The more I explain, the less it makes sense. I’m self-aware enough to acknowledge the baggage that comes along with my Slint posters and vinyl collection, my stick-and-poke tattoos and ironic dad hats. I understand that I present as someone who would contribute nothing but sarcastic remarks (probably relating to the great Chicago River fiasco of 2004) when it comes to the topic of Dave Matthews Band’s smash hit Crash – but that’s where you’ve pegged me wrong.
I’m younger than 1996’s Crash, I wasn’t raised by jam-band-loving hippies, and at the time I first crashed into Dave Matthews, I hadn’t ever tasted the devil’s lettuce. And still, Dave Matthews Band’s Crash awakened something in me. Or, rather, it birthed something in me; something that wasn’t there before, but is now core to who I am as a music consumer, critic, and human being – a failsafe to keep me from climbing too far up my own behind.
It started, like so many confusing things, freshman year of high school. A nervous little boy, I had one love, one identifying personality trait that I held onto for dear life: my passion for music. Given the chance to go to a show – any show – I was an immediate yes. It didn’t matter if I’d never heard of anyone on the bill or if the ticket price drained a bulk of my babysitting revenue, I was in.
So when an uncle invited me to tag along to a Dave Matthews Band concert at Blossom Music Center, I had no follow-up questions. I threw down the money, talked my best buddy into doing the same, and made the 40-minute trip to the amphitheater. What awaited us was only known by God and Dave himself.
Put plainly, dancing in that grass to extended versions of songs I’d never heard before was a fucking blast. Despite being one of the few at the show uninebriated by any sort of intoxicating substance, I left the show buzzing.
Get Dave Matthews Band Tickets Here
I spent the next few weeks absorbing everything I could about the culture of Dave. I watched old interviews, fan-made comedy videos, and live bootlegs until I had strong opinions on which of their 85 (no, really, 85) live albums captured the band at their best. But while the most hardcore fans skewed towards obsessing over those recorded shows, I remained fixated on the recorded material. Primarily, Crash.
