No, not the days of Christmas… the days of DMB concerts at the Gorge I have been to. It all began back in September, 2002. Jason Squires hauled me up to the Gorge… at George… for three nights of DMB concerts. Little did we (or at least I) know, they were filming those three nights and putting out some DVDs and CD sets from the show. Those three nights were simply amazing… despite the fact that Dave’s voice was hoarse (I recall some people complaining that he should have cancelled the shows, but I thought it made the shows so REAL and so RIGHT). The third night that year was amazing. The encore consisted of Dave and Leroi performing Long Black Veil, then Dave, Stefan and Carter with an amazing (and my first) live rendition of Halloween (Carter was off the hook) then Trippin Billies with the whole band. Between Halloween and Trippin Billies, Carter went crazy. Weird, the 2002 shows are still so vivid in my head. Also was sweet that Squires and I stayed at the Best Western in Moses Lake, where the band stayed (well, Dave and Carter didn’t, but everyone else did). We saw Butch, Fonzy, Boyd, and Roi (it was his birthday) drinking in the bar after the show. Was cool… fans gave them there space.

So, three shows in 2002 at the Gorge. In 2004, I ventured back up to the middle of paradise for another three night set. This time, I was going with Gabe but something happened preventing him from going. Lenny and Katy Hihath journyed with me and we had a great time… even sat front row. The set lists don’t stick out in my head like the 2002 did, but it was absolutely wonderful. We had to drive like 70 miles after each night of concerts to get to our hotel (almost to Spokane), which kinda sucked, but the shows were great.

Ok, so 6 shows at the Gorge in 02 and 04. Why not keep the pattern? Yep, in 2006 (last year, duh) Gabe and I went up for the three nights. Shows not as amazing as 02, once again, but were great none the less. This was also the first year I experienced camping at the Gorge Campground. On Friday night, we stayed in that same hotel 70 miles away that Lenny and I stayed two years before. But, instead of making the drive again, we opted to hit up Walmart, buy a tent and some sleeping bags, and rough it. What a blast! We camped on Saturday night, had a great time. Then, Sunday night we drove back to Seattle right after the show so we could catch our early flight to San Diego on Monday.

Alright, so I broke the pattern this year and went to the Gorge in an odd year (07). And I am so glad I did, as it was just So Right! Gabe and I went up again and I saw my 10th, 11th, and 12th shows at the Gorge. Second night we were in 3rd row center… with no one in front of us do to how they lay out the rows. It was SWEET! All three nights we heard the new songs of the tour: #27, Dream So Real, Eh Hee, and Cornbread. While I was not a fan of Dream So Real, it got better each night. I was disappointed they opened both Saturday and Sunday night shows with it. Sunday was better, but the song just isn’t opener quality yet. Cornbread is my favorite of the new songs, but Eh Hee is amazing live, and #27 is catching on big time.

This trip we stayed where the band used to, but apparently doesn’t anymore. And despite looking, we couldn’t find where they stayed. Once we found this out, however, we decided to camp on night two. Luckily, we planned ahead and brought some of the camping gear just in case. We still had to drop a bill or two to get the rest of the camping needs (not convenient having a 2 check bag limit per person so we couldn’t bring it all — however, props to both Midwest Airlines and Frontier as they gave us an extra checked bag without charging us). Grilled some burgers, some filet, played some football, hung out, had some beverages, met some people from around this One Sweet World and had a great time. Third night, drove back to Seattle after the show… arrived at 1:30 Pacific this morning, got a room at the Days Inn by the airport (same !@*#hole as last year, avoid this place) and slept a whole 3 hours before we had to return the rental car and catch our 6:10 am flight back to KC.

Well, of the 12 shows at the Gorge, I loved ‘em all, but none as much as night three of 2002. But each year, new memories, new experiences. I can’t wait to head back up there in 2008 — can’t miss the even years! Oh, and it will be camping the whole time.

So now, I am tired, need some sleep. Just practiced Crash on the guitar, but need to rest so I can make my ops meeting in the morning and my doctor’s appointment at 1:30 tomorrow afternoon. I have a strange feeling today is my last day without meds for high blood pressure. Oh well, if meds will keep me in this life longer, I’m all for it. Then Friday, it’s off to Europe for a week. I love flying [PAUSE] not.

Peace.