Tripping Billies roll through Columbus, by Kevin Alcox Columbus Wired Columnist

"You and me and all our friends such a happy human race"

by Kevin Alcox, Columbus Wired

In a few months Dave Matthews Band and its tour will be stampeding through Columbus and like usual tickets will be a rare commodity. What can one do to prepare or guarantee them selves the entertainment of DMB?

Well how about seeing their act on April 19th at the New Port Music Hall in the Arena District. No, Dave Matthews Band will not be performing so to say, but Tripping Billies will be.

Tripping Billies, a band from Rochester, NY, is a Dave Matthews Tribute Band and is quickly becoming recognized on the East Coast as the best Dave Matthews tribute band in the nation. Not only is their sound identical to DMB, but their performances have been rated as the most accurate and entertaining tributes to one of today's most popular bands.

How did Tripping Billies come about, well lead singer Brandon DePaul said that his "respect and love for the music put out by Dave (Matthews Band) motivated him to put this band together and bring the music he loves to Dave's fellow fans."

"What makes us so popular is the fact that we are a quick fix for Dave (Matthews Band) fans because tickets are hard to come by and they are rarely in town. So when we perform fans can come hear the music and feel the excitement on their shows," said DePaul. "In no way are we trying to rip off DMB or use them, we are just as big of fans as the people who attend concert after concert. We just decided to put our own show on for our enjoyment as well as our and Dave's fans."

The band is made up of talented musicians who have mastered the art of playing DMB's songs and also have created many of their own tracks with a DMB sound that have received great responses from fans and even Dave himself.

"From the start, I've wanted to make the Tripping Billies as authentic as possible. With the current lineup, I believe we have the world's most authentic Dave Matthews tribute band (Tripping Billies Official Website)," said DePaul.

"Come down to the show, if you like Dave come on down. With much respect to Dave we try to put all the excitement and energy into our show that Dave brings to his fans time after time."

As a Dave Matthews fan myself, I promise this concert will just more excitement in anticipation of Dave Matthews Band coming to Columbus later this summer.

*Title of article taken from Tripping Billies, song by Dave Matthews Band off the Crash Album