The Quest to the Gorge

The first time I saw Dave Matthews Band was at Austin City Limits Festival two years ago. They played Saturday night, which as you may recall, was the day the rain made Dillo Dirt.


Chris has seen DMB some half dozen times prior, so as soon as we got to the Zilker on Saturday, Chris chose to camp out at AT&T stage and reserve a spot as close up as he could. Thus leaving me alone, in the company of my umbrella and my poncho.

I’m sure I saw 4-5 other bands on my own throughout the day, but the only one I really remember was the Decemberists, who played right before DMB, on the stage immediately across from theirs. After they finished, I trudged through the dillo dirt, in the dark, between the masses to try and get as close to the stage as I could. With that many people around, as soon as I could see them clearly on the jumbotrons, I was satisfied.


And that began my first DMB concert experience. But wait! After the first few songs, when I was just beginning to appreciate what a fun show they had, I turn to my left and who is standing RIGHT BESIDE ME?!?! Jackie! Out of 20,000 others, what are the chances I’d stop walking right besides her? Unbelievable! And of course, the show was amazing. I was hooked. And I completely understood why Chris wasted his whole day waiting at the stage to be that close.

So, now that I’d joined the fan wagon, I would gladly see them play more! Last summer we journeyed to Houston for a Friday night show, and then drove all night to Dallas for the Saturday night show. Both were amazing, and it was an excellent weekend.


Which brings us to this year. Dave had announced he was not doing a traditional summer tour, but rather they would celebrate their 20 years on the road with a four stop, three day festival, in which they would headline ALL THREE NIGHTS. Thus far they’ve announced the first show in Atlantic City, NJ and the second in Chicago, IL. Naturally, rumors are quickly spreading that they will close the caravan tour over Labor Day weekend at their favorite venue, The Gorge.

The Gorge is an outdoor amphitheatre right on the Colombia River Valley in Washington State. It’s just outside of Seattle, and is their favorite place to play.


After the Atlantic City lineup was announced, I knew we had to go. If a 3 night DMB show is not enough to justify the trip, the following artists surely are:



In my opinion, it keeps getting better. So I can’t help but speculate who will join them at Gorge.
Dispatch – also touring this summer… a similar fan base. However I don’t know if the dudes are friends or not. But seriously, that would be aaaamazing.
The Decemberists?!?!?! - I doubt Colin Meloy has very many friends, so this might be a long shot, but their Stubbs show is already sold out, so I’d also love to see them
Citizen Cope? – Their style fits right in with what they’ve got. Oh please, oh please, oh please!
Mumford & Sons!!!!! – Again, they would fit in!! But they might be overseas at this point. Drat.

Ah, the anticipation is killing me. Based on how confident the rumors are, Chris and I very close to just booking our airfare to Seattle for Labor Day Weekend. Plane tickets are already ridiculously expensive but they are only going to go up. And I really really want to go!!!!