Monday, June 1, 2009

Summertime

I'm finally back from vacation and it's time for another round of videos! There's nothing like a summer trip to get out of the city and into nature. I spent the past week whitewater rafting in the woods of West Virginia, and made close friends with the bugs that inhabited my cabin and bathing area. As much as I love being in nature, it's really great to be home and showering without all the spiders. Did I mention I'm deathly afraid of spiders? Yeah. I showered quickly out there.

For me, summers always consist of two things: Grant Park and DMB.

From June through August, I sing with the chorus of the Grant Park Music Festival in Millennium Park. It's one of the best classical singing gigs in the city. And for those of you in the area, the concerts are FREE. So come check it out, and let me know when. I may just meet you out on the lawn afterward.

Summers also mean that the Dave Matthews Band is on tour! I've been a fan of DMB for over twelve years now, and my dream is to someday see them live at their three day at the Gorge Amphitheater in Washington. For now though, I'll have to settle for the videos.

One of the first Dave songs that I fell in love with was Crash Into Me, a staple in any DMB fan's playlist. The band is known for their inspired (though not always sensible) lyrics and use of nursery rhymes. What I love them best for though, is their artistry.



Crash Into Me is a serene song and the video follows suit. Hazy pictures of the band in the woods, nymph-like dancers, and a skirt made of violins show the playful, creative side of the group. What's so extraordinary about this video though is the use of camera focus. It's never static and always showing us a picture that is worth a thousand words. The slightest shift brings the curve of a violin, the face paint of a geisha, or one of the band members paying homage to the instrument that enlivens him.

The other beautifully artistic choice made for this video is the use of sexual tension drawn from simplicity. There is no nudity, or overly vulgar, sexed-up women in bathings suits playing the saxophone (old skool style). The women are covered head to toe in full length gowns and costumes, and their makeup is other worldly. The sexual charge comes from small nuances (such as the almost parting legs of the geishas) and the exquisite lyrics themselves:

You've got your ball
You’ve got your chain
Tied to me tight tie me up again
Who's got their claws
In you my friend
Into your heart I'll beat again
Sweet like candy to my soul
Sweet you rock
And sweet you roll
Lost for you I'm so lost for you
You come crash into me
And I come into you,
I come into you
In a boys dream
In a boys dream

Touch your lips just so I know
In your eyes, love, it glows so
I'm bare-boned and crazy for you
When you come crash
Into me, baby
And I come into you
In a boys dream
In a boys dream
If I've gone overboard
Then I'm begging you
To forgive me
In my haste
When I'm holding you so girl...
Close to me

Oh and you come crash
Into me, baby
And I come into you
Hike up your skirt a little more
And show the world to me
Hike up your skirt a little more
And show your world to me
In a boys dream... In a boys dream

Oh I watch you there
Through the window
And I stare at you
You wear nothing but you
Wear it so well
Tied up and twisted,
The way I'd like to be
For you, for me, come crash
Into me

Tonight the band is playing a live concert at the Beacon Theater and you can watch it here on hulu for free starting at 9 pm (but of course, I have rehearsal). Tomorrow, the band's newest album Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King (an almost memorial album for LeRoi Moore, the band's Saxophonist who died last August) will be available for sale.

And of course, since this is a DMB post, there must be bonus videos! Here's almost twenty full minutes of the band from their free live concert at Central Park.

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