Dave Matthews Band - Camden, NJ 6/30/2010

Rob Monkey and I had tickets for both nights of Dave Matthews Band shows in Camden, NJ - just across the river from Philadelphia, Pa. This was my first time seeing DMB in Camden since my very first show back in 2001.

I was kind of a "late bloomer" as far as becoming a DMB fan goes. Back in the 1990s when DMB was all over the radio, honestly and it may seem funny now, but I didn't like them back then. It wasn't until 1999 when I watched their performance at Woodstock on TV that I hopped on the DMB fan bus. They opened their set with "#41" which to this day is probably my favorite DMB track. It was that song that broke it all open for me. I started listening to other tracks I hadn't heard on the radio like "Rapunzel" and before I knew it the flood gates were open.

Actually Monkey and I visited the Camden venue to see Pearl Jam back before he was known as The Monkey on September 1, 2000. It was a good show even though we watched from the front of the lawn. Wow, I can't even think of a song they didn't play that night! I also saw The Black Crowes there along with Oasis in 2001. But, no matter the show I also remember the traffic and crowds were troublesome - to put it mildly.

My plan this time was to drive down to our hotel in Philly, and then take a taxi over and back to NJ both nights.

Night #1
We drove down from Easton, Pa, the afternoon of the first show. Thanks ML for letting me use the car! I picked up Monkey and then we hit the PA Turnpike after picking up some beers to keep in the hotel room for after-show chillin. We got to our hotel next to the Phillies' Citizen Bank Park about 3 p.m.


I did some quick perusing of taxi companies online and loaded my Blackberry with 3-4 phone numbers. I figured if we found the right cab driver the first night, we'd have a driver for the remainder of our stay.

We walked over to McFadden's at the ball park for dinner. It was kind of weird walking around down there as the Phillies were out of town and there was nothing going on at any of the stadiums or arenas. It was like a ghost town. I think there were only a handful of people in McFadden's, which on game day would be packed to the rafters.

After a grilled chicken sammy and a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, we tried Quaker City Cab Co. first on Monkey's suggestion, and that turned out to be a good choice. Joe picked us up, or as he came to be known "Joe Cab," which is how I entered his cell number in my Blackberry.

When Joe dropped us off, we agreed upon a pick-up spot for after the show and that turned out to be very beneficial.

I usually pick up a concert poster from the shows I attend provided I like the design. They're limited edition prints and some go for pretty good bucks on eBay. But, I get them to frame and hang in my lounge. I'm actually a little behind and have some from last year's shows still in their protective cardboard tubes.

That night's poster was a bicycle locked multiple times to a bike stand.


The following night's poster was it's mirror image in pink. They weren't horrible, but I didn't really see paying the money for something I felt kind of "eh..." about.

Hey, we found Walt's Bar!


We had really good seats the first night in section 100. I got a Victory Hop Devil and we listened to some of the opening act, Martin Sexton.


He was a little "twangy" for my liking, but not bad.

DMB's set started around sunset and they opened with "Squirm." One of my favorites from their latest album, but then I like every song on it. I will say that if I had to narrow it down to only two tracks from "Big Whiskey..." it would have to be "Seven" and "Squirm."


That night they played one of my favorite live tracks "Bartender" along with "Seven" and "Jimi Thing."


The only drawback to the show was this guy and his date who not only showed up late (DMB was a good 2-3 songs into their set), he was also super tall and blocked the view for many people to my right. During the show he also decided he was going to visit his buddies a few rows behind us by stepping over the seats. That's him in the photo below. For proportion, he was actually two rows in front of us, that's how tall he was!


And then after all that, they left early well before even the encore break. Stay home next time and save everyone some trouble! Rob thought he looked like Joey Ramone, but I said that's an insult to Joey Ramone!

Below are a couple videos I found on YouTube from that night's show posted by fellow attendees.

Bartender


Seven


Following the show, we walked out to the corner we agreed to meet Joe Cab. While we waited, the tour buses started leaving the venue with a police escort. I was surprised to see Dave and a couple band members in the front of each bus as it passed waving to the fans. They could have easily sat in the back, but there they were right in the front waving and smiling, it was pretty cool.

The video below is actually from the second night (yep got to see this both nights) and had we been able to cross the street in time, I probably could have gotten close enough to see their faces in the video. You'll have to take my word for it.



Joe Cab picked us up and he maneuvered us around the traffic. He took us over the Ben Franklin Bridge and then down 95 to our hotel. Joe Cab was a good find, thanks Monkey!

We talked about the show over some beers back at the hotel, and then called it a night about 1 a.m.

- Salud!