This LoVE Will Open Our World
May 13, 2015 is right around the corner! The first date of the 2015 Summer Tour!
The excitement is becoming palpable. It is beginning to simmer... Getting closer every day to the boiling point! The DMB fan sites are listing the tunes they are hoping to hear. There are contests to be won, tickets to be bought, reservations to be made and gatherings held at every venue.
We here at DBTP have our contest (check it out). The Dmb Warehouse is gearing up to send out the Membership Packages ( exclusive CDs, a portable phone charger, a ticket collector album) and an announcement dropped this week from the site Dave Matthews Band confirming once again, that collections will be held for non perishable food items to feed the hungry at the venues again this year.
For those that are new to the DMB sites and have never seen a show - this is a great night of music and a show you'll not soon forget. For those who are DMB followers - the die-hard, loyal, often accused obsessed fans - These shows are the pinnacle of their year.
Yes, when it's finally time for the Summer Tours, it's not just a concert for many of the fans. It has become a type of reunion, a time when fans connect, sometime for the first time- after corresponding all year on a site or sometimes it's the one and only time, all year that they get to see each other. Fans discuss setlists, favorite songs, how certain tunes have effected them. But most of all they develop a connection, a kinship, with each other that is bonded by the music of DMB.
Over the years, something has become more and more evident. This group has heart.
This group has a LoVE and an openness to the world around them that is very special. In the world we live in today, it is comforting, and it is important to realize that special things are happening within this group of DMB fans.
This is what is important to know:
There are some fans who get together and make a music experience happen for those with medical challenges. They pay for transportation, tickets for two and special seating for the show.
There is a group of DMB fans who have pooled resources to help those who lost their job and can't make ends meet. They helped a family who lost everything in a fire. They are putting into action the lyric "when you give, you begin to live".
They support one another in their creativeness ... Some make jewelry, design t shirts and bags. There are fans who post drawings, home decor, lighting fixtures, lyric plaques that they sell (and then give the proceeds to charity) This group of fans supports one another like a family.
A story was shared recently about a fan driving through his hometown, running errands on a cold, misty morning. Of course DMB music was coming from the car speakers. As he drove, he spotted a fire dancer bumper sticker on the car he had parked next to. He searched the glove compartment and wrote a note on the windshield inviting the driver to a fan site and hoping to "see ya there!"
A fan diagnosed with cancer recently was recovering from a life changing surgery. When the visiting nurse came to her home to help in her care, the first thing the nurse said as she entered her home was " I saw a DMB bumper sticker on the car in the driveway! Who is the Dave Matthews fan?" The patient said weakly, "I am." They immediately had a connection and talked about the band for a hour before they even discussed medical issues.
It is rare, to have a group, connected, entwined and so in tune with one another. This summer at every venue, there will be LoVE in the air, there will be songs sung from the heart and there will be sense of togetherness that is not seen very often today. So let the countdowns begin, and the planning start. For Life is Short But Sweet For Certain.
LoVe, LoVe, what more is there...