Dan's Papers - August 3, 2007

As we drove down Daniels Hole Road and saw the black and silver signs lining the roadside, we knew this marked the beginning of our Hampton Social experience. These chic signs were directing us to the parking field, across from the East Hampton Airport, bringing us one step closer to the exclusive concert featuring Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds.

Thus we went through the first obstacle of making it through the maze that hid behind the Social gates, which would eventually bring us to our destination. There were two entrances through these gates. Since we are all VIPs at this event, we tried to make a statement by stepping through the entrance on the left, the entrance less traveled, if you will. Nonetheless, both entrances led to the same place, a path leading to the concert grounds, but for the celebrities there was a pit stop -- an area of flashing cameras lights and media buzz.

Being an editorial assistant and intern for Dan's Papers, we bypassed this stop and continued down the corridor lined with orange and yellow drapes, bamboo shoots along the sides of the wall and an impressive display of sunflowers, until we saw the light and Social attendants holding trays of champagne. We had arrived.

As we took our first lap around the premises around 6:30 p.m., with trays of mini pizzas, martini glasses filled with sweets and phylo-wrapped something or others making their rounds, we met up with the American illusionist and stunt performer, David Blaine. We asked for a picture, but Blaine went beyond this request and wowed us with his first card trick of the evening. We are still scratching our heads, trying to figure out how he pulled it off.

After the magical encounter, we decided to continue our tour of the grounds. As we walked up to the stage, we noticed the rows of sleek black lounge chairs lining the lawn, only one of the various forms of seating for this event. Behind the lounge chairs were scattered tables and chairs and under the two large tents were long couches, to further enhance the audiences comfort. There was also covered seating, in case the rain did decide to crash down. Just as difficult as deciding which type of seating you preferred was the decision of which bar to go to, as there was no shortage of those around. There were full bars outside of each tent, complete with top shelf liquors.

Circling back to the other side of the venue, we saw adults revisiting their youth with plastic bags filled with pink and blue cotton candy in hand. There were the tall, skinny model-types enjoying the fried corn dogs. After thorough observation, the theme for the evening seemed to be casual comfort with added class.

After being on our feet for a while and having the aroma of backyard barbecue wafting in the breeze, our stomachs began to grumble and we decided to dig into the Southern eats. In honor of Dave's South African roots, Social brought in New York City chef Adam Perry Lang of Daisy Mae's BBQ to give the guests a taste of Southern comfort. The choices were plentiful and we filled our plates with hearty coleslaw, mac n' cheese, corn bread, pulled pork sandwiches, smothered beef ribs, chicken and beef fajitas, guacamole and salsa.

Our table just happened to be in a prime location as well. The fajita station was on our left, the caffeine bar (i.e. Nespresso) on our right, Dylan's Candy Bar for our sweet tooth behind us and the real bar straight ahead. The food was delicious and for a moment, it felt like we'd traveled below the Mason-Dixon.

You would think that, after all this food, our bellies would be bulging for the remainder of the event, but the great thing about the venue was that you had to get up and walk to get your food and drink, so at least we were burning some calories. As we finished our finger-lickin'-good food, we hesitated and foolishly wondered where the garbage was to throw out our food scraps and drop our plates. We finally decided to leave our human instincts aside and leave our plates on the table.

And then it happened. Echoes of the man of the evening, Dave Matthews, could be heard over the speaker system throughout the grounds. Everyone immediately rushed to the stage and took advantage of the ample seating options. Some even perched themselves right in front of Matthews, sitting cross-legged on the lawn.

From the moment Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds stepped on stage and hit that first note of "Old Dirt Hill" a little after 8:15 p.m., audience members had their feet moving, heads bobbing and hands clapping right up to the final sounds of the "Ants Marching" encore. Both artists also got into the "casual comfort" theme as Tim Reynolds sported a blue and yellow Star Wars tee while Dave Matthews wore his work boots, blue jeans and a casual black button-down. The dynamic duo worked well in this intimate setting, as they kept the house rocking while slipping in some comical dialogue here and there. As Matthews put it, "Small talk is better than nothing."

The audience took full advantage of the intimate setting, as they were within earshot of the performers. A man to our left yelled out, "Congrats on the baby, Dave!" Dave Matthews gave the man thumbs up in between sipping a drink from his mug. After being acknowledged by the Grammy-winning performer, the man turned to his friends and screamed as if he had just won the lottery, "You see that? Dave gave me the thumbs up! Woo hoo! Dave!" A couple songs later, after Matthews jammed out with Reynolds to "Crazy," a woman nearby shouted out, "That's my wedding song!" Clearly, the crowd was feeling the evening's vibe.

The musical prowess of these two musicians truly was a once in a lifetime experience. The performers were enjoying themselves just as much as the audience. They were exchanging smiles, jokes and just seemed to be having a good time playing great music. Matthews even took the opportunity to poke fun at his playing partner and longtime friend. When a fan yelled out "Tim Reynolds is immortal!" Matthews began to chuckle and then explained to the crowd that he thought he heard someone shout, "Tim Reynolds is in porno!" Clearly, these are two very different statements, but Matthews continued to ramble about the comment and the crowd, which included the likes of Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, Chris Noth from "Sex and the City" and "Law and Order" and "The Sopranos'" Edie Falco and Aida Turturro ate it up.

After the concert finished, some guests stuck around and returned to the Hospitality Tent where mini s'mores, key lime treats, blondies and fruit were being served. David Blaine even stuck around to perform some final tricks.

The event ran smoothly, the weather held and, thanks to the attentive Social crew, the biggest mishap we noticed all evening was a glass of spilled ice.

The concert was the premier way to see Matthews and Reynolds enjoying what they do best -- rocking out and having a good time. Dave Matthews thanked the audience throughout the night and said that he is lucky, since, "I got a job that I like." At this point, we both turned to each other and agreed that we are quite fond of our jobs too.

If you missed the first two concerts by Prince and Dave Matthews, there are still three more shows featuring Billy Joel on August 4, James Taylor on August 11 and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on August 25. For more information call their concierge at 800.803.6644 or visit their website www.discoversocial.com.