Thursday, February 23, 2012
DMB season has arrived!
Well it worked. And my persistence paid off. Everyday for the past couple of weeks, I've been wearing every Dave Matthews Band t-shirt I own at every non-work opportunity I could (and let's just say I have enough to last a few weeks)in the hopes that a tour announcement would come soon. After the band took last year off from touring, my life has been left with a huge gap. But the day I'd been holding my breath for finally came! The summer tour has been announced and DMB season is here. For some people, it's the anticipation of hockey season, for others it's Christmas. For me, it's all about Dave. 
Once the dates and cities are announced, the flurry of Facebook posts begin immediately and friends from across the country (Canada and the US) inquire about who's going to which show so we can figure out where we'll get a chance to meet up. We start speaking in DMB lingo - N1, N2, SPAC, Wildhorse, general pit or reserves? Then comes campground reservations, pricing flights, and making our ticket requests on the Warehouse. It's all so very exciting.
The first show for me this year will be in Toronto on June 2 and will be the fortieth time (yes, you read that correctly, that's 40, 4-0h) I've seen DMB. So far, I've seen them in 8 different cities, mostly across the US, and have been to the Gorge 7 times (which is just a quick two hour drive from Seattle, which is just a quick 8 hour flight from Buffalo, which is just a quick 2 hour drive from Hamilton.)... pictured here, set against the Columbia River in Washington state. 
I've seen them in Toronto, Buffalo, New Jersey, Saratoga Springs, Pittsburgh, West Palm Beach, and Charlottesville. I've seen the Warehouse and been to Miller's, where myself and my DMB roadie buddy Lesley managed to get ourselves filmed in a DMB documentary.
We've met a ton of interesting people on our travels from all across Canada and the US and developed some great friendships. But no, I've never met Dave, or Boyd, Stephan, Carter, Tim or LeRoy (RIP), and no, Dave doesn't recognize me in the crowd at the shows or know I've been to that many shows - not that it would be a surprise, there are tons of fans who have seen DMB in the double digits, even into the triple digits.
I've got some great stories to tell and have started writing a book (or at least a blog) about my DMB road trips, so stay tuned.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
embracing Hamilton among other things ....
It's been about 7 months since we returned from our Canadian road trip, and since I've written anything on my blog. I'd previously, randomly written on my other blog The Space Between, which is mostly about music and bands I'd seen, and I started I'm Dig'n This so that our friends and family could follow along on our cross country journey. Without a DMB tour last year and our road trip done, I didn't think I had much to write about.
But recently, I've joined the Twitter'verse and have been inspired by the many blogs I've been reading. Especially a few about how much people love Hamilton and all of the neat stuff going on in this city. So, I got to thinking .... I too dig this city and as one of my friends recently informed me, I 'know all the cool places to go." Well, I don't know if that's entirely true, but I am, with my equally curious boyfriend, a bit of an explorer.
So, after that long intro, my point is that, I've been inspired to post more regularly about the things I (and Dave) dig.
I didn't always love Hamlton. It's true. I grew up in a small town an hour away and while I was in a hurry to leave at a young age, I swore I'd never live in Hamilton. But I was young, and Hamilton was still a cold, hard, un-cool steel town. Eventually, I decided to embrace the big city and settled on the Locke St. neighbourhood because the wide streets, big mature trees and old homes reminded me of the cozy, friendly town I grew up in.
I bought a great old home that has been completely renovated, from windows to wiring - however, it has its issues that will likely be the topic of future posts. It's full of vintage and collectible pieces that Dave and I (mostly Dave) have found - like an groovy orange lamp from TripleM. Dave always has a project or ten on the go, like a super cool headboard he made from an old storm window and ceiling tin.
The other thing that struck me to write something today was all of the tweets I've read about Family Day ... things to do, places to go, questions about what people are doing, and it got me thinking about how it's so (obviously) focused around spending time with kids. But, what if you're like Dave and I, and don't have any kids? Then what is Family Day all about? Sure, we have family - parents, brothers, sisters, in-laws, nieces and nephews whom we see often and will be doing their own family thing - what I'm saying is what does a couple without kids do on a day dedicated to 'families'? My gym All Canadian Fitness is offering a free Family Day kettlebell class with a donation to a women's shelter, which is a great idea, and a good example of how there are opportunities to think differently about the much needed, mid-winter break. Dave and I are going to go check out the Hot Chocolate Festival in Dundas, and indulge in a gourmet grilled cheese from Gorilla Cheese .... two, very cool Hamilton originals. enjoy your day.
But recently, I've joined the Twitter'verse and have been inspired by the many blogs I've been reading. Especially a few about how much people love Hamilton and all of the neat stuff going on in this city. So, I got to thinking .... I too dig this city and as one of my friends recently informed me, I 'know all the cool places to go." Well, I don't know if that's entirely true, but I am, with my equally curious boyfriend, a bit of an explorer.
So, after that long intro, my point is that, I've been inspired to post more regularly about the things I (and Dave) dig.
I didn't always love Hamlton. It's true. I grew up in a small town an hour away and while I was in a hurry to leave at a young age, I swore I'd never live in Hamilton. But I was young, and Hamilton was still a cold, hard, un-cool steel town. Eventually, I decided to embrace the big city and settled on the Locke St. neighbourhood because the wide streets, big mature trees and old homes reminded me of the cozy, friendly town I grew up in.
I bought a great old home that has been completely renovated, from windows to wiring - however, it has its issues that will likely be the topic of future posts. It's full of vintage and collectible pieces that Dave and I (mostly Dave) have found - like an groovy orange lamp from TripleM. Dave always has a project or ten on the go, like a super cool headboard he made from an old storm window and ceiling tin.
The other thing that struck me to write something today was all of the tweets I've read about Family Day ... things to do, places to go, questions about what people are doing, and it got me thinking about how it's so (obviously) focused around spending time with kids. But, what if you're like Dave and I, and don't have any kids? Then what is Family Day all about? Sure, we have family - parents, brothers, sisters, in-laws, nieces and nephews whom we see often and will be doing their own family thing - what I'm saying is what does a couple without kids do on a day dedicated to 'families'? My gym All Canadian Fitness is offering a free Family Day kettlebell class with a donation to a women's shelter, which is a great idea, and a good example of how there are opportunities to think differently about the much needed, mid-winter break. Dave and I are going to go check out the Hot Chocolate Festival in Dundas, and indulge in a gourmet grilled cheese from Gorilla Cheese .... two, very cool Hamilton originals. enjoy your day.
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