The Whole Shebang ~ Another Gavin DeGraw Weekend (A SummerFun Chapter)

I can't wait to visit this venue in Hyannis again.

 It was a rather epic weekend.  Road trip to Massachusetts, 3 concerts, visiting my daughter, meeting lots of friends.  Days later, it's all jumbled together in my head:  one whole shebang*.

The week had started out with some disappointing news ... my daughter (a restaurant manager) would have no time off while I was in Boston because it was restaurant week.  She would not be able to go to the concerts either.  She indulges me once a year.  And this year I'd purchased meet and greets for us both.  I had my heart set on her meeting Gavin DeGraw so she'd know first hand what I know--how genuine and lovely he is in person.  I called the hotel and cancelled three of my five nights and regrouped.  I knew Phyllis had tickets for some of the same shows and was so happy when she agreed to travel with me for the three days.  I was still hoping for a last minute reprieve for my daughter too ...

The drive was slow ... an hour to get over the George Washington Bridge alone.   Texting with my daughter as we went, she confirmed she was working at both restaurants until past midnight.  I told her we'd be drop in to The Marliave for a late lunch to see her and would miss her company at the concert.  And that is how Nicole came to join us at the Blue Hills Pavilion harborside in Boston.  Let no ticket go unused ...


Nicole met us at the hotel after lunch and we had drinks first near the venue, then off to find our seats.  Seated shows are much more relaxed ... you can arrive at a reasonable time and there's no pressure to find the perfect spot up front.  Our seats were in the second row on the right side.  Nicole was right behind us, a row or two away.  They weren't perfect even though they were close.  The venue is really big and we were rather off to the side.


Andrew McMahon went first and I found myself enjoying him more as each show went by.  Gavin was going second again and I wondered if I'd ever see him close--Matt Nathanson had the final spot again. But Gavin was perfect.  The band was perfect.  The effects were beautiful in that setting under the white canvass dome--the lights were spectacular.   While the crew was setting up for Matt Nathanson, we decided to visit the bar.  We were still standing in the back when Matt came out but we weren't in a hurry to get back to our seats.  And that is how we came to have a nice chat with Billy Norris and David Maemone from Gavin's band.  I'm acutely aware of how much on the  older end of Gavin's demongraphic I am when I get the chance to speak to his band members.  Billy was pretty excited about the new song, Fire, and said he felt it had a good shot at decent radio play.  I so hope he's right.  I've only heard it one time in my radio market, though.  I so don't understand how radio programming choices are made ... but that's a ramble for another time.   We spent all of Matt's set hanging out in the back, talking and wishing others from the band would also put in an appearance.  It was good to run into other fan friends too.  We bumped into Billy and David again as we were waiting for a cab.  Fantastic seeing Nicole again ... it had been a long while.  After that, off to a midnight dinner with my daughter at a favorite late-night spot:  Lucca.  Prosecco goes with a cheeseburger, no?

Late-night uploading and trolling of twitter news led to a late morning but soon enough we were on the road again--this time to Hyannis on Cape Cod.  The Cape Cod Melody Tent is a kind of historic venue.  It's one of the last remaining tented venues in the country.  Formerly known as the Cape Cod Melody Circus, it does indeed resemble a circus tent.  We arrived early with a few hours to kill so we found the beautiful harbor and a coffee shop where we lingered for a long while watching the ferries arriving and heading out again for Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and Provincetown.  It was a beautiful day with bright blue skies.  We strolled along the waterfront, killing time and coveting the yacht's--at least I was. I would love to live on the water.  My ideal home is a houseboat.  I suppose that's odd for someone who lived through an inland hurricane.

So interesting to see from every angle.

The venue was just down the road and we couldn't believe our good fortune when we realized we were so early, they had us park in the first row of cars, opposite the tour buses.  There was, however, a lot of security so it was apparent there was no chance to say hello--no bus rendezvous.  We had meet and greets tongiht anyway so we didn't linger.  I was entranced with the Melody Tent.  The stage is dead center in the tent and it revolves.  It's kind of tiny compared to other stages I've seen these performers on.  Everything was exposed ... cables, lighting.  But the setting was so intimate.  We were in the fifth row and it felt like the front row.  We could almost touch the stage.

The meet and greet went by all too quickly.  I'm pretty sure I was incoherent but Gavin was lovely as always.  Warm, wonderful, devastatingly personal--I was definitely incoherent.  I should never do these paid meet and greets.  I'm much more in control when I just happen to be in the same place and happen upon an opportunity to say hello.  No nerves, no anxious practicing.  I really should never do a commercial meet and greet.  Definitely not.

Andrew's set was still going on when we found our seats again.  And then Gavin played the middle spot yet another time.  We decided locale played a role in the order of performance.  Gavin is from New York but Matt grew up in nearby Lexington.  The experience of the revolving stage made the performance that much more interesting.  It was exciting, particularly, to see the drummers from behind.  How often do you get to see what's happening behind the kit?  If I was in awe of all that coordination before, I now marveled at it.  It's how I feel about organists too.  Coordinating hands and feet, playing different rhythms yet completely in sync ... how does the brain keep it altogether?

This was probably my favorite of the six performances I saw this summer.  The stage was so short we were on level with the performers.  The stripped down set and simpler lighting provided perhaps a less visually exciting backdrop but enabled me to be purely wowed by the guys and their music.  We've been so lucky with front row lately ... but that means you never can fully see the whole band.  With the stage revolving, I was able to view and appreciate each performer and the group as a whole.  They're all so enormously talented and dynamic ... Gavin, Billy Norris, James Cruz, David Maemone, Travis McNabb.


With Matt Nathanson closing the show, Phyllis and I decided to wander a bit during his set.  Our favorite band seemed to be wandering a bit too.  I had the nicest chat with David.  Watching him play makes me want to play again.  Not that I ever played much written in the last 100 years ...  and my ability to accompany isn't great and I have no improvisational skills whatsoever.  My repertoire trends more to Brahms and Chopin.  Anyway, I told him that and we talked about how it's never to late to start--or start back.

Matt's set was as engaging as ever.  The hilarious way he interacts with audience members surely qualifies him as a comedian as well as a musician.  The audience unleashed its "inner Whitney Houston" and got the "synchronized clap" down.  We stood watching from a spot at the back of the tent.  Another perspective of the revolving experience.

The drive back to Boston went by quickly as post concert drives generally do.  We stopped at the hotel to post pictures and then out for drinks at 1 AM with my daughter.  Late-night rendezvous's were nice ... I still wanted more time with her, though.

But we were on the road once again after only a few hours' sleep on Monday.  Show No. 3 was in Pomona, NY.  The drive was uneventful until we hit bridge traffic.  Damn those NY bridges.  This time it was the Tappen Zee--you know, my favorite bridge.  Not.

So by the time we reached the hotel, there was barely time to change and head off to the venue.  Except that the venue was new and my GPS is old.  It was clueless.  After a few moments of panic I remembered my phone.  We were only 15 minutes away.  Tonight's venue was a minor league baseball stadium in Rockland County.  It was really big and there weren't many people there yet.  When the merch table finally opened, I requested one of the 5 meet and greets that were for sale at the start of each event.  I was the only shopping for that tonight.  They'd sort of stopped advertising them and I suppose local folks didn't know about them.  My resolve to never again buy a meet and greet lasted less than 24 hours.

Lots of meeting and greeting.  I wonder sometimes
if he tires of this, although he's personal and appreciative
of everyone he meets.  I was at the end of the line.

It was a big group.  There were radio M&G winners, venue winners and those of us who'd paid.  My favorite radio station was there--WPLJ from New York.  I was still in line to say hello to Gavin when Andrew McMahon's set concluded.  As he walked past me, I smiled at him and told him he had a new fan.  And received a spontaneous hug and kiss.  It was the last night of the SummerFun tour and he was getting on the road for home immediately.  When it was finally my turn, I thanked Gavin--only slightly less incoherently than the previous night ... for all the fun we all had had during SummerFun.  He autographed another album cover for me.  They're all signed now except for Chariot.  So I may need to do one more of these ... and then I'm done.  Really.

We never expected to be near the front tonight. It was general admission and we all had M&G's so we were pretty sure the front would be crowded by the time we found our way back from the far off spots where these things take place.  But there we were again.  Not quite front row but within two or three people from the stage.  Gavin was closing tonight which I think was appropriate.  His show is "showier" and he's from upstate New York, a couple of hours away.

Drone overhead.  Why?

I always wonder if I'll get tired of the same show but there is something different about each one.  The place, the people, the circumstances all add up differently every time.  Tonight we were treated for no known reason to a flyover by a drone.  My first drone sighting.  Matt, of course, used that opportunity to make us laugh again.  Then later on, he got pretty serious.  There were some young people in the crowd who were completely devoid of any semblance of concert etiquette.  So he stopped mid-song and "schooled them."  And not just a little admonishment.  A full-on lecture.  I felt so bad for him.  They were rude and disruptive and it was the last night of a pretty fantastic tour.  I hope he's forgotten all about it--I'm sure he has.  He's got to be really happen about this time on the road.  He made many new fans, me among them.

The crew switched out the sets and the sun completely set and then the fog rolled across the stage.  Shadowy figures took their places.  That oh-so-familiar introduction and then Leading Man.  We were so close to the speakers.  I could actually feel James's bass reverberating in my bones.  Chariot, Sweeter, Heartbreak, Follow Through, We Belong Together.  I wanted him to slow down.  Talk more.  Make the night last longer.  Best I Ever had, Where the Streets Have No Name, Everything Will Change.  After the third or fourth song, security told us to put our cameras away.  They were no longer allowed.  It was an odd request and we later think he misunderstood his directions.  The Yapert Photo contest winner is allowed in the press area for three songs for up-close photos.  Just three songs though--but that pertains to just that person.  So I dutifully ditched the camera, closed my eyes and just let the music close in on me.  Radiation, Rich Girl, Soldier.  Please, please slow down this night ... I could hear my inner pleading above the crowd noises.  Finest Hour, I Don't Want to Be and then a dark stage.  But you know it's not the end.  And he doesn't make you wait too long.  Three encores tonight:  Make a Move, Fire and of course, Not Over You.  And then they are gone.  We can see them walking across the field to their waiting buses.  I make my way back up to the merch table to pick up my M&G momento for tonight (the day-of M&G package has different stuff).

Back at the hotel, we invaded Victoria's room with junk food, pizza and wine.  We talked about tonight, past nights, memories from years' past, the band and began speculating on winter shows.  I realized it was the first time since late last year that we had no dates for which to plan.  I couldn't do an all-nighter tonight though.  I had to be at work the next morning.  Back in our room, we uploaded pictures and talked more before drifting off.  After a few hours' sleep, we were back on the road.  I was in a haze of happiness--that post concert high times three (or six or eight if we count Joey DeGraw's shows too) and I was afraid I wouldn't come down even when I reached the office.  It was a pretty short ride to my house even with a coffee stop.  I didn't want to say goodbye to Phyllis because that would mean this memorable road trip would truly be over.  So our odyssey ended around 7 AM and I was actually early to work.  I came off my cloud to the mundane reality of an endless to-do list.

But in the back of my mind, I was reliving it all.

~~~~~

*We are the champions
Setting it off again
Oh we on fire
We on fire
Running our own campaign
Doing the whole shebang
Oh we on fire
We on fire
~Gavin DeGraw, Fire

Boston - Briana's video of Follow Through
Cape Cod - Briana's video of Heartbreak.  She was sitting right next to us so this was our view.  I don't think those girls in the front row have posted their video yet ... but it's not the first time he's grabbed someone's phone and filmed his own close-up.
Pomona - Fire

Matt Nathanson in Boston - Annie's Always Waiting (For the Next One to Leave)
Andrew McMahon in Boston - High Dive