Over the years, I have seen a ridiculous amount of shows but have only done one entire tour start to finish. The most recent SE tour was the one!!
3 of us did the entire tour along with the band and crew. BTW, before I go any further, thanks to DSO for all that you do. Its' not easy! Yes, you get paid but it is a grind! Truthfully, I am blown away with their amazing attitude and willingness to put on excellent shows night in and night out! AMAZING!
4400 miles give or take, starting in Wilmington, DE, 14 shows total to include Bobby and the Wolf Bros ( Jacksonville, Florida ) the night before DSO's opener in St. Pete, Florida. My favorite venues were St. Augustine, Florida, Pompano Beach, Florida ( been there multiple times to see DSO before ), Tallahassee, Florida and Wilmington, NC ( been there for DSO as well ). Of the 14 venues, St. Augustine, Tallahassee, Birmingham and Nashville were the only new venues for me. Alabama and Tennessee were 2 states I had never seen DSO in ( after 18 years ) ! 3 venues I did not care for were Asheville ( Orange Peel ) and Charlotte ( Fillmore ). Asheville's employees are cool but the place is always packed with little dance room ( boo ) and Charlotte's employees are a mess but overall room is ok....Raleigh also has employees I am not fond of but am okay with the room. The rest of the venues I like! My favorite show was St. Augustine. I felt the band was feeling it that night and after speaking with a few band members to include Cotter, they felt the same. All the shows were good but that was my favorite.
The trip was shared with many friends. My best buddy was with me the entire time, Luna, my pup. She is a kind dog, loving and patient. She was ready to be off the road at the end as was I. Luckily for both of us, she and I share an RV which gives her a comfortable place to rest during the shows. The weather was unbelievable the entire time. Never a night did I need AC at all and only checked into one RV campground in Nashville. Thanks To Chris and Nina for being around for every show as well... These two kids are good people and fun to be with and truly DEADicated. I met 4 new people on this tour who apparently do their fair of shows but had never met them before for some reason? Cynthia, Renee, Tatiana and Adrian, I look forward to dancing with you all again...Thanks for sharing your space with me!! It meant a lot! Sammy, Aaron and Carl all drove down for the first 5 shows in Florida which were my favorite shows for so many reasons. Scotty flew into south Florida to hook up with Tatiana and Adrian. They did the 2 Bobby shows to include the first 5 DSO shows as well! My great friend Kevin and his wife were at St. Augustine only but I was able to stay with them for several nights in Jacksonville so that was nice. Rick and Whitney did several of the Florida shows and had their beautiful girl with them..OMG!!! The Perrottis were at the majority of the Florida shows ( love this family so much ) but had to run their deli each day so talk about a grind, back and forth from Orlando to each show each night!!! I put so much value on the Florida DSO runs because of my long friendship with this amazing family! Steve, Carrie and a bunch of other Sand Jammers were along for a few of the shows. I run into Sand Jammers everywhere... They must think I'm crazy, seeing me pretty much everywhere? Nantucket, John and Debbie all flew in for one show..Nantucket, St. Pete, John and Debbie, Pompano!! Awesome!! My buddy Gary from Jam Cruise, his cousin David Jonas ( friends with John, Debbie, Jeff Mattson and Cotter ) both went to Pompano as well...Nice meeting David and having Gary along. Gary and I played golf the next day which was superb. Brian also flew in for first 4 shows as well. THANKS so much to Jay Price for his kindness and generosity. Jay was able to do the last 8 out of 9 shows. I have an amazing time with this guy every time. He is a GRATE guy. His favorite show was Raleigh! ...Mar, Jerry and his wife were at several of the Florida shows....also, Frank...he flew in from Colorado for the first 4 shows as well. I love our family! I have met hundreds of people over the years and funny enough, have introduced many of these awesome people to each other and feel lucky to know each and every one of you. Rude and Meli made it to one show. Jen and Joe were at a few. Tea was at a few..Steph at one... Geez, I know I am forgetting some folks and feel bad about it Anyway, I felt like I had to put this together after doing my first entire tour in 18 years...I figure I have seen somewhere between 500-600 dso shows...I know, big discrepancy there but its been so many...only 239 GD shows but dso has been an obsession but pleazin...
BTW, the best dancing along the way....St. Augustine, Orlando ( Matt and Elle were both rocking it hard in Orlando ) and Atlanta.....so much good!!!! BTW, thanks to Matt, the new tour manager...what a GRATE guy. DSO is lucky to have him and so are all of us... LOVE you all.. Peace.