The Amazing Dave Matthews Band

Last night I went to see Dave Matthews Band with my brother Dan and my friend Becky. So fun! I already wrote about how their saxophone player died yesterday. To be honest, I can't believe it. It is still shocking to me. But I said I would write about the concert, so here I go.

Becky and I drove to the Staples Center. We were rather anti for a while, because Dave is someone that should be seen outdoors. I have never seen him indoors - ever. Twice at Verizon Wireless, twice at Home Depot Center, and once at the Gorge in Washington State - ROAD TRIP! AMAZING!! :)

But it actually turned out really well. Since LeRoi had died that day, the entire concert was dedicated to him. They played a lot of his favorite songs to honor his memory. Now, if you haven't seen Dave before, you must know that they don't just play their "hits" at their performances. They don't really have "hits" - at least not with their fans. Everything is good. (I like to say that bad DMB songs are better than many groups' "good" songs!) So everything is fair game - they will play everything and anything. Sometimes you'll get a good set list, and sometimes not. It all depends. Last year at the Gorge it was very mellow, very chill. Fine, but not amazing.

Last night, they played all this stuff that they don't usually play - at least not together. For those of you who know their stuff, they played: Ants Marching, Two Step, The Dreaming Tree, Crash Into Me, Everyday, Grey Street, Bartender, Proudest Monkey, and my personal favorite DMB song ever, Dancing Nancies. (Dan and Becky said I totally flipped when they started playing it. True. I did.)

They also played "Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabriel and "Burning Down the House" by the Talking Heads. Random! That was really fun. The concert was really enhanced by Tim Reynolds, an amazing guitarist who used to play with DMB during the earlier years. (He stopped at Everyday, which is a big turning point album for the band.) So much fun! They of course played some stuff we didn't recognize as well - new songs, stuff from Dave's solo album, etc.

It was a very touching and moving performance. I think it was honestly the best Dave concert I have ever seen - and I have seen him 5 times! Amazing. We will definitely miss LeRoi. No idea whether they will continue to tour, or what. We Dave fans pray that is not the case.

(BTW, that's me and Becky in our "oversmile" pose.) :)