Simply put, it is not summer without the Dave Matthews Band.

It was July of 2000. My parents had let me go to my first DMB concert unchaperoned in Buffalo at the ripe age of 16. We waited on line at the Ticketmaster booth and prayed for tickets to be available by the time we got to the counter. It’s crazy how things have changed. I can still remember how incredibly happy we were to have those tickets in our possession.

Little did we know that this would be a life changing event.

I was with my best friend and our boyfriends, and we traveled 4 hours each way in her parents minivan. We were already hooked on the summer tour from the moment we pulled into the parking lot. I had already longed for the days we’d be able to party with the hundreds of fans tailgating. As soon as I heard the first drum beat of “Ants Marching” to kick off the show, I lost it. Like a needle to the vein, I was completely hooked. Tears were streaming down my face as the songs from the Lillywhite Sessions (which is now most of Busted Stuff) were played in front of my eyes and the Lovely Ladies graced the stage for songs like “Granny” and “Stay”. It started pouring and we weren’t even phased. The band felt the energy from the crowd and started playing “JTR”. It was like they told Mother Nature to “Rain…down on me”.

As soon as the show was over, I looked over at my friend who was crying. I asked her why and she said “I just wanted to hear Watchtower”

We knew that this had to happen every summer. 10 years later, that same boyfriend is now my fiance and we’ve made a pact that there would not be a summer without the Dave Matthews Band. It was a no-brainer: get the gang together, buy tickets, play nothing but DMB all spring to psych ourselves up, road trip for a few hours, buy some beer, set up a tent, rinse and repeat. The tour was like a magnet, it dragged us from wherever we were in the world straight to the lawn section of whatever venue were at.

In those past 10 years, we had been to shows all over New York and Pennsylvania. However, there is something to be said about the magic that occurs each summer at Saratoga Springs Performing Arts Center. Maybe it’s the giant state park where hundreds of people from all ages and walks of life come together for a day-long tailgate, jamming out all day blasting their car stereos (idiots…we’ll give you a jump after the show) drinking 30 racks of Keystone Light and smoking Swisher Sweets with no cares in the world. The actual shows are so energy-filled from the very first movement on the stage, totally immersed for 3 hours not thinking of anything other than what song they could possibly pull out next and being completely in the zone until Carter throws his drumsticks into the crowd after the encore.

Back to reality, the post-show depression begins, and withdrawal lasts until the band hints at their upcoming summer tour dates the following spring. We always thought it would be the same every year…until last summer.

I had decided that maybe it was time to take a break from the shows because lets face it - we’re getting old. What I hadn’t anticipated was that the band felt like they were getting old as well. Of course they got married and started families, and LeRoi was taken from us WAY too soon…but I was too jaded to think they would stop touring. Right before the tour was announced, we got a breaking news alert that the band decided they were going to take the summer of 2011 off. Say what?!?!! There was no way I was missing these last shows in 2010. The sense of urgency pulled me from the concrete jungle and into the wilderness, back to Saratoga for what I thought could be the last great summer with Dave.

Fortunately, the band loves their fans way too much to stay away. I guess the feeling is mutual. I’m incredibly grateful to be attending one of the DMB Caravan shows right here in New York City in August. It’s the first show that’s not a road trip away. And like all years past, I’ll spend the time leading up to the show getting my DMB fix and anticipating yet another epic night with the boys of summer.

“I never will forget those nights, I wonder if it was a dream” - Don Henley The Boys of Summer

-Jenn