Throughout the last decade, I have ventured to hundreds of concerts and music festivals, some great shows, some not so great shows. During this time I have created a mental list of everyone I absolutely must see before I die. At the very top of my list is Dave Matthews Band. Even though they tour almost every summer, I unfortunately, have never had the privilege to see DMB - I’m either too late to buy tickets or in the wrong city at the wrong time. So, Dave Matthews has been on my concert radar for years, and this past Saturday I finally was able to catch the band live in concert at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, California. Even though the Verizon Amphitheater and venues similar to it (i.e. the Hollywood Bowl) are probably my least favorite due to their massive size - the sound quality projected by this extremely talented band probably topped my favorites list when it comes to overall concert experiences. They kicked the night off with “Minarets” a low key song to get the crowd's attention and then jumped right into their jam band sessions with songs like “Shake me Like a Monkey” and “Funny the Way It Is” from their latest album, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King. A few of the highlights from the show included the 1995 single, “Satellite,” and the amazing light and video show that accompanied all of their songs. But the light and video show that became especially apparent was during the song, “You Might Die Trying,” from the 2005 album, Stand Up. The flashing black and white video images appeared on the LED monitors in some kind of ripple effect that gave the crowd the illusion that they were spinning away with the band or at least that we were all trapped inside one of those incredibly groovy lamp shades that spin and create images on the walls around them. Just when we thought the night was winding down, Dave came back on for an acoustic, encore performance of Pete Seeger’s, “Rye Whiskey.” He was then accompanied by the other band members and finished off the night with the classic DMB jam, “Jimi Thing,” complete with an instrumental battle between Dave on guitar and Boyd Tinsley on violin. 
The sound quality of the concert was amazing, better than any DMB album I have ever purchased. The lights and video show were unbelievable (however, Muse at Coachella might be tied with DMB for the light display), so needless to say - I can now die happy. Check out DMB's latest studio album, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, I promise you won't be disappointed. Click here to view the setlist from August 21, 2010
Read More
