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July 9th, 2006

By Jed Gottlieb

Toss out any baseball cliche and chances are it would fit the Dave Matthews Band’s two-night stint at Fenway. Home runs? With a dozen hit singles, definitely. A two-game sweep? After consecutive nights of three-hour shows, without a doubt. Double plays? Actually, that one doesn’t fit.

After a Friday night set of old favorites and new material, Matthews and his cohorts conjured another show last night devoid of repeats. If that wasn’t enough to impress the sold-out stadium, the band unleashed a spot of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.”While the band had toyed with the tune in sound checks, the surprise cover came out of left field, tucked nicely between “So Much To Say” and a new song, “Break Free.”

July 8th, 2006

By Christopher Blag

The fourth installment of Fenway’s great rock ’n’ roll experiment kicked off last night with a near-three-hour marathon set from the Dave Matthews Band.

After a rather marginal and by-the-numbers appearance from the ancient Rolling Stones last year, and the unbearably lame booking of the Carnival Cruise Line known as Jimmy Buffett the year before, Matthews came to the rescue, injecting a welcome, youthful unpredictability into the proceedings.

Dave Matthews’ initial foray into Fenway lore eased in gently, the set beginning with the mellow picking groove of “Everyday.” Several more tunes of the lazy-hammock persuasion followed, including the soft evolutionary strut of “Proudest Monkey” and the swirling make-out classic “Satellite.”

July 8th, 2006

By Sarah Rodman, Globe Staff

It was the perfect weather for an evening out at Fenway Park and, aside from the curiously fragrant smoke in the air and the folding chairs cluttering up the outfield, it actually felt a little like a game last night during the first of two sold-out shows by the Dave Matthews Band.

Of all the acts that have played the beloved ballyard during the past four years the amiable Virginia-spawned jam-popsters felt like the most comfortable fit, the least like some kind of breathless, spectacular ``event."

Which doesn't mean the surprisingly quick moving two-hour and 45-minute show wasn't eventful -- the band was in strong form and the set list was well-paced and thoughtfully chosen -- just that the big-money, VIP-ness of past shows was less evident in the collegial, multigenerational crowd.

The night began gently with the quintet -- accessorized by trumpeter Rashawn Ross and keyboardist Butch Taylor -- easing into the murmur of ``Everyday." While the tempo remained on low for a few songs the band managed to keep the tension in the grooves by keeping the tunes -- including ``Pig," ``Proudest Monkey," and ``Satellite" -- short and sweet.

July 7th, 2006

By JAY N. MILLER - The Patriot Ledger

‘Can you believe we’re playing such a wonderful, historic building?’’ Dave Matthews said before his second song Friday night.

Actually, Fenway Park is a baseball stadium, and Matthews might have paid more attention to the dynamics and pacing necessary to keep 35,000 fans up and rocking. Which isn’t to say the Dave Matthews Band’s nearly three-hour set wasn’t musically diverse and occasionally delightful. It’s just that too much of it seemed geared for a smaller venue like the Orpheum, or even a cozy jazz club like the Regattabar. When three-quarters of the people present are so far away the musicians are about thumbnail-size, no manner of video screens can substitute for good old-fashioned rock energy.

Jeff Hahne

Alltel Pavilion Raleigh, N.C.

Having never been to see Dave Matthews Band live before, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

I left more than two hours early for the hour-and-15-minute drive, hoping to ensure plenty of time to get there early.

No such luck. As traffic built up just outside of Raleigh, it would last all the way to the exit. Then to the pavilion. Then to the parking lots

One lane for that much traffic once off the interstate was an easy recipe for disaster. By the time I reached the venue, the main parking lots were already full and people were being directed into nearby fields.

By the time my car rolled onto its grassy parking spot, it was more than three hours after I had left home.

A long hike to the pavilion, a long line for will call, a long line to be searched, a long line to the seats - by the time, I sat down, I had approximately two minutes before DMB hit the stage.

By JEFF MIERS / NEWS POP MUSIC CRITIC - Concert Review

DARIEN CENTER - Throughout Wednesday evening's Dave Matthews Band concert at Darien Lake, there were moments of potential musical glory. Unfortunately, Matthews and his band rarely seized them. Opportunities for the deepening of the Matthews groove - estimable, deep and often threatening to explode - passed by, and though the emotional content of the tunes was high, the missed opportunities took their toll. Matthews & Co. have a great track record at Darien Lake. They've offered up top-notch, near-transcendent shows there, last year's gig most definitely among them. This year's show, while it had its moments, was not up to the level of previous years' shows. Though the band was funky, sensual and attempting to get deep in the groove, it never quite clicked.

By BILL HARRIS - Toronto Sun

TORONTO - The crowd should take a bow. The wedged-in throng at the Molson Amphitheatre last night had a great deal to do with making the concert by the Dave Matthews Band as successful as it was.

The fiercely loyal fans stuck with it through a somewhat staggered start and ultimately were rewarded for their patience with more than two hours of music.

But they were denied the traditional first-glimpse/first-song rush due to some sort of technical delay.

by Jim Harrington - LiveDaily Contributor

At one point during his concert at the Post-Gazette Pavilion on Friday (6/9), Dave Matthews took the time to tell the crowd how impressed he was with nearby Pittsburgh. He went so far as to call Pittsburgh a city in "renaissance." Then--worrying that the flat, unaffected delivery of the compliments might be misconstrued as sarcasm or insincerity--the singer/songwriter felt the need to explain himself. "I'm not lying," he said. "I just sound even more boring when I talk." That--one of Matthews' many detractors would likely add--is really, really saying something.

Laugh all you want Dave-haters, who often complain that the bandleader's music is too boring, pedestrian and mainstream.

June 7th, 2006

Certain bands have a sound that is perfectly fit for summer. The Dave Matthews Band is one. The good-vibe rockers play music that's best enjoyed outdoors, while wearing a t-shirt and shorts. But while the weather is usually warm when Dave's on stage, the opinons of many of The Post's reviewers over the years have been decidedly lukewarm.

by David Lindquist

After writing what I believed to be a generally positive review of the Dave Matthews Band show Friday at Verizon Wireless Music Center, my voicemail and e-mail were hammered by quite a bit of negativity.

I'm pretty sure two words put me in the doghouse of DMB fans, and these words weren't published in The Star.

When I filed my review Friday night, the closing sentence read: "And there would be no harm in shelving subdued nonstarters such as 'The Stone' (which opened Friday's program) and recently revived oldie 'JTR.'"

An editor trimmed the words "recently revived" before the story went to press, perhaps because the reference wouldn't make sense to a general reader without some useful context.

June 2nd, 2006

By David Lindquist

The Dave Matthews Band played a wealth of love songs and focused on its improvisational strengths Friday at Verizon Wireless Music Center. The concert for an audience of 21,000 fell short of perpetual brilliance, but it featured enough gems to signal a strong second performance tonight.

A highlight among Friday's romantic tunes was "The Idea of You," which made its public debut during the show.

Band leader Matthews belted high vocal notes and played a small 12-string guitar for "Idea," which celebrated the youthful feeling of falling in love. The lyrics even included promises to refrain from pulling a girl's hair or kicking her shins.

Despite the song's evident charms, it's still a bare framework lacking an instrumental spark in its second half. Elsewhere, however, Matthews and his bandmates stretched older material to impressive lengths. Violin player Boyd Tinsley stepped up first, rallying "Crush," another lovey-dovey selection, to a full-band triumph.