Day 6 of Vacation - The Good Times Had to End Sometime

Let me preface this with the first time I missed getting to see the Dave Matthews Band. After coming home from my freshman year in college, my roommate and schedule to see the Dave Matthews Band when we returned. My family lived in California and I was going to college in Missouri.

I didn't end up going back to college, so the tickets ended up going to my roommate and one of her friends. I missed the concert :-(

This concert was for my birthday in July. I was so excited to go...

I was dissapointed when I looked up the details of the concert. We had seats in the grass and it said we couldn't bring cameras or chairs.

Then, the day before the concert, we received an email from the head of the venue saying small chairs were ok and cameras without detachable lenses were ok. I was impressed...what great customer service. I planned on replying after the concert to let them know that I had never received an email from the venue so welcoming and helpful.

Now back to yesterday. Sis #1 and I drove 50 miles, which ended up being 3 hours, through Chicago traffic and rain to get to the venue. Parking opened at 5 and the concert started at 7. We got there right before 7, even though we left at 3:45.

We parked and then walked to the gate, about 1/4 of a mile, in the rain. We get to the gate...I'm holding an open umbrella, a jacket and my purse. The lady at the gate is patting me down and then asks to see my purse. I ask her to hold my umbrella so I could open up, and she says she's not allowed to hold anything. Fine! I get my purse open, and she says, "Is that a camera?" I reply yes and she tells me we have to walk to another gate to drop it off. I told her the email said we could have cameras without detachable lenses, and she said no.

So, in the rain, we walk to the next gate, around the pavillion, drop of the camera and get inside. The place is packed! There are booths of people advertising things, tons of beer, margaritas, etc. Nothing I could partake in since I was there with my 16 year old sister. Let me remind you, it's still raining.

We fight the crowds to get the the lawn. People are standing and have taken up any type of good seats. We finally find something and set up. Jurassic 5 is the preshow - nothing to write home about!

My sister is wearing a tank top, jeans and flip flops. She doesn't want her sweatshirt and doesn't want to share my umbrella, no matter how many times I ask her.

So we are waiting for the real show, sitting on a blanket in the rain...both of us our freezing. We are watching all these college kids running by with multiple cups of beer. Most running by are drunk or stoned. I'm hoping my sister doesn't notice....I think I was being naive. I saw down a little bit a group passing a pipe around, and just hoped that my sister didn't see it.

After an hour and a half of sitting in the rain, Dave Matthews finally starts. Everyone is standing up, so we can't see anything. Sis #1 says she doesn't want to stand up, she'll get tired. Finally, I get her to stand, and we still can't see...we are that far back. After a couple of songs (still raining and cold) Sis #1 is like, "What's that smell?" Great, I'm with her the first time she smells weed! That smell gives me a headache and makes me nauseous.

We are standing there, trying to see the concert, getting bumped by others, it's raining, we are both shivering, and my sister is covering her nose because of the smell.

After about the 4th song, and seeing how miserable my sister is, I ask her if she wants to leave, and she says yes. I'm dissapointed but don't want her to get sick since her graduation is Sunday.

We fight the crowd to get back, walk through mud and puddles to finally get to the main area. We find some security people to find where we can exit (because people are still coming through the entrances). The two security people are shocked that we want to leave and ask us why. We explain the rain, the cold, the people standing and the drunken and stoned fools going around. They say they are sorry and point us to the gate to exit.

We then begin our hour and a half trip back home in the rain, dissapointed that we missed a concert that our mom paid $100 for us to see.

What I don't get...one of my big pet peeves, is this:

I understand wanting to enjoy drinks. No problem. But why get drunk and stoned to see a concert? If you really like them and enjoy them, don't you want to remember the experience? Do you even like them enough to enjoy the even sober? I seriously felt like I was at a huge college frat party.

I'm still a little bitter. If I go again, I will make sure to get seats up close and not lawn seats.

Hopefully, our little blog meet tonight will be more fun and cure my bitterness. I know it will!