Today on the way home, I got a little angsty about iChip and put DMB’s Central Park Concert on shuffle. If you’ve been around the Sparkle Pantsosphere during the summer season, you know that at some point, I pitch an enormous spaz because OMGWTFBBQ IT’S TIME TO SEE DMB RIGHT NOW OMGWTFBBQ WAREHOUSE CONFIRMATIONS and so on. The only good thing about summer, as far as I’m concerned, is that DMB unleashes their excellence on hordes of devotees the nation-wide and for about three hours, I’m allowed to forget about everything wrong with my life and the world and can party with 20,000 strangers who are having just as much fun as I am. Last summer marked probably the most memorable DMB experiences of my life: Atlanta and Raleigh, two outstanding shows [the Atlanta show is on CD and DVD] that left me on a high for at least a month. The shows were about two weeks apart, with Atlanta falling first. It was the first time The BFF and I visited Atlanta (being in the airport doesn’t really count, does it?). We got there at night and freaked when we saw the enormous signs warning travelers of delays over the weekend for several big events, one of which was the DMB show. It was insane and we almost died of heat stroke but I daresay it was worth it. The band put on an amazing performance. Raleigh was pretty much a repeat of Atlanta, only with half as many people and less standing around broiling all afternoon long (and also there were margaritas in Raleigh).

If you hate DMB or have never been to one of their shows or have been to one of their shows and were unimpressed, then you’ve probably already stopped reading, so I can just plunge ahead and say that there’s nothing like being in the middle of a crowd that can drown out Dave’s vocals or those few insane, intense, nerve-wracking moments before the band starts the first song. Or any song. What will they play next? Will we get the stop-time intro? Will we get Anyone Seen the Bridge between So Much to Say and Too Much or two other songs? How much will Dave change the lyrics to Typical Situation? Will we finally get Last Stop? So much anticipation, so much good good fun.

The time is drawing near. We’ve submitted our suggestions for opening acts. It’s the end of February now, which means they could release the tour dates any. freaking. day. A lot of people don’t understand it and that’s fine, as long as they let me do my thing and enjoy those few precious hours a year where I am truly, thoroughly happy. So get ready, y’all. Summer’s coming!