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Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Mailbag Unsatisfied Dave Matthews Band Customer
Posted by Grant Brissey on Wed, Aug 31, 2011 at 9:02 AM
DMB sucks a fat baby’s ass for playing at the Gorge the same weekend as B-Shoot.
There was a time when I was a huge Dave fan. No doubt he’s a talented artist who supports many causes around the globe. Unfortunately Dave misses the bus when it comes to think globally, act locally. Dave lives in Seattle. Every year he plays three shows at the Gorge in eastern Washington over Labor Day weekend. Labor Day weekend is when Bumbershoot takes place at Seattle Center. It’s an annual, local arts and music festival. Granted Labor Day weekend at the Gorge is a huge paycheck for DMB, Inc especially since the promoters have recently added a bunch of other bands to appear, creating their own Davefest. Dave can pick any weekend of the year to be at the Gorge (how about the 4th of July), after all he’s Dave Frigging Matthews, but he chooses to compete with a festival that’s nearly 40 years old and features local food vendors, artisans, performers and musicians. I no longer buy any of Dave’s CDs or merchandise. I would encourage all of you to boycott Dave until he begins to act locally.
3
So Dave should bow out of giving 40,000 people a good weekend and tell them to go listen to crap they normally wouldn't? Maybe Grant should be grateful to the amount of revenue DMB brings into the state of Washington and that LoVE is meant to be spread and shared.
6
im dubious of anybody who refers to him as "DAVE". i prefer his full name, dave "saxophone full of mayonaise" matthews.
13
@12 so what? It doesn't make any less lame. Fucking money-hating Seattle communists will never understand. Get back to your "Pro Tools" and your next "Big Hit".
15
Dear anonymous troll: You do realize this was a letter sent to us, no? You may want to work on your reading comprehension skills. Either way, I have to cut out early today. I'm mixing down theme music for The Communist Manifesto on ProTools. It's gonna be a big hit!
18
I think if I was going anyplace I would be happier to know I wasn't going to see Dave Matthews or his fans.
19
Wow, that's the whiniest letter imaginable. Of all the reasons to decide to be offended, this has to be one of the most spurious.
20
@9 It is annoying when people with no official power declare something officially over. What are you a Valley Girl who was elected to be Minister of Pop culture? There is as much meaningless hyperbole in someone calling for a boycott as someone declaring something officially over.
21
I didn't know bands can just pick their own dates to play mega-venues! This proves that U2 deliberately screwed up the MLB season by picking certain dates to bump teams out of their home stadiums. We're through the looking glass here, people!
23
I would prefer Dave Matthews to begin acting LESS locally. In fact, I've been boycotting him this whole time until he does so. I suggest YOU join ME.
24
Sugarswill34,
I was the whiney hippie/communist money hater who sent Grant the original post this AM and he was kind enough to post it. I also sent it to The Weekly, City Arts, Seattle Times and every radio station in Seattle. The good folks at KISW were the only ones who took the time to respond.
All I'm saying is that if you're an artist living in a community, you should support arts in that community. If you can't (or don't want to) play at the biggest arts and music festival that community has to offer, then have the decency not to hold you own festival 3 hours away during the same weekend. You don't see Soundgarden playing in Bellingham over Labor Day do you? This isn’t rocket surgery and yet Dave has done this for several years.
Dave has been asked numerous times by One Reel to play B-Shoot, but has declined every time. I suspect he's opted for a better paycheck and unfortunately the Seattle arts community is a casualty of that choice. The great irony, 20 years ago Dave would have killed for an opportunity to get a Saturday afternoon slot at B-Shoot.
So on Labor Day weekend while I'm taking public transportation to Seattle Center, buying food from local vendors and seeing bands who surpass Dave in talent and delivery, you'll be leaving the community in which you live, work and play, driving 150 miles to The Gorge to hear Dave and the boys jam on one of his 57 original tunes or play some cacophonic, mediocre cover of another band's hit while drinking an $8 bottle of water, not to mention waiting 30 minutes to pee or 2 hours to leave the parking lot after the show. But you probably bought your last Dave Matthews Band CD at WalMart.
I was the whiney hippie/communist money hater who sent Grant the original post this AM and he was kind enough to post it. I also sent it to The Weekly, City Arts, Seattle Times and every radio station in Seattle. The good folks at KISW were the only ones who took the time to respond.
All I'm saying is that if you're an artist living in a community, you should support arts in that community. If you can't (or don't want to) play at the biggest arts and music festival that community has to offer, then have the decency not to hold you own festival 3 hours away during the same weekend. You don't see Soundgarden playing in Bellingham over Labor Day do you? This isn’t rocket surgery and yet Dave has done this for several years.
Dave has been asked numerous times by One Reel to play B-Shoot, but has declined every time. I suspect he's opted for a better paycheck and unfortunately the Seattle arts community is a casualty of that choice. The great irony, 20 years ago Dave would have killed for an opportunity to get a Saturday afternoon slot at B-Shoot.
So on Labor Day weekend while I'm taking public transportation to Seattle Center, buying food from local vendors and seeing bands who surpass Dave in talent and delivery, you'll be leaving the community in which you live, work and play, driving 150 miles to The Gorge to hear Dave and the boys jam on one of his 57 original tunes or play some cacophonic, mediocre cover of another band's hit while drinking an $8 bottle of water, not to mention waiting 30 minutes to pee or 2 hours to leave the parking lot after the show. But you probably bought your last Dave Matthews Band CD at WalMart.
25
Ross Reynolds talked about Dave's competition with B-Shoot on The Conversation on KUOW
http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=24415
http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=24415
27
DMB attracts all those wankers who wear the same Abercrombie crap and bend their ball caps so they look like ducks and his music all sounds the same to me BORING...Go Bumbershoot!!
30
I don't know what's more whiniest, this letter or those who still say "did you know that Bumbershoot was free?" Yes, I did know that and I don't care if it costs between 25 and 40 dollars now because pretty much everything else costs something especially after some 30 plus years.
And then sometimes I like to point out to them that their favorite oldie or whatever band (rolling stones, DMB, etc) are now taking upwards of $100 of their money for general admission tickets.
And then sometimes I like to point out to them that their favorite oldie or whatever band (rolling stones, DMB, etc) are now taking upwards of $100 of their money for general admission tickets.
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