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Story and photos by Matt Schwenke Strolling out on stage with grins and perhaps mischievous smiles, the Dave Matthews Band, as seasoned as they are at playing and selling out large venues, still looked somewhat amazed and sincerely gratified by the carpet of people filling Alpine Valley to the heights of it's lawn seating on the first of two nights at the venue. Opening with "One Sweet World," the classic material from the band's earliest albums would dominate the night's setlist. In "Seek Up" from the band's early 90's debut release Remember Two Things, the musical machine that is Dave Matthew's Band displayed their control in the softest sections of the song before opening up the ending with some heavy lows and fiery strings from bassist Stefan Lessard and violinist Boyd Tinsley, respectively, as well as some hot keys from touring mainstay and unofficial sixth member of the band Butch Taylor.Another beautifully soft and gracefully controlled moment came in the lighter/cell phone-illuminating performance of "Pay For What You Get" off of the band's breakout album Under the Table and Dreaming. Raising the intensity yet again, Crash's "Too Much" proved powerful with a new breakdown in the arrangement and a crazy scatting session by Dave Matthews. Following up with "Jimi Thing," the energy of the evening's performance reached its peak with the crowd feeding off of Boyd's energy and then erupting after a breakdown that featured guest artist Rashawn Ross, of the jazz/funk troupe Soulive, making his trumpet scream in a most spectacular fashion. Prolonging the magic, a sax solo from Leroi Moore led into a double time jam with Dave having a scat conversation with Carter Beauford's masterful drumming, and the moment was further heightened by the scatting of Taylor matching note for note with his own funky piano solo. Not backing off, Dave went through a possessed moment of scatting before a stop brought the whole band into a section of Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" with Dave and Carter singing in perfect harmony above the crowd's chants. Though the set never quite reached the same intensity again and was arguably lethargic by merely the song selection alone, the introduction of some new tunes made for a complete and solid performance before ending the set with Dave's unmistakable voice and Boyd going berserk on violin in "Louisiana Bayou." The most notable of the new tunes was "Break Free" with its decidedly gritty texture and funky horns outro. Endearing and appreciative throughout, Dave returned in the encore with a short story and a solo performance of "Sister" before ending the night with the crowd nearly overpowering the band in singing along to yet another classic in the DMB catalogue, "Ants Marching." And for the record, fans attending both nights were treated with two entirely different sets. Without a single tune being repeated during the two-night stay, DMB appeased its faithful following and will surely welcome many new fans to its on-going legacy of amazing tour performances. |
| DMB setlist 7/1/06: | |
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One Sweet World When The World Ends Hunger for the Great Light What Would You Say? Ryhme & Reason Seek Up Grey Street Pay For What You Get So Much To Say Too Much |
Jimi Thing Crash Kill The King Where Are You Going? Break Free Louisiana Bayou encore: Sister Can't Stop Crush Ants Marching |
| DMB setlist 7/2/06: | |
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Don't Drink the Water Everyday Proudest Monkey Satellite Song That Jane Likes Last Stop If I Had It All Dancing Nancies Warehouse |
Typical Situation Idea of You Grace Is Gone Pig Digging a Ditch Smooth Rider Pantala Naga Pampa Rapunzel encore: John the Revelator Stay |
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