Spent the day on the south side of Chicago for the Dave Matthews Band Caravan with my music bestie, Robin. Took us almost two hours to get into the venue, so needless to say we were ready to hear some music and enjoy a beverage or two!

We got there just in time for Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, but were so far back (see photo above) that you could barely make them out. There weren't any screens on the two smaller stages, that was a bit of a bummer. They sounded great - even with all of the chatter going on around us.

I cannot even begin to describe how many people were there - I'm guessing 30,000 or more. And this posed a real problem. There was plenty of space - the stages were spaced just far enough apart that if they were both playing music there was no interference. BUT, it was impossible to bounce from stage to stage factoring in trips to port-o-potty's and the long wait times for food and bevs.

AND the biggest problem ... not enough water stations. It was a beautiful summer day and the sun was out in full force - 85 degrees with a little breeze and a few puffy clouds. Staying hydrated is a must when you are out in the middle of a field for almost 10 hours! They had promoted free water from 'filling stations' - bring your own bottle and fill it up - which was a great idea, but there was not anywhere near enough of them. We waited in line for ONE HOUR AND FORTY FIVE MINUTES to fill up our water bottles. I consumed a full (purchased) bottle of water and two beers in the time I was waiting in this line. We chatted up some guy in line with us - a bartender from Madison, WI who had made a whole week of concert going in Chicago (U2, then DMB Caravan). During this wait we missed Liz Phair and G Love. (boo!)

Most people had actually planted themselves in front of the main stage to get good position for Dave. That meant we were going to be pretty far back, but we had a great view of the screens and the sound was fabulous. Once they went on stage all was well - the sun was setting and the breeze from the lake was fabulous. And the music... exactly what we came to see!

The new lakeside venue could be really nice if they put a little more work into it. It was a major dust bowl - we had dirt and grime everywhere! The photo below doesn't really show how bad it was... but let me tell you it was nasty!

We only did the single day ticket and are so thankful for that. I don't think I could have done three days worth of the dust and grime - I'm still sneezing from just one day!