I don't know why, but I'm having a difficult time putting thoughts and memories into words. But we'll give it a shot. (warning, I apparently found the words, as I seem to have gotten a bit long-winded. Sorry about that.) Here we go........

Anticipation for these concerts began the moment they were announced in early June. I'm not one that can travel too far away for shows, so having two more concerts (actually 3 initially, until Fargo was postponed due to the All-Star Game commitment) within a 5 hour drive was incredible. The timing was perfect, as I already had vacation requested from work through July 13th. They could do without me a few more days, right? I submitted my additional vacation request before I even got tickets...just in case. Initially, the concerts announced were Fargo, Duluth and Sioux City. I mapped it out, and determined I could possibly do all three, since there was a day between Duluth and Sioux City to cut the longer drive down. THEN, Des Moines was announced for the day before Sioux City, and as much as I would have loved to do all 4, I just couldn't justify the longer trip to Duluth without having a driving partner in place. So, I resigned myself to just Fargo, Des Moines, and Sioux City. After Fargo was postponed, I gave Duluth some serious reconsideration. But again, I would have been doing that long drive alone, and without the extra day to split the driving. In addition, I had already committed to carpooling to Des Moines with Wavelength, and I couldn't back out on my word there.

Over the next couple of weeks, tickets were secured, general admission for Des Moines, so that was easy. For Sioux City, we had purchased row 13 or 14 among others during the pre-sale (ummm, is there a point to those, really?), but through patience and diligence the next day, I lucked out and snagged the 3rd row, right on the center aisle. Bonus was that Angie had purchased the ticket right next to our seats, so I knew that I'd finally get to meet her. Yay! Like many people, more tickets than necessary were purchased for Sioux City, though Wavelength did a great job at finding takers for most of the extras. It's great having family nearby to persuade, eh?

After working out some lodging (thanks, Wavelength and TheBav!) we were set. I stayed at Wavelength's house Wednesday night, so she wouldn't have to leave her car in some parking lot along the interstate for over a day. This was the GA show, so we wanted to get there somewhat early. Weather was, of course, a concern...not only for the GA line before the show, but also for the concert itself, since the venue was an outdoor amphitheater. But, weather is my business, so surely I could do something about it, right? Wavelength awoke to rain in northwest Iowa Thursday morning, and it was heading south-southeast, so it still looked like a possibility in Des Moines later in the day. Gah! We headed out around 10 am, and ran into rain north of Council Bluffs/Omaha. We drove in rain until about 15-20 miles west of Des Moines, but had just a few little sprinkles by the time we got into town. We swung by TheBav's house to drop off our stuff, and rushed to get to the venue so TheBav and her partner in crime, luvzDC, could make it to the radio interview with David (Jealous? Who me? Nah! ::shuffles foot and looks around:: Maybe just a litt...OK, OK, a LOT!) TheBav had great questions prepared though, and I was happy that a diehard fan got that opportunity. When we got to the amphitheater, we were 8th-11th in line. Woo! Still no rain, and per my hubby's radar updates, things were looking good for the rain staying west/southwest of Des Moines. I could see blue sky on the northern horizon, and as the afternoon progressed, the weather just got better and better. I'm a Minnesota girl, and I freely admit to not liking heat and humidity. My coworkers think I'm crazy, but for me temperatures in the upper 60s-mid 70s, with dew points below 55F is IDEAL. The temperature peaked around 76 after the sun came out in the afternoon, and by the 8pm concert time, it was 72/48. Crystal clear sky, and just enough of the breeze to keep the bugs at bay. Seriously, if I really COULD plan the weather as many people seem to think I can, instead of just try to forecast it, THIS is what I would have asked for. It could not have been more perfect.

After a minor snafu caused by me forgetting that my ticket was still in my suitcase (where I had so diligently placed it while packing) at TheBav's house, and not WITH me at the venue (Thank you, Maggie. You're a lifesaver!), the gates to the venue opened at 7 pm and we walked very quickly down the grassy hill, to a front row spot right in front of Andy. We set up our chairs, which was great because the allowed us to enjoy the front row without being pushed by people behind us and got a bite to eat while waiting for NeedToBreathe to take the stage. The venue is really beautiful, with the Des Moines skyline across the river behind the stage, and the setting sun just off to the north of that. Normally, I'm not a foot person, but I had to take this picture to truly show how close we were. I had listened to and liked NTB's music on their MySpace, and they didn't disappoint live. Unfortunately, with the sun setting behind them, pictures were a little tricky, but I think I was able to do OK.

Between acts, as they were taping down the set lists, I will admit I was the tiniest bit disappointed to see the songs on the set list were quite similar to Waverly, IA...the only other show I'd seen to this point...and none of my recently wished for "ponies" were present. But, I was front row (vs. being up in the balcony at Waverly), and how could I complain or be disappointed about anything in this situation? Set list: Mr. Sensitive, WOHWWS, Heroes, IDIFY, LOTM, Avalanche, BBS, Little Lies, KOTN, Declaration, CBTM, Light ON, ADAM. They ended up not playing Declaration, but I didn't even remember until after the show was over.

I had videographers to my left (Angie) and to my right (Wavelength), with additional photographers TheBav and luvzDC/MinnTee (link to Sioux City pics) just to Wavelength's right, so I focused on enjoying my front row seat and snapping pictures until security shut down Wavelength's video camera at the beginning of Bar-Ba-Sol. Lucky for me, they waited that long, because she has stellar audio for two of my favorite DCTR tracks, LOTM and Avalanche. I picked up the video just before the BBS guitar solo, and continued for the rest of the show. Some memorable banter for me includes talking to the group of girls that were front center before LOTM. They had been waiting at the venue since 7am to ensure their front row positions. I couldn't see their sign, but they were asking David for a hug or a Kiss On The Neck. He was trying to determine their ages, and said he thought the KOTN would be illegal in Iowa, just as it is in Missouri. Later, he spoke with Juju, who had flown in from Brazil just for these two Iowa shows. She had thrown a Brazil shirt to him on stage, and he was very impressed that she traveled that far. More on Juju later.

My favorite moment of the entire night, though, came only minutes before the end of the show. You may recall from my foot picture that the layout of the stage includes a concrete ledge at which we were standing around the perimeter. During the Whoa-Whoa's in A Daily AntheM, Dave worked his way over to our side of the stage, and stepped out onto that ledge, directly in front of me and my camera. OMG, OMG, OMG! A gazillion thoughts went running through my head - all perfectly clean, TYVM. My focus was initially distracted by the girl who lunged out of the second row and reached for Dave's tummeh (I hope!). I don't know what my thought process was exactly, whether it was protectiveness of Dave, or maintaining my rightful position in front, but I reached around her waist and pulled her back, all the while filming this 12 foot tall man towering over me, which is saying a lot since I'm 6 feet tall myself. I apologize to those who wish differently, but I was pleased to see that my camera never strayed below his waistline. I never even touched him, though I can't say I wouldn't have if the lunging girl hadn't stepped in there. It seemed like he was there forever, but upon looking at my video later, it was a mere 12 seconds. None of us could believe it was that short a time, but it left an indelible mark on my brain, and I have an awesome avi as a reminder of the moment.

After the show, a group of us went to a downtown bar to decompress and get a bite to eat. Our driver/hostess was working on very little sleep, so we didn't stay out too late. We returned to the house, and Wavelength got to work uploading her videos from the first half of the concert. She and I stayed up until 3 am looking over my videos and photos, and made sure everything was copied to a couple of different places before cleaning off my memory card for Night Two.

After awaking and reliving the night before, we were off. Headed back to our neck of the woods (in Iowa? Ummm, our neck of the cornfields?). We took a quick little detour through downtown Sioux City, for familiarization so I would know where I was going before and after the concert. We then had to go back to Wavelength's house, to pick up her hubby, and her brother and sister-in-law who were using 2 of the extra tickets she purchased. Fortunately, Sioux City had the reserved seating, so there was no time crunch and we arrived at the beautiful Orpheum Theatre a half hour before showtime. As Wavelength tells it, the theater has recently been renovated back to its period decor, and it is truly majestic. Both NTB and Dave commented on the beauty of the facility. Before the show started, I went to the NTB merch table (sorry, Dave, I already have some of your merch from my journey to Waverly in February). They had a little deal going - purchase of their first two CDs earned you a code to receive their upcoming album free when it's released in late August. Sold! The purchase also earned me a yellow wristband, which got me into a quick meet & greet with NTB after the show. This was the last night NTB would be with DC and the EEB, and in typical Dave/EEB/crew fashion, there was a prank. During (I think) the Tom Petty cover song, someone came out stage right, hunched over and draped in a black sheet, carrying a huge stuffed lobster (or at least, we all assume it was a lobster). The lobster bumped into Bo from behind, went up and bopped Bear a little bit, and generally just roamed around the stage. Completely unexpected by the NTB boys, and they were cracking up. The lobster exited stage left, but then appeared out of the depths behind Kyle's drum set, and proceeded to play along with the band to finish the song. The poor lobster was then tossed over the drum set onto the stage, and Bo picked it up and threw it over our heads out into the audience. Some guy a couple of rows behind us was the lucky recipient. Bear commented after the song how nice it was to open for Dave, and what great guys they were up until that last song. Ha! I didn't notice, but Wavelength pointed out that Dave was watching the whole thing from off stage and loving every minute. My favorite part of their set, from either night, was the last song in Sioux City. They moved the microphones away and asked us to be quiet as they sang "Washed By The Water", a song written about Bear and Bo's father. Aside from a couple of camera clicks, the audience complied and it was completely breathtaking. I may have shed a tear or two. Just absolutely beautiful.

While the sets were being changed out, I noticed a girl with a Brazil shirt across the aisle and one row behind. I figured it was likely the girl who had given him the shirt in Des Moines, so I introduced myself and we chatted for a while. She is just a sweetheart, and was SO excited to be there. She had flown into Iowa Wednesday, and was heading back to Brazil (Sao Paulo) the day after Sioux City. I'm so glad I decided to do that, as it's a little out of my normal MO, but it gave me just one more wonderful memory of this adventure.

When Dave's set list went down, I was thrilled to see one of my ponies, 'Til I'm Blue. What I failed to recognize at that moment was the amazing (for me) string of songs through the middle of the set. They started out with Heroes, and didn't slow down once. The guys completely rocked the entire show...Heroes, Mr. Sensitive, Breathe Tonight, WOHWWS, KOTN, 'Til I'm Blue, BBS, Hot For Teacher, Declaration (which they actually played this time. More on this in a bit.), CBTM, Light On, and ADAM. After being busted with her video camera once again the night before, Wavelength had decided to just enjoy the show, and didn't bring out her video camera until the encore. I started off with pictures, but began filming just before the moan (and whisper!) in KOTN. I knew I wanted 'Til I'm Blue on video, so I started filming that immediately after KOTN was done. I was beyond thrilled that I was able to capture the banter about Dave's mom, Beth, being there. Again, I was oblivious until that moment, though Wavelength apparently had seen her being seated in the front row after the show started. 'Til I'm Blue was everything I'd hoped for and more, though Dave kept the guitar out for it this time, so we didn't get the mic action which was seen in some previous shows. Again, not a complaint, just an observation. I continued to film through BBS (hot!) and H4T (hotter!!), and into the first part of Declaration. However, Declaration is the one song where I just cannot sit on my hands (figuratively speaking, of course, because who was sitting?!), so I stopped filming and started taking pics again while waiting for the bridge to clap along. When we got there, I guess I got a little ahead of Dave, because I started clapping first, and he pointed to me and said "You got it!", then proceeded to get the rest of the audience to join in. Gah! He talked to me from stage. Gah! Totally made my night. Thankfully, Angie got it on video, right around 2:44-2:47. Love that smile! The set finished with CBTM, and they took what seemed like a longer time than usual off-stage before coming back for the encore. When they returned to the stage, there looked to be an equipment issue with Joey's bass. They were messing around with the cord, and speaking into the stage mic, and when they finally started up, they were playing Life On The Moon. Having seen the set list, I was expecting Light On, and it honestly took me until part way into the chorus to process that they were doing LOTM instead. Mind scrambles. Surely they are still doing LO, since that is a radio single now? Awww, does that mean no ADAM? Aside from those thoughts, I don't remember much about LOTM or LO. After LO concluded, Dave started his thank you's, and we got ADAM. Yay! I filmed this as well, and when the show was over, I met up with a couple of other ladies that I knew were going to the NTB meet & greet, and headed out to the lobby. CD inserts were signed, and photos taken, and it was time to say au revoir to the ladies with whom I'd shared these last two days. There was a small crowd gathered by the bus behind the venue, and I stuck around for a little while. I saw Kyle, Neal and Andy from afar, and saw Joey outside the other bus talking with Seth (NTB bass player), but I didn't interrupt to speak to him before he got on the bus. We had figured since Beth was in town, that Dave would not be making an appearance at the buses, and from reading other accounts, it seems we were correct.

I headed home, a little over an hour away, and thanks to lovethemusic's mp3 voice recorder which she lent to me (and the USB port in my car stereo/Sync system), I was able to relive the entire concert on my drive home. I stayed up into the wee hours going through pictures and getting my videos from the night queued up for YouTube. To anyone and everyone that commented on my videos, THANK YOU! I'm a little disappointed in the audio quality of my videos, but I'm thrilled with how the video turned out, and I'm humbled and so happy that so many people liked them enough to comment.

It has taken a couple of days to get to the point where I can think about something other than these two concerts, but in just over 24 hours, I get to do it all over again...this time heading north into my home state of Minnesota. If anyone hasn't seen my videos, check my YouTube channel. I'll also try to get some of my pictures uploaded and add some links to the story. Thanks for reading...I'm sorry I got so long-winded.

ETA: Pictures from Sioux City.