I love this question. I find that often when people hear what a live concert fanatic I am, they think it's crazy to travel to see a concert. What they don't get is that the road trip aspect of it is just as much of the draw for me as the music itself. When money & work schedule allow, I love using seeing a beloved band as a reason to go somewhere new, or go somewhere I already know I love to see friends.
If I was gonna pick a DMB road trip story, a favorite of mine is when I was post college & grad school but still didn't know how to drive (hey, I'm from a big city, so sue me
). My 2 obsessive bands to see live were Pearl Jam and DMB. I loved nothing more than doing several east coast shows of each band whenever I could.
But in 1996 the unthinkable happened. The nightmare. The quandary. PJ & DMB'S EAST COAST TOUR SCHEDULES OVERLAPPED!!! THE HORROR!!
The good news was, PJ was playing far fewer shows on East Coast and only one show truly overlapped that I would definitely have seen: DMB's 2nd night in Boston overlapped with PJ's Hartford show. But I was gonna figure it out. So imagine this: I managed to go to NINE SHOWS, in ELEVEN DAYS, and only miss ONE full day of work in Boston! ALL ON GREYHOUND BUSES!! As long as I had a bottle of water, my walkman (remember those?), my journal, and a pillow, I was good to go. Remember the days before cell phones or wifi everywhere? Bus rides were just me staring out the window listening to beloved tunes and thinking about the last show or next show.
So we have Pearl Jam on their No Code album tour, and DMB on Crash tour.
The other thing that was incredible about this road trip, is that while I did most of the travel alone (and liked it), I had a core group of DMB friends to connect with at shows, and a core group of PJ friends at shows. So I had great alone time on buses, and the best time at the shows with buds. So the road trip went something like this:
Fri Sept 27, 1996:
Went to 2 mtgs in the morning at work in Boston, then hightailed it to Greyhound bus bound for NYC. Got in and went straight to a club in NYC that held about 1,000 people to see Ben Harper. I saw some amazing shows at Tramps over time, like 2 yrs before in Dec '94 when I saw this lineup: The Fugees (playing some songs that would end up on The Score), with opening bands Michael Franti's Spearhead and Ben Harper! So now it was Ben's turn to headline Tramps. Fantastic show!
Sat Sept 28, 1996:
Pearl Jam at Randall's Island, considered an epic 2 shows in PJ fandom. Both shows opened by Ben Harper and Seattle band The Fastbacks. Night was was intense and crazy, night 2 also intense but not as darkly so.
Sun Sept 29, 1996:
PJ night 2, Randall's Island, my favorite of the 2 shows, but just incredibly intense. Also I had a fan's dream experience at this show... basically seeing Jack Irons (PJ drummer at the time) in a Joe Strummer t-shirt, mentioning my love of the Clash and Joe Strummer, and Jack Irons telling me the whole story of how HE was the link (which he was) to Eddie Vedder connecting to Stone and Jeff so basically he is the reason PJ was formed. Jack is pretty private but he told me the WHOLE STORY, which included Red Hot Chili Peppers details and the death of Hillel. Intense experience, will never forget it and forever grateful. Years later I got to hear Mike McCready of PJ tell Joe Strummer the whole story again, even though Joe already knew it. Incredible experiences.
So I'm from NYC so have places to stay there, but it was time to Greyhound it back to Boston.
Mon Sept 30, 1996:
Bus back to Boston and 1/2 day at work for 2nd half of day.
Tues, Oct 1, 1996:
Full day of work, then over to Fleet Center for DMB show #1. I remember it as a great show, but given that MSG shows with Soul Coughing were coming up, I don't remember it as better than those. Those were killer.
Wed, Oct 2, 1996: THE QUANDARY SHOW!!
Since I lived in Boston, I'd never ever imagine missing a Boston DMB show. But this was same date as PJ in Hartford at Meadows Music Center, and PJ was only playing 3 shows during these 11 days so PJ it was going to be.
It was actually a memorable show (isn't every show at the Meadows?!), both because I thought PJ was particularly amazing, and also because somethign went down on the lawn and the police sprayed pepper spray so even us in the seats were blinded and hard to breath for a bit. Still don't know what happened but that just seems SO Hartford.... Still, it was a great show.
AND... perfect timing, I had a day at a conference in Hartford the next day, so I had a work paid hotel and was able to work there before going to Meadows, and more work that night.
Thurs Oct 3, 1996: DMBLive show
DMB at MSG 1. DMB's first time playing MSG if I'm not mistaken. Soul Coughing supporting. 1st Anyone Seen the Bridge, and last time Dave did Watchtower solo at a full band show. Energy off the charts! Band went to a small bar in Hells Kitchen after that show, very cool time.
Love that they started with Seek Up & ended with Dancing Nancies.
Daytime went to the conference in Hartford then raced by bus down to NYC for MSG.
Fri Oct 4, 1996:
DMB MSG #2. Band a little more relaxed, loved Soul Coughing again. Drive In Drive Out seems to have been on 2 DMB Live releases. I think I liked this night best, John Popper guested on What Would You Say & All Along the Watchtower. I don't know what the band did after this show, I hung out with friends from Nancies group.
Sat Oct 5, 1996: NYC Day Off of Road Trip LOL! Saw non-DMB, non-PJ friends & family.
Sun Oct 6, 1996:
DMB at Amherst, Bus to Amherst, MA
I don't remember much about this show, apparently Boyd sang lead on Angel From Montgomery here and at MSG. But I remember it being nice to see DMB in a non-giant city for this. Much more chill.
Mon Oct 7, 1996:
BACK HOME, BACK TO WORK, BACK TO REAL LIFE.
But heart, soul, mind and memories FULL. So much incredible music, so many awesome people. Unforgettable road trip.
This was super long, as is every damn thing I write, but thanks so much for the question, it was amazing to reminisce a full year since going to live shows at all. BIG LOVE TO ALL YOU ROADTRIPPERS!