Pads and Jody go to Dave Matthews Band (a.k.a this is one long ass post)

I have seen my fair share of concerts during my assignment here in the states and one constant in most of the concerts that I've attended (especially the rock concerts) is the sporadic smell of weed smoke that pervades the air. I'd be rocking out, having a good time and suddenly the sweet smell of da ganja would invade my nostrils. I'd think to myself or comment to the persons I'm with that someone was enjoying the show for sure, or something to that effect. And then I'd wonder what would it be like to watch a concert while I'm high on THC myself.

Well the opportunity finally presented itself when I saw DMB play last Aug 13 with my friend Jody. Jody tokes so I knew that he would be cool with smoking pot while watching the concert. More importantly he'd have weed available for us to smoke. So all was well and good right? Well...not exactly...

If you've seen the film 'Harold and Kumar go to White Castle' you'd know that some pretty funny $h!t can happen when weed is involved. Our quest similarly took us thru some pretty funny turns.

First of all, it turned out that him having weed available was not entirely true. I was bugging him to get some fresh supply every day of the week leading up to the concert. Alas his contact didnt come through for us and come the day of the concert we still havent gotten hooked up with any. So we ended up having to content ourselves with whatever stash he had left. The amount was so small though that it wasnt even enough for one joint. So we had to bring a pipe with us (which we have since christened Mondo Geico) which complicated matters a bit since a pipe was harder to conceal. Furthermore, technically the stash wasnt his but his brother's. And his bro was out on the road and we didnt have a way to contact him. So we said bahala na, maiintindihan naman nya siguro if we take it with us.

So off we go to the venue of the concert, SBC park, stopping at an In-N-Out along the way for some dinner. We get there at around 6:45 just in time to see Black Eyed Peas performing midway thru their set. Its still suprising that BEP would open up for DMB since they are quite a huge act in their own right. But, hey, all the better for us as we enjoyed two good shows for the price of one. BEP rocked, playing all their hit songs plus a few that I didnt recognize. They play with such great energy that you can't help but get infected. Pretty soon everyone was in a party mood and it was a good way to psyche yourself up for the main event.

BEP ended their show at around 7:30 and I knew from the previous night (yes, I saw DMB two nights in row, hey I'm a fan) that it would be around an hour before DMB comes out on stage. So we decided we'd wait till they start playing before we toke it up. That way we'd also have the cover of darkness to hide our deed as the sun would be setting by then. So there we were hanging out at our seats, waiting for DMB to come out, watching the people passing in front of us to while away the time.

Suddenly, when the hour was almost up, Jody suddenly blurted out 'Oh shit, dude, do you have a lighter?? I forgot to bring mine!'. Well, of course, I didn't bring any since I assumed since he had the weed he'd have the lighter as well. So we started thinking...maybe they sell cigarettes here at the ballpark, surely they sell lighters too. So I quickly made my way up to the concession stands. But my trip was for naught. Apparently, its against the law in California to sell cigarettes in stadiums.

We were not to be denied though! DMB started playing shortly afterwards and opened with a killer trio of #41, American Baby and Crash Into Me. By the time Crash was playing I knew we had to do it. So I looked around and I saw the girl directly behind us smoking a cigarette. So I ask her if we can borrow her lighter so we can start smoking our weed. Borrowing a lighter from a stranger so that you can smoke weed that you brought to a concert must be the lamest thing ever to do. Wala, pakapalan na lang ng mukha. Of course, since we borrowed her lighter we were then obliged to share the weed with her. The amount we had was so small though that we werent sure that it would be enough for us three.

Amazingly, just like the loaves of bread, our supply seemed not to run out. Our fears were unfounded and it was sufficient for us three. So there we were toking and passing the weed between the three of us when on the fifth pass I think I inhaled too much, too soon and I started coughing. And coughing. And coughing. Pretty soon the lady seated to my left, who was really nice, was patting my back. And then the guys in front of me turned around and were asking if I was alright. That was pretty embarassing. The lady then explained to them what was going on as I was still to busy coughing to answer for myself. They were pretty cool about it and said that it happens sometimes. Apparently, they've been smoking a few at the concert as well.

Well just like 'Harold and Kumar', our adventure had a happy ending. Pretty soon I was high as a kite. It was amazing. I was seeing and hearing DMB play with heightened senses. It was as if I was watching the concert in hi def. With 5.1 surround sound. And I felt so...happy! There I was rocking out and having a good time and no one and nothing was going to spoil my evening. All my inhibitions were stripped and I was singing and dancing with the lady who patted my back earlier. It was wonderful.

As for DMB? What can I say, they were amazing! And that statement would hold true even had I not been baked. They play with so much passion and energy and they look like they are having such a good time on stage. And I love it how dynamic their music is. You dont know what they're going to play and how they're going to play it. I don't think even they know and they just feed off each's others energy and vibe to determine how each song they play takes shape.

The setlist they had for that night consisted mainly of their old classic songs: crowd pleasers such as The Warehouse, Dancing Nannies, Two Step and What Would You Say. Needless to say that got the crowd really worked up. And what new songs they played, they were the ones that I liked. Playing Steady As We Go, a ballad about not giving up when times get rough, was perfect as an encore.

Good times indeed!