Concert at the Gorge (George, WA)

I really like the Dave Matthews Band; I have from the first time I heard them. I would say that Erik LOVES the Dave Matthews Band. So much that at times I’ve thought “Enough, I’m going to go crazy if I have to listen to one more DMB song!” It turns out that the band loves to spend Labor Day weekend in the practically nonexistent town of George, Washington (ha ha) playing three consecutive concerts at the Gorge Amphitheatre. With Erik’s birthday on September 4 (usually over the Labor Day weekend), what a great gift but tickets to one of the shows! Even better, old friends, Fred and Kim are now living in Eastern Washington so they got tickets too and met us there. Here is a photo of the Gorge that I found online so you can see what a cool venue it is:

It was about a three and a half hour drive from Port Orchard (where we left the kids with Erik’s parents). Once we crossed the mountains the weather was beautiful and sunny! We got passes for the campground and waited for Fred and Kim. Once we could drive in together our quest for a camping spot began. The place was a complete and utter zoo! There were plenty of people left over from the Friday show and there was zero order (park in rows? Don’t be ridiculous!). We finally found a spot near the back cow field which was actually close to one of the few remaining road-sized paths in the humongous field used for camping. Lots of hanging out, drinking, snacking, talking, etc.

Finally it was time to head over to the concert. Silly me, I was just following Erik and Fred as Kim and I chit chatted almost the entire hike over to the amphitheater. Also realize that at this time 1) it is still light out and 2) everyone is migrating to the same location. This will become important later. At the show we parted ways because Erik and I had tickets in a different section. AWESOME tickets I might add—the fourteenth row! I could see everyone on stage with my own eyes! Totally clearly, it was great. I was so bummed though because I realized that they didn’t care if you brought small cameras. I don’t know if that is the band’s policy, or all concerts are like that because they have given up trying to keep cameras out. I remember reading the rules and seeing “no professional cameras” which made me wonder if that meant you could take small cameras, but I wasn’t going to risk getting my camera confiscated. So I was kicking myself as everyone around me whipped out their cameras for cool shots. And they are all lazy because I can’t find ANY of those photos on the web yet. I stole a few shots from the DMB fan site; they are from concerts earlier this summer:


Before the show began they played some old Beastie Boys. I was laughing and asking Erik, “I wonder how many people here are too young to know what this music is?” Then I about died when, during the concert, they performed a cover of “Sledgehammer”! One of my least favorite Peter Gabriel songs, but they did a great cover of it. Again though, how many people didn’t know what that song was? It also seemed very fitting since the last really great concert we went to happened to be Peter Gabriel, so we had been reminiscing a little about that earlier in the evening.

The show was simply incredible. I thought I liked DMB before, but they are so much better live! I can see why they have such a following. However, I don’t see how people AFFORD to follow them, those tickets weren’t cheap! There was a couple sitting behind us who had flown in from Minnesota and were going to all three nights. Wow! It would be kind of cool though because they perform completely different shows each night of the weekend. It amazes me how much good material they have to choose from. Here is the set list from our show (again, thanks to the DMB fan site):

08/30/2008
Dave Matthews Band
Gorge Amphitheatre
George, WA

Dreaming Tree *
One Sweet World *
Stay Or Leave *
Two Step *
The Song That Jane Likes *
Grey Street *
Louisiana Bayou *
Out Of My Hands +
Sugar Will *
Jimi Thing *
Sledgehammer *
Pantala Naga Pampa *
Rapunzel *
Stolen Away On 55th & 3rd *
Crush *
So Much To Say *
Anyone Seen The Bridge *
Too Much *

Encore:
Sister ~
Hey Hey My My (Into the Black)
Stay (Wasting Time) *

Special Guests:
* Jeff Coffin
+ No Horns, Dave on piano
~ Dave, Tim, Carter and Rashawn

After the show Erik and I waited in line to buy shirts and then started our trek back to the campground. Note to self: take a flashlight next time you go to the Gorge. It is DARK out there! And once you get to the campground it is extra dark and everything looks the same. And it’s huge. I was with Erik and he has an amazing sense of direction. But I remember stifling a feeling of panic as we seemed to roam endlessly around searching for our campsite! We finally got back around 12:30. I saw a lantern out and yelled “We’re here!” But no one else was there. Hum. To make a long story short (oops, too late), Fred and Kim had decided to race each other back to the campsite. Unfortunately Kim took a wrong turn and got lost! Of course she didn’t have her cell phone on her. I waited at the campsite in case she arrived there while Fred and Erik went on the hunt. Amazingly enough, they found her! Praise the Lord for cell phones! I can’t imagine how completely frightening that must have been. I know I would have lost it—they didn’t get back to the campsite until 1:30.

After a freezing night with bad camping gear (ergo, hardly any sleep) we packed up bright and early to start our trek back to Port Orchard. On the way out we stopped at the scenic overlook to get a photo (self-portrait). I was thinking if we had been smart we would have stopped on the way there—I must have looked better twenty hours earlier.Hopefully we'll be heading back to the Gorge again, it was great.