Article Archives

August 31st, 2006

Group has something for the college kid in everyone at the Bowl

By Zeke Barlow

HOLLYWOOD —To be honest, I had more hair the first time I saw the Dave Matthews Band play. But so did Matthews.

It was 1994 and he was headlining a Richmond, Va., outdoor concert for 5,000 college hippies drunk on the potential of their lives stretching out before them. Matthews and his jam/jazz band were on the edge of their own leap into a limitless future that surely held greater stardom and the coveted title of rock stars.

The band had put out two independent-label records that garnered a huge 20-something following that danced and swayed Deadhead-style, though Matthews' playing was always crisper than Jerry's ramblings.

I grew older, saw a few more shows where I danced and swayed and, over time, like others, wasn't as much of a fan of his slicker, highly produced CDs aimed at catapulting him into stardom. But catapult they did. The group earned one Grammy trophy from five nominations.

August 29th, 2006

By Paul Gargano

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Dave Matthews walked onstage in front of the sold-out crowd at Verizon Amphitheater on Friday night as if he didn't have a worry in the world.

He strolled around the open stage for a minute or so, checked out the crowd and made a few gestures in recognition of their ovation, strapped a guitar over his shoulder and couldn't have been any more nonchalant as he broke into the opener, "Pantala Naga Pampa/Rapunzel."

And for the next two hours and 45 minutes, the music erased every worry in the world throughout the crowd -- from the young set, embracing their generation's more mainstream and pop-minded descendent of the Grateful Dead, to middle-age aficionados who marveled at Matthews and his six-piece live band's acute blend of world music flair, jazz-fueled funk and soul-soaked charisma.

August 29th, 2006

BY ROB LOWMAN, Entertainment Editor

"If you can't have fun at a Dave Matthews concert, where can you have fun?" asked pretty dark-haired Rachel Musquiz rhetorically.

It was her birthday. She was turning 23 and she was ready to party along with 17,000 others Monday night at the Hollywood Bowl.

Never underestimate the power of wanting to have a good time, and Matthews and his band delivered the party favors to a crowd that ranged in their 20s to there 50s, with some looking like Ivy Leaguers and others more at home at a Hell's Angels convention. One guy a couple of rows up from me didn't take off his sunglasses all night.

August 28th, 2006

REVIEW: What brought euphoria last summer felt rote at Dave Matthews Band's Irvine stop.

By BEN WENER - The Orange County Register

The problem with reviewing jam bands in their natural habitat – an outdoor amphitheater packed with frat boys and neo-hippies and engulfed in clouds of pot smoke – is that they defy any sensible analysis, any possible summation of a commonly shared experience.

Reactions to such shows are subjective in the extreme. One acidhead's brilliant half-hour exploration of "Dark Star" is another toker's snoozefest, while the Phish-head who still avidly trades tapes of endless gigs may never get the slightest charge out of an hour from the String Cheese Incident.

Who and what you respond to is deeply personal. And that's what makes encounters with Dave Matthews Band so potentially maddening.

August 21st, 2006

Fort Worth Star-Telegram - By CARY DARLING

Cargo shorts, T-shirts, beer cups, and the Dave Matthews Band. They kind of go together like baseball, hot dogs and Mom's apple pie, especially when doing a slow-bake in an oven-hot Dallas on Saturday night.

But even if the weather hadn't been akin to standing downwind from Satan's breath, the sold-out Smirnoff Music Center would have been full of the dressed-down and wired-up, ready to party with their favorite nice guy next door: singer-guitarist Dave Matthews.

Clad in his usual T-shirt and slacks, he doesn't cut a stylish figure on stage, seems pleasant enough but doesn't show a ton of personality, and his voice is serviceable but hardly earth-shaking. What he does have, though, is a phenomenal band. It got to show off what it can do with its pop-R&B-jazz-jam band mix in a generous 2 1/2 -hour set.

August 20th, 2006

By MATT WEITZ - The Dallas Morning News

There are a lot of bands that were red-hot 10 years ago, but few have managed as comfortable a transition to elder statesmen status as the Dave Matthews Band.

JUSTIN COOK/DMN Dave Matthews' theatrical vocals and spidery acoustic guitar playing were just part of the drama that earned thunderous approval from the sold-out audience on Saturday.

That was apparent Saturday night at DMB's sold-out show at Smirnoff Music Centre. From the very first notes of "Best of What's Around" (from the group's name-making 1994 release Under the Table and Dreaming), it was clear that the crowd was inclined to greet Dave's every grunt and smirk with a thunderous wave of adulation.

August 18th, 2006

By John Lyman - Pine Crest School

What's the only thing better than catching the Dave Matthews Band concert in South Florida? I'm sure there are a lot of appropriate answers (world peace, universal healthcare, child-birth), but "seeing the performance twice" would certainly make the list. Of the 19,227 people crammed into Sound Advice Amphitheater for the sold-out band's second concert last week, returning patrons would probably agree.

With a famously eclectic sound that combines the violin, guitar, saxophone, and trumpet, the generation-bridging band appeared on stage for nearly two-and-a-half hours each night. This would not be a huge feat if the performers weren't already two months into their tour, but the 39-year-old front man led with the energy one would expect from a once-in-a-lifetime gig. But I guess that is what one should expect from a band that was founded in 1991 on the principle of long tours -- and lots of them.

August 12th, 2006

By CHARLES PASSY - Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

I hear America singing. Or is that just Dave Matthews?

Actually, it's sometimes hard to tell the difference. When Matthews and his band are on — that is, when they're deep inside the music rather than skimming its jam-oriented surface — they represent a kind of American ideal: democratic in spirit, multiracial in composition and eager to explore the great sonic fabric of this country.

The Dave Matthews Band was definitely on during its Friday night performance at the Sound Advice Amphitheatre, the first in a two-show, sold-out run. (The other concert is tonight.) Although his largely 20-something-aged audience seems willing to take their Dave in any form, they got a more energetic, focused Matthews than we've often seen in recent years.

August 8, 2006

BY MAC RANDALL

The noodle dancers were there. So were the ski jumpers, rock climbers, yogurt vendors, ecological petitioners and, most important, six stylistically diverse bands. In short, all was as Dave Matthews wanted it for his second two-day Island Getaway on Randalls Island.

Last year's trek to this surprisingly bucolic locale was so successful that Matthews decided to do another weekend run this summer. (The second installment of this year's festival was yesterday, with David Gray replacing Gov't Mule as Matthews' opening act.

Buoyed by the fine weather, Matthews and his crack band - who exuded the kind of tightness that only comes from 15 years of playing together - regaled fans with a three-hour show. The set list was heavy with old favorites: "What Would You Say," "Dancing Nancies," "Ants Marching." But there were also a few new songs that the band is considering for its next album.

August 2nd, 2006

BY CHRIS VARIAS | ENQUIRER CONTRIBUTOR

He is the people’s jazzy folk-rocker, and he has been for the last decade.

Dave Matthews made his annual summer stop at Riverbend Tuesday, and as it is every year, the place was sold out, meaning 20,500 Dave Matthews Band devotees under that jazzy folk-rock spell.

And how is this two-hour-plus installment different from the DMB’s others as we look back 10 years? It’s a hard question to answer, so let’s talk about the weather.

The place was hot – very muggy, very uncomfortable. Between songs, Matthews wrapped his arms around himself and pretended to shiver, as if he were cold. (Stop it, Dave, you’re killing me!)

July 29th, 2006

By THOMAS KINTNER

The Dave Matthews Band and the huge audiences it draws have been centerpieces of the Dodge Music Center summer calendar each year since the facility opened, and the current season is no exception. Friday night, the band opened its two-night stand at the venue with a generally crowd-pleasing array of comfortably accessible jam tunes, powering through some portions of its program and wandering through free-flowing jams in others.

Matthews may be the most lionized rhythm guitarist ever to take a stage, and he incited his enthusiastic audience to roaring from the moment he eased into strumming the opening signature of "One Sweet World." The six-piece troupe behind him set a mellow pace drizzled by the soprano saxophone of LeRoi Moore for "Proudest Monkey," while Matthews inserted nonchalant drama into the tune with his soft-pedaled growl.

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.