Sometimes it feels like the only thing in the world I want
people to understand about me is how big of a U2 fan I am; the fact
that everything I feel like I am or understand about life, God and the universe
is somehow expressed by the work of U2. Or by my utter obsessive love of U2. I
am the U2 Superfan. (Well, the biggest U2 superfan I know, after my buddy
Shareef and his late BFF, Doobie, bless him.) So I relate to other superfans. I
love superfans, regardless of the band they are in love with, no matter how
much I do or do not love their music. I can enjoy any show… ANY show... if I am
surrounded by the right people and I am absorbing their passion and I get all
wrapped up in the love. It is addictive. This is why I seek the superfans out,
even if it’s a LBLB and 4 people are in the audience, if I can be near the one
guy that loves that freakin’ band, it’s worth it for me.
So Drive By Truckers… this was a rare and beautiful
experience for me for 2 reasons: First, the easy answer: this entire audience
was comprised of Superfans. I don’t think there was one person on site there by
happenstance or for shits ‘n’ giggles. I’d estimate that this show was a very
distinctly well thought out and religious pilgrimage for a good 98% of the
audience. The room was full of people that god damned LOVE Drive by Truckers… Ambiance
Jackpot!
Next, my sweetass boyfriend, Jessup, is a DBT superfan. I
hadn’t realized quite how much until I dropped him stage-front in Carrboro.
There had been clues here and there; a story or two about what a song reminded
him of. The fact that the majority of the time when I’d walk in the door and
his Pandora was fixed firmly on the DBT channel. The random Sunday afternoon
when we’d gotten drunk at Olive Garden and he sequestered me to the futon in
his office and decided that since I had made him like Morrissey, he was going
to make me love DBT and then he sang along to every song. When I saw they were
coming to town (or to Carrboro, close enough,) 3 days before his birthday, I
thought it would be a pretty good birthday present idea, but I had no idea it
would be like; BEST IDEA EVER.
Side note: I “saw” DBT last year at Hopscotch, (aka, Selma,
Anne, Claire and I got real drunk in the plaza and pretended to have a hoedown
and subsequently wound up on the N&O website.) this was 3 days before I met
Jess for the first time, who was sitting outside the Big Easy, not two blocks
from me, listening to the band. Delicious Irony.
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| Pre-Jess DBT Danceparty. Who knew? |
Jessup and I headed into town a little early to pre-game at
the Station and then headed over in time to get some brews, mingle with other
Superfans (of which, as I said, there was nothing but,) and catch Megafaun. As
Megafaun was playing, Patterson Hood steps out of the hallway near the board,
where we were standing. I leaned over to shake his hand because Jess was too
shy. I then shook hands with Jess so he could shake his hand by-proxy. It was
kinda loud in there, but I can only assume he Squee’d.
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| do not let his slighty-drunken apathetic face trick you, HE IS PSYCHED |
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| Hanging with another Superfan, this guy + Jess = BFF (I forgot his name, dammit!) |
Megafaun I’d seen before; good guys. I dunno. I’m not so
much the Alt-country buff. Then DBT hit the stage and dear god, these people
love these guys. Jess LOVES these guys. I saw a whole other side of him all of
a sudden. Singing along to every song, grinning like a fool. One beer, one arm
in the air majority of the songs. About 3 songs in, I realize what’s happening.
I am seeing a new Jess; I am falling in love with a new Jess. My boyfriend is a
superfan, too. OMG. Such good news! So I know what I have to do, because Jess
is a sweetheart and very shy; I grab him by the shirtsleeve and push through to
the front for a song or two. And there he was… right where he needed to be;
right up front in front of his favorite band with his new best friends, united
in superfandom. I eventually backed out of the crowd to let him be with the
people that loved them most. His people. I found myself wanting to kiss and
grope him incessantly because I was falling all in love with him again, but
that wasn’t where he was. He was rocking the fuck out… so I wandered around a
bit and let the fans be with the fans.
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| Yess's Pancake-hand up in the air |
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| LOVE IT! |
DBT was pretty much amazing, probably one of the most perfect
sounding shows I think I’ve seen at Cat’s Cradle. I don’t know if this has to
do with the recent re-model of the space, or if there is a new Sound guy, or if
DBT brought their own sound guy. But it sounded really good. (Note: a few days
later Jess and I watched the DBT Documentary “The Secret To A Happy Ending” and
I learned much more about the band and basically how they have toured almost non-stop
for over a decade.) Most importantly, the feeling in the room was
unbeatable. It was one of those rare shows where there was so much love and
good vibes from the band and the crowd that I felt like a part of a secret club
where the members are really all chill, cool dudes who have been through some
heavy shit but still have the tenacity/stubbornness/just plain stupidness to carry
on. I had a blast, I know Jess had an amazing time, and I’d love to see them
again sometime.
One of the most special-est moments was during the first
encore when Megafaun joined the band for a special cover performance of The
Weight from The Band in honor of Levon Helm, who had passed away earlier that day.
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