Dave Matthews at Wembley

Wow, what a night! I’ve just returned from a Dave Matthews concert at the Wembley Arena with the HM, SSG and GNK. Yes, what a night! Finally, a chance to see the man himself, in his raspy voice, performing a full three hours before a very appreciative audience. And the timing couldn’t have been better, with my final exam on the Theories of International Relations having concluded only earlier that day.

When I stepped into the City Temple exam venue in the afternoon, the skies were dark and rain was steadily falling. When I emerged three hours later, with hand weary and head exhausted, I was greeted with sunny skies and warmer weather, even though the day was near to an end.

It took me some time, though, before the significance of what had just occurred hit me– that I had at last finished my concluding exam paper – and, hopefully, the very final exam of my life. I’ve been doing this for far too long, and to repeat such an odious experience anytime in the future would be to indulge in unnecessary farce and self-torture.

After a quick dinner at the Nandos outlet at the Brunswick, we left for Wembley Park on board a Piccadilly line and then a Metropolitan line Tube train. It was quite a sight getting to the destination station, for greeting us was the splendid edifice of the new Wembley Stadium, which had only come into operation recently.

The Wembley Arena, however, is a separate indoor performance venue located just next to the stadium. The performance by Dave Matthews and his band was very good indeed, although I wished that they had played more of the old hits such as Grey Street, Bartender and Crush, which I count as among my firm favourites. They opened with a few songs from the newest album, Stand Up, released in 2005, which I don’t regard as among their best.

But never mind. I got what I came for, especially their penchant for playing extended track versions of their major hits, where, after the first few minutes of singing, you’re treated to up to 10 minutes of pure and exciting instrumental music, almost resembling a jazz jam session. Violinist Boyd Tinsley was especially exhilarating, as he stomped around the stage, goading his fiddle into all manners of ecstatic squealing.

Right from the start, I wanted to get up and move to the beat of the music, but was surprised to find the London crowd rather sedate, with everyone seated until the very end. At my last concert in Singapore before leaving for London, featuring Coldplay, the entire audience then was on their feet even before Chris Martin had appeared. So what’s this talk about placid audiences in Singapore?

In any case, that’s a minor matter. For when Dave Matthews re-emerged after much clapping, yelling and shouting for his encore performance, the audience thundered into paroxysms of utter delight, and we were all amply rewarded. Yes, this was what I came for. This was what I had waited so long for. Dave Matthews – the man from South Africa and America whose music has given me some of the best moments of my life.

All right. Enuff said. I’m tired, and I’m outta here for a couple of days.