This is a picture that I snapped of Travis Barker a few hours before his plane crashed in Columbia late last night. Four people are dead. Travis and DJ AM (Adam Goldstein) were critically injured and are being treated for severe burns at the Augusta Burn Center.I woke up this morning with my ears still ringing from the concert, only to find out about that crash. It’s a little surreal. Life is so short and really can change in a moment.
I’ve gotten so many e-mails, facebooks and text messages saying almost exactly the same thing… “that’s crazy.” Every person says something about “crazy” in their messages and that’s really the best word to describe it all – crazy.
I went to the concert to see my favorite artist – Gavin DeGraw. Travis and AM were opening for Gavin and I was lucky enough to be in the front row. I haven’t seen Travis do anything musically since Blink 182 broke up and didn’t quite know what to expect. He’s a drummer… what can a drummer do with no band and no frontman?
Everyone in the crowd was a little skeptical about Travis and AM taking the stage. But, they ended up putting on an amazing show. AM was spinning popular songs from all genres and decades and Travis was pounding away on his set to them all. I’ve never experienced anything like it before – they made me a believer. After almost a full hour of nonstop drumming they worked the crowd into a frenzy and had us begging for more.
I honestly didn’t know much about DJ AM before last night. He was just a guy who was engaged to Nicole Ritchie. But, he really won me over with his personality on stage. He and Travis never spoke a word the whole time they performed, but AM oozed personality. He has a blast on the tables and it shows. He feels the music and you know how I feel about that.My first experience with Travis goes way back to 2000 when I was an intern for MTV News. My very first day at good old 1515 found me logging a Blink 182 interview. I spent 7 hours logging that damn video. I remember that Travis didn’t say much. Mark and Tom did most of the talking. But, I guess you don’t have to talk all that much when you own the drum set like he does.
Here’s to a speedy recovery. Their injuries are serious, but I hope they make it through. I would hate to think that I saw their last show ever – just as I was becoming a fan.
More of my pictures from the concert (Gavin DeGraw also included)
