The first song was "Crush".

"Tripping Billies" was unbelievable and sent a rush through the audience.

Yes, Carter Beauford was a god and is the coolest drummer ever.

Stefan Lessard is the yum (okay, magaling din siya mag-bass haha).

The only word to descibe Boyd Tinsley, the fiddler, is pyrotechnic, and the way he would prance around the stage like a crazy ball of energy reminded me of a satyr.

The instrumentals were at least 5 minutes each.

Plenty of jamming.

The entire audience sang along to every, single song (except "Sister", because it was a solemn moment).

We got in line at 3 PM and waited for 3 and a half hours. We we're one of the first 50 people, me, Mio, Lars, Den, Sacha, Andee, Erwin, Thel, Fiona, Den's boyfriend (how do you spell his name?), Lucy, Len, Len's brother, and Gutsy.

We were the lone group of 15 Pinoys lumped together in the line. We sat on the ground sharing food, swapping magazines and newspapers, taking naps, and watching the sky get dark. At 6 PM, the gates opened.

I would like to note the presence of many obnoxious-American types. The loud, proclaiming type. The kind that shouts "We are American, and we are here to see Dave Matthews" when they're not one of the first to be let in. Geez. Shut up, kid. This is not about you being American. Besides, venue rules state that any handbags, and egos, bigger than the standard A1 size should be left in the cloakroom. Opened beverages and bad attitudes should be disposed off in the rubbish bin before entering the Hordern Pavillion.

Anyway...

As soon as they scanned my ticket, I made a dash to the front. We were about a meter and half away from the stage. Not close enough to touch Dave's hand, close enough to say we were really close. Close enough to have to fend off T-rexes trying to elbow you out of the way and take your space.

The lights dimmed. The audience cheered. The lights went bright again. False alarm. Boo. A few minutes later, the sound techs left the stage, the lights really dimmed, and we waited for the front act.

As we waited for Xavier Rudd to start performing, a man came on stage. He was very inconspicuous, average looking, averagely dressed, had no spotlight on him, and even passed behind the drumsets. He went up to one of the side mics, and started speaking before anyone actually figured out who he was.

I think everyone was a stunned for a second when they realized that Dave Matthews had come out to introduce his front act. When my brain started working again, my first impulse was to scream, "I LAV YOOOO!!!", in a very Pinoy way. I know he heard it. Everyone did. I have it on video.

Xavier Rudd was very cool. He basically sounded like a techno Pinikpikan or Joey Ayala, except the only other band member he had was a back-up drummer, and he played all 12 or so instruments all by himself. He plays a mean didjeridoo (note to Pinoys: didgeridoo- a native, Aboriginal instrument made out of a naturally hollowed-out tree branch. Produces a deep, haunting sound that sounds like it's coming from the belly of the earth.)

But I couldn't wait for DMB, and sort of zoned out through Xavier's set. So great was my anticipation that I cried when I heard the first few notes of "Crush", and cried again during the instrumental.

What's amazing about DMB is that all the members are these high-caliber, flamboyant musicians- except the front man! Dave has this disarming ordinariness onstage. He's so human, totally average in every way. As a singer, he's not a virtuoso, but the beauty lies in the expression and the individuality in his singing, and the passion and honesty in his song-writing. His band members are more flamboyant than he is, but that doesn't mean to say he has no stage presence. Anyone would feel compelled to listen to anything that comes out of his mouth. When he told the audience to please be quiet and listen when he played "Sister", the audience stayed quiet. God, I love him! He has this one funny facial expression he makes all the time, and he loves to deliver his spiels in that deep, growly voice he uses in "The Last Stop".

Because I'm such a geek, I wrote down his playlist:

1) Crush
2) Nobody knew the name of this song. Some guy beside me whispered that it was "Seatbelt", but I can't seem to find anything on it.
3) Tripping Billies
4) Dream Girl
5) Jimi Thing
6) Lousiana Bayou
7) Sister (acoustic)
8) So Much To Say
9) Too Much
10) Dancing Nancies
11) ???
12) Don't Drink The Water (collaboration with Xavier Rudd)
13) Down By The River (collaboration with Xavier Rudd)
14) Ants Marching

Encore:
1) Grave Digger
2) ???
3) Stay (Wasting Time)

To my disappointment, he didn't play Rapunzel, Lover Lay Down, and Grey Street. But that's okay because I'm watching him again next year when he comes for the Bluesfest.

I bought a very overpriced t-shirt, that turned out to have a rip in the armpit when I checked it the next day, but oh well.

And here are my videos:

1) Dave's surprise entrance (hear me shriek "I Iav yooooo")


2) Crush Instrumental (cry cry cry haha)



3) Ants Marching instrumental where my camera ran out of memory