1400 to 5500 people instead of 25,000 to 100,000. There are no assigined seats except for in the balcony and people get as close to the stage as possible with their general admission tickets. These tickets would be nearly impossible to get if they were playing in the states and also cost a pretty penny. One of the best parts about that is the locals don't necessarily understand how big of a deal they are and the value of their ticket until we tell them. Just our excitment in the crowd helped get everyone around us excited. The show was amazing, the small room had amazing sound, we were the closest we had ever been and they were taping the concert to put out a dvd soon. It was really all you could have asked for if you were a big fan, but we had no idea what would unfold after.

We knew that since it was a smaller venue there would not be huge security gates with the band being bussed out minutes after leaving the stage like at Saratoga and that they would most likely be walking out the back door to a van. Right after the show ended we had a plan to run around to the back just to see if we would get an autograph or even just catch a glimpse. We all met at a back door and decided to wait for a bit and see what turned up. After an hour or more, fate decided we were staying and waiting after a few games of rock, paper, scissors.......and to our surprise it payed off.

We got to meet Dave as many of you know and have seen the pictures and it was an amazing experience, but a unique one indeed. I have grown up with his music, as all of us have, and can remember the first time I heard one of their first albums Under the Table and Dreaming. He has inspired me in many ways and is one of the main reasons I began to seriously play guitar. When you get the chance to meet someone like that, someone that has a big impact, it has a way of really confusing you. At least it did me. It was nice to know that I could stand in the background for a bit, that I wasn't star struck, nor did I have any desire to push to get close or get in his way. After he came out there was a large crowd around him immediately. More than anything just wanted to shake his hand and say thank you and I did just that. It did make it better that he reached out his had first and that he came up to us (thanks twins) as opposed us running up to him.

Its inspiring to know that someone who has had that much of an impact on someones life is just a regular old guy who took some risks, enjoyed life, and did what he did well.
You can't really help but want things to work out the same for yourself sometimes and wonder if they ever will. I am a big dreamer and if nothing else it is fun to think about being able to influence that many people in one way or another.


We got to see concerts in Paris and in Amsterdam after London and both were great shows. Although we didn't get to meet any of the band members again it was still good to see him in such small venues and we have a story and pictures to last a lifetime.

Til next time,
Josh