My next destination was just a hop, skip and a jump from Philadelphia. Dirty, dirty Atlantic City, New Jersey for the first of four Dave Matthews Band Caravans.

While the line-up was delightfully solid, Bader Field as a festival site was a little less than ideal. Not to mention (one of) the inherent flaw(s) in Coran Capshaw's plan: Most DMB fans aren't so much music fans as they are Dave Matthews fans.

I will say, however, that that single flaw was great for the rest of the staff, as we could just walk up to any stage we wanted and have a pretty sweet spot - like we did for the Head and the Heart's set. These guys have been one of my favorites since Bilec's "Songs for Snow" mix CD last winter and it was a delight to finally hear them live. Highly recommended.

Jonathan Russell (top) and Charity Rose Thielen (bottom) of the Head and the Heart/Atlantic Stage/DMB Caravan/Atlantic City, NJ/6.24.11