It’s Labor Day weekend. The end of meteorological summer. It usually signals the end of the summer concert season. The problem is this year it never started. Like almost everything else, concerts were put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. If you wanted to hear music, you needed to break out your old discs, check out You Tube or go to wherever you find your tunes in 2020.

With almost all musicians on hiatus, artists tried to find a way to bring their music to their fans. You’d see a lot of bands streaming their old concerts. Yesterday, I received an email from Live Nation telling me what artists will be streaming music this weekend. The Dave Mathews Band has been doing this all summer. They’ve called it the DMB Drive-In series. Each show takes donations that benefit different charities. It’s a great idea that has raised more than $500,000. They’ll do three more shows this weekend before taking a break.

Seeing this reminded me of a day from almost two decades ago….

The year is 2002. The time is around 3 pm. I’m sitting at my desk in an office high over Michigan Avenue, in downtown Chicago. One of my co-workers is heading towards the door, with his jacket over his shoulder. It looks like he’s leaving work early. He has a big smile on his face and waves goodbye to me. I’m wondering what’s going on, so I wave him over. It leads to this conversation:

H: What’s up, man. What’s going on?
A: I’m leaving early. Got to get ready to go to see Dave Mathews.
H: Ahhh. That’s why you’re grinning?
A: I’ve been wanting to see them forever. In fact, I saved up so I can go to all their shows this week. You know they do different songs each night. It’s going to great.
H: Okay, have fun.
A: Really, it’s going to be great. I’m leaving early for the next three days.
H: (laughing) Okay..Okay…have a great time.

And the guy really did leave early for the next three days. When he returned the next morning, he’d walk in with a shit-eating grin on his face. By the way, I’m not knocking this. It’s great when anything you do can make you that happy. It makes your life so much better. I just didn’t get what it was about the Dave Mathews Band that did it!

At the time of that chat, DMB had been around for close to ten years. They had released five studio albums and had a reputation as a great live band. I was somewhat familiar with their music. I’d hear their songs on the radio and I wouldn’t immediately go searching for another station. The music was fine, but I didn’t think it was anything special. It didn’t make me want to search deep into their catalog of tunes. It certainly didn’t get into my soul. I did wonder what it was that made my co-worker full of such joy.

It’s close to twenty years later. The company we worked for is long gone. I have no idea where my former co-worker is. But, the Dave Mathews Band is still going strong…in fact, stronger than ever.

However, they still maintain that same space in my life. I know they’re around. I have no real issues with them, other than the incident where they dumped a ton of shit on people cruising the Chicago River ( and even with that, we’ve all heard worse stories about rock bands).

Then came this Rock and Roll Hall of Fame voting thing. For a couple of months, fans are allowed to vote on their favorites of the nominees for induction to the Hall. The final totals play a small part in who is actually chosen to be inducted. The Dave Mathews Band gathered more than one million votes. It was by the most of any candidate. They topped the second choice, Pat Benatar, by more than one hundred thousand votes. I know a lot of this is because the band has a huge presence of social media. They do a great job of reaching out to their fans. Still, the total of votes and the margin is astounding. Also astounding is that even with this, they weren’t elected to the Rock Hall. This is the first time that the leading fan vote-getter wasn’t elected. It’s led to a lot of protests from their fans.

So when you add all this together, it made wonder….what is the deal with these guys? What is it about DMB that I’m missing?

I decided to take a closer listen. I checked out their discography, found all nine of their studio albums, picked out a couple of songs from each one, some studio versions, others from different concerts. I went to You Tube to hear them. After a couple of hours, I still don’t get it!

The musicians in the band are technically good. Dave’s voice isn’t anything special, is it? The lyrics aren’t exactly Bob Dylan-like, are they? It wasn’t the worst way to spend a few hours, but I didn’t hear anything that moved me. Nothing that reached into my heart or soul.

I wasn’t done yet. I had to dig a little deeper. It was time to search for a Dave Mathews Band groupie cult member. Maybe Facebook has one? I asked, “What is it about DMB you like or dislike?” Here are some of the responses:

“Not exactly a hater, but don’t exactly love them either. And I really don’t understand the cult-like following they have.”
“I like a good amount of their songs, but don’t understand the cult following either.”
“They are so much better live than on record. When they jam it’s great.”
“Love, love his older music. I think it’s amazing. Saw him a long time ago, he was great in concert!!”
“I have been to 5 DMB shows, the last of which was ~15 years ago. I would love to see them still!! The fact that they incorporate horns, strings, etc. really made them fantastic live.”

Hmmmm….so a variety of opinions. Kind of like most other bands and artists. After all this, I still don’t understand the obsessions with DMB…and I guessing I never will. Ehhh….oh well.

Related Post: There are days you need to turn down the news and crank up the music

Type your email address in the box and click the “create subscription” button. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.

Since he started playing football as a youth, Kare’ Lyles said he has never been part of a losing season.

His accuracy and leadership helped Southern Illinois to the doorstep of the FCS playoffs last season, a 7-5 record and a spot in the national Top 25.

With SIU not playing this fall, Lyles missed out on a chance to play at Camp Randall Stadium near his family’s home in Madison, Wis.

In our latest installment of Moving the Chains, Lyles talks about his dream of being a sports talk superstar, admiring Petyon Manning and Dennis Rodman as a young athlete, why Indiana State’s uniforms fit his style and his love for burritos from a certain national restaurant chain.

What’s your dream job after college?

I’ve always wanted to be on TV. I’ve always wanted to be what (sports talk personalities) Colin Cowherd and Skip Bayless are. I can’t honestly think of a better job than getting paid $10 million a year and just talking about sports and debating with your other co-hosts. Having watched and listened to them, that’s my dream job after football.

What are your favorite sports teams?

When I was really young, I was a big fan of the Colts, and that was all because of Peyton Manning. I always looked up to him. Now, I don’t have a lot of favorite sports teams, but I look at different stars around sports and follow them. My favorite quarterbacks to watch are obviously Peyton, and I’ve started to warm up to Tom Brady. Russell Wilson and Drew Brees, Patrick Mahomes, Derek Carr and Aaron Rodgers all have something unique about them, and they’re the best of the best. The best quarterback story I’ve ever heard was Warren Moon. I was never able to watch a game of his, but I’ve watched every single documentary and highlights. He was fun to watch, and he was one of a kind.

Do you have a favorite sports jersey in your closet?

Kare’ Lyles

I have a Dennis Rodman Bulls jersey. It’s No. 91. Rodman may be my favorite basketball player ever. My dad grew up in Indianapolis, and basketball is big in Indiana. I played baseball, football and basketball growing up. Right before my first basketball practice ever, my dad said, ‘I can’t tell you how to play like MJ, Kobe or Lebron. But I can show you one guy who I’d be so proud if you played like.’ He showed me Rodman’s highlights, diving for loose balls and everything. I ran with it. I did not care about scoring. My highest scoring game in middle school basketball was 12 points. My highest rebounding game was 33. I always led the team in steals, blocks and rebounds. That’s all I cared about. I loved doing that.

If you could bring one restaurant from your hometown to Carbondale, what would it be?

There’s a place called Mickie’s Dairy Bar. It’s a hole in the wall, and it’s right next to Camp Randall Stadium. It’s cheap and they have very big portions. They have malts, shakes, huge pancakes that are amazing. Their corned beef hash is considered the best in Wisconsin. They serve these ridiculous portions of breakfast foods for like $6.

Other than Saluki Stadium, what’s your favorite place on campus?

My and my girlfriend always walk behind the student center, where there’s an area called Thompson Woods. We always walk that each night before the sun sets. We start by the stadium, go behind the student center and then get into the heart of campus. I love that area. When you’re not focused on being late to class (laughs) … you get to focus on the sunset and everything. It’s a beautiful campus.

Other than SIU, who has the best uniforms in the Missouri Valley Football Conference?

Southern Illinois quarterback Kare’ Lyles makes the 7-hour drives from Wisconsin to Carbondale frequently. (Photo by SIUSalukis.com)

I’m a blue guy, so I’d say Indiana State. It kind of reminds me of the blue that the Miami Dolphins and the Los Angeles Chargers wear. Any team in the country that has blue tops and white pants, I think that’s one of the best looks.

Who is the most inspiring people in your life?

I’ve got to say my mom, Annmarie. She’s an unbelievable person. Mothers are superheroes. She’s the smartest person I know. She got her PhD in nursing. She’s never gotten less than a B-plus in school. There was a time where my dad wanted to move back to Wisconsin when we were living in Arizona. She was a professor at Arizona State. Now she’s the nursing program chair at Herzing University in Wisconsin. There was a time where she had to work both jobs. I wasn’t really aware of this, but she worked both jobs for a year and a half. She’s always caring about other people. I love her because she’s my mom, but she’s definitely the most inspiring person in my life.

You make the 7-hour drive frequently from Madison to Carbondale. Do you have any favorite stops along the way?

I go two different ways – either to St. Louis and up north or to Marion and up. They’re both straight shots. It’s not the best sightseeing. But right near Illinois State, outside of Normal, there’s a Chipotle. I’m a diehard Chipotle fan. I always stop there if I have the time.