Mostly quiet on the western front, with the exception of a few shows we made it out to. For our “opening act” we drove the motor home up to Tahoe to see Dave Matthews. Love him or hate him, it’s always a great show. Side note, if you hate him you are completely misguided in your musical tastes. I am not sure how many times I’ve seen him actually, but I always enjoy it. On the other hand, I do NOT enjoy the Harvey’s Outdoor Arena. I’ve skipped several shows that Donette went to, because they were at that place. It’s hard to get in and out, and for the bigger shows (like this one) it’s all General Admission. I got there a little early to secure a good spot down front, but once you’re there you ain’t moving until the show is over. This kid is entirely too old, not to mention out of shape, for standing in the same spot on blacktop for a 2+ hour show. Last year I actually bailed out a little early, but this time I stuck it out, and my back paid for it. To add insult to injury, the sound isn’t very good either. To be expected, since it’s a freaking parking lot, but come on; find somewhere else. Anyway, marginal venue aside, I enjoyed the weekend. The antique RV performed flawlessly, and we enjoyed several other “Tahoe activities” while were there too.

After that, we headed back down the hill for a mid-week Cake show. Well, it didn’t work out so good. It was down at the Golden One center, which I generally enjoy, and we had good seats. But, as mentioned above, I am old. After a good dinner at The Bank, we rolled over to the arena, found our seats, and enjoyed a solid opening set from Tall Heights. That was a nice surprise; Never heard of them but they put on a good show. After that one, and a short intermission, Ben Folds came out. Yeah, not a fan. Somewhere in the middle of his set I fell fast asleep. You might think this hard to do in a loud, crowded arena. But I guess the combo of dinner, exhaustion, age, and general disinterest formed something of the perfect storm. I was pretty excited for the Cake show, actually I’ve been looking forward to it for quite some time. Alas, I snoozed through the better part of it. Guess I’ll have to find my cassette tapes and listen at home.