Roy T. Higashi / SPPSDave Matthews performed last night in Lane Stadium for the Virginia Tech community.
They came together in the warm early September evening air to celebrate the opening of a new chapter in Hokie life on the Virginia Tech campus for the 2007 fall semester.
They crammed into the bleachers and benches, stood shoulder against shoulder, arms raised and bodies bouncing to the beat of each performer.
Perhaps for the first time, certain members of the crowd had their minds elsewhere, briefly straying from the not-so-distant-memories of gunshots and the blare of ambulances. Though their hearts may stay steady with the respect and love for the 32 victims of the shootings on April 16th, the fans in the stadium, students of Virginia Tech, and mourners alike, would all just as gladly not be enjoying the thrilling sounds of Phil Vassar, Nas, John Mayer and Dave Matthews Band.
Most might wish the concert had never happened.
A select few would still be here. Their names and memories not ingrained into the memory of the Hokie Nation or engraved into 32 slabs of Hokie stone buried into the earth beneath the careful watch of Burruss Hall's shadow.
However, weeks after the tragedy occurred, university officials began their search for the perfect motivator for the new school year, a uniting event that could facilitate the ease into academics, and more importantly the healing of scarred hearts for the victims.
"We are all looking for different ways to heal," said Dr. Zenobia Hikes, vice president for Student Affairs. "Music is always therapeutic, being in Lane, all of us having one thing in common, being part of the Hokie Nation, this will begin to move us beyond the grief.
Right after the tragedy a lot of artists contacted us. Everybody wanted to give something special to the Hokie Nation. Dave Matthews' label [was] one of those that had contacted us, his label put this together."
Matthews, Mayer, Nas and Vassar all performed the concert pro-bono to honor the victims of the tragedy and to help warm the souls of the student body.
Throughout the night, the combined artists provided the audience with plenty of memories. Phil Vassar welcomed football head coach Frank Beamer on stage during his set, and Vassar said to Beamer, "I feel so sorry for LSU."
Rap performer Nas stormed the stage with a maroon "Hokies United" shirt, while DJ Scratch asked, "Everybody back to front to put one finger in the air right now for unity."
"He did a really good job," said Anthony Reale, a sophomore. "He didn't disappoint. Everybody was thinking he was going to be bad for the concert, but I thought he was good."
John Mayer also wore a "Hokies United" shirt to show his support, but kept his words to the crowd at a minimum and let his legendary guitar work do the talking. But he did mention, "The whole world should be like this all the time. I'll remember this."
His song "I Don't Need No Doctor" provided energetic remedying to really get the crowd grooving, but the crowd favorite was "Waiting on the World to Change."
"It relates to what happened here on 4/16," said Lauren Hartman, a freshman. "How the world has changed, and how we've come together after what has happened."
But under blue and green lights, the organ driving tune, Mayer's "Gravity," which he declared his prayer to the crowd, produced sways and hands held high. He played face-melting solos, and tear-inducing riffs and combined with LeRoi Moore from Dave Matthews Band for a particularly soulful duet to end the ballad and his show.
The lights dimmed on the crowd, and like electricity before a summer rainstorm, the crowd moved to its feet, up to its tip toes, eager for the headliner of the event, Dave Matthews Band.
A constellation of cell phones, flashing cameras and lighters illuminated the dark Lane Stadium seconds before the opening chords of "Two Step" played and commenced a three-hour tour de force.
"There is no place I'd rather be in the world," Matthews said, "than right here with y'all."
The Virginia-based band played the gamut of its career recordings including "Dream Girl," "Crash," a collaboration with John Mayer on "#41," and a meshed "So Much to Say," with "Too Much."
Though Matthews and the others did not receive any monetary compensation for the concert, they seemed to have received an even greater reward.
"Thanks for having us," Matthews said, "It's been a great night for us, we will remember it for all time."
"We always feel united here in Lane," said Patrick Curboy, a marketing management major. "Some nights more than others though. After a tough football game, a great concert really felt good. The atmosphere was great."
Matthews, Boyd Tinsley, violinist, and Carter Beauford, drums, were all smiles on stage and seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves up there, happy to be among the Hokies, and entertaining the crowd with their upbeat and jamming tunes.
Perhaps the most poignant and touching moment of the night was when Dave and crew covered Bob Marley's, "Everything is Going to be Alright," which had the crowd's hands clapping and voices in unison during the chorus. The cover warped into "Stay," which ended the regular portion of the concert, and the double screens opposite the stage showed a ribbon with a VT in honor of the victims.
"Have a great year," Matthews said to the crowd, "I hope it's the best year you guys have."
The band returned after a short break to perform an encore of "Ants Marching," to which Tinsley burnt up the strings, Beauford beat up the drums, and Dave strained his voice a little harder to liven up the crowd for their last song of the night. The band waved goodbye and stood in front of the crowd arm-in-arm, united to a warm and thankful round of applause from the fans.
"We are so lucky," said Georgene Clements, a freshman. "I don't even know what to say; it was an amazing way to start my college career." Clements said the events of 4/16, and the rally of the students in the weeks after, "Only made me want to come here even more."
The crowd, bedecked in orange and maroon, boasted smiles a mile-wide and hummed happy tunes recently played during the procession out.
The memory of April 16 may linger for Tech students, but as the students and fans dispersed, sorrow and grief were at least temporarily forgotten.
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