Every day should be a good day to die

The lyrics of "You Never Know" sure are taking on a different meaning this week. Actually, I think I've always understood the meaning of this song, but it's really tough to listen to right now. At the same time, this all gives me a better appreciation of life and I can't get enough of the song.

There are lots of stupid comments out there about the future of the Dave Matthews Band. Listen ... no decisions need to be made right now. If they continue with the tour, I'm sure this is their way of heeling. If they complete the album they were working on, they're probably doing it for LeRoi. If they cancel concerts and scrap the album and then take a break ... or even break up for a few years, then that's fine. Just let the band do what it wants to do. Everyone copes with death differently, so just let them be. We can all agree that DMB will never be the same, but LeRoi can live on forever in their music ...

It'll never be the same...

I'm at a loss of words right now after hearing that LeRoi Moore has passed away. There's part of me that hopes it's just a rumor, but when more than one source has it, it's likely true. I keep thinking right now about how I was actually at his last show ... he seemed to be enjoying himself more than previous tours. For now, though, the DMB world is in mourning.

#16: Victory Stadium, Roanoke

It's very, very hard for me to put a 1998 show this low on my list, but a bad crowd, a horrible venue, a bad time of day and a setlist with strange songs (that would basically become classics and my favorites that same summer) all contributed to the April 18, 1998 show at Victory Stadium in Roanoke landing in this spot.

Here's a look at the set, which today looks pretty cool:

Jimi Thing
Satellite
Pantala Naga Pampa ...>
Rapunzel
Stay
Two Step
Crush ^
Lie In Our Graves
The Stone
The Last Stop
Typical Situation
Pig
Too Much
Don't Drink the Water
Tripping Billies
Encore:
Crash Into Me
So Much To Say

Notes:
^ Miss You was an outro sung by Dave. It’s the only appearance of the Miss You outro.

The night before the show, several college friends and I drove to Roanoke to stay in the now-defunct Howard Johnson. The next morning, we made an early trek to the gates -- this was a general admission show, so of course we had to be there several hours before it started. When the gates opened, there I was at the front. And then we waited for a few hours...

The show started at 2 p.m. with Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise. Um... I guess you could say they were OK. At 3:15, Bruce Hornsby came out and sang a few songs. He was, um ... disappointing. That's just the way it is, I guess. Then around 5 p.m., finally ... here they come ... my first ever full-band concert and they opened with one of my favorites, "Jimi Thing."

Then the crowd turned stupid. There were lots of people pushing, there was crowd surfing ... it was ridiculous, so after a few songs, I moved to the side, where the sound pretty much sucked.

There's really not too much else to say about this show. Since it started at 5 p.m., I thought maybe they'd have an extra long show, full of the yet-to-be-released songs off "Before These Crowded Streets" and their other classics to date, but it just didn't happen. It was just a regular-length show. I didn't really have a bad time, but it wasn't great either. I'll always be appreciative of the fact that I heard the song debuts of "Rapunzel," "Stay," "Crush," "The Stone," "The Last Stop" and "Pig." But with all the other elements, I just can't rank this show higher on the list. It's kind of strange considering how high the other 1998 shows are ... that you'll eventually read about.