Venue Review: Dave Mathews Band
A review of the concert and venue.
What’s kicking off summer vacation without a little concert road trip? So we rented a car in Manhattan, sparked up the HoboHookah, and road tripped it up to Hartford, CT to see a little band known as Dave Mathews.
Now, living on the East Coast has sort of redefined my idea of a road trip: What use to be a several hundred mile weekend jaunt across multiple state lines, is now a day trip up to some other metropolitan area.
But the spirit is all there: Hartford happens to have a gem of a 
outdoor venue known in their Dodge Music Center, formerly known as the Meadows, or Meadows Music Center. Its like our old haunt in Wisconsin, The Alpine Valley Music Theatre: Big parking lots where revelers show up in the morning, grill out and get hammed, close seats that are actual seats, under a rain-resistant awning and a big frickin’ hill where the proles stake their claim and jam out with a 24oz Miller in their grip.
Having been to concerts at Madison Square Garden, where other top shelf names like Dave play, the Music Center was a welcome change of pace. No crammed in, city feel. Green grass, which is great rain or shine. A real venue that makes you think: Damn, this is the way to see this band perform.
And perform they did: Dave has been coming around the Music Center for some time, with the Music Center being one of the staple venues on his tour. This time they had the sick Tex-Mex guitarist Alejandro Escovedo, who jammed out along with the rest of the band in between Dave’s big hits. Dave knows how to please a crowd and kept his old stuff coming while playing the top hits of his new album. The two encores included the cover “Thank You for Letting me Be Myself” by Sly And The Family Stone, which was a great way to finish the set.
Overall: This is a great venue to have in your pocket on the East Coast. The highlight being plenty of old fashioned parking lot pre-gaming before the show, which really makes the concert an event and something that you just can’t do on 7th in front of MSG. The one downside is the draconian security: If you are bringing anything more than a 1-gallon ziplock of food into the venue, you will get greeted by the full body and bag search. While the parking lots are no doubt ripe for some hookah smoking, flip cupping and meat grilling, with friendly police shooting the thumbs up, none of that is welcome behind the gates.
Review Summary: Dodge Music Center in Hartford, CT (link)
Act Witnessed: Dave Mathews Band
Type: Outdoor amphitheater with grass and traditional seating
Tips: Show up well before the show with friends, beer and a hookah. Park and party in one of the many parking lots.
Venue: 9/10
Pioneer Factor: 8/10
Hobo Friendly? No inside, yes in the pre-game parking lots
Overall: 7/10
