CONCERT REVIEW

THE DAVE MATTHEWS BAND
Verizon Wireless Music Center
Noblesville, Ind.
June 20-21

Entertainment
Art

Story by LINDSEY RODGERS
Photos by BARRY BRECHEISEN

I have one disclaimer: I am a Dave Matthews Band fan. Big. Large. HUGE. I celebrate the band’s entire collection, and I have a fair enough amount of knowledge to say that I am a die hard fan. However, it’s not just me, it’s my friends too. I blame them for the continuation of my Dave madness. It’s almost cultish in how much people obsess over "Dave" (just Dave to the real fans - no Matthews Band here) and how much shock they encounter when - gasp! - someone does not like Dave.

I wouldn’t say I’m that extreme, but let’s just say that the level of affection is high. That being said, June 20th and 21st was the culmination of all the anticipation my friends and I had accumulated in the past year or so since we had seen Dave perform last. He was playing at the Verizon Wireless Music Center in Noblesville, IN and we (of course) had tickets to both shows.

The first night we had tickets in the lawn - I know, not in true Dave fan style, but don’t worry - it gets better. I found the first night to definitely be quite mellow - the band opened up with "Warehouse" and followed up with other slower tunes like "Granny," but quickly picked up the pace for the notorious "So Much To Say/Too Much" combo. Interspersed throughout the night were four new songs from the band, affectionately named New Song #1, 2, 3, and 4 (as named from the DMB Web site). Most of those were fairly low-key, and one even had a hint of country flavor. The audience was energized and singing along with Dave’s fabulous lyrics. As show #1 came to an end, Dave Matthews closed, "I’ll see some of you again tomorrow night."

Damn right, Dave.

Night no. 2 was great. Not just great for a Dave fan, but great for any fan. The night was especially great for me because I was within 25 feet of the band. Just wonderful. The band wanted fans to fill the area in front of the first row, so luckily, me and my buds were lucky enough to have this opportunity (I told you it gets better). Nothing like front-row center to make your night.

This night was definitely all about Boyd Tinsley. Boyd was the man. Not only did he get to do his major jams in "Tripping Billies" and "Ants Marching," the man simply got to rock out his strings for a good portion of the night. He and Dave Matthews constantly jam face to face, making their intensity for the music translate into the audience.

At one point, in a "Jimi Thing" interlude, Dave scatted (for lack of any better word to describe it) for a solid minute or two. The words were fairly incomprehensible, but a "boom" and "crash" here and there made it appear (to my good friend’s judgment) that there was some anti-war sentiment in his scatting.

Thus, for any Dave fan, it is hard to be disappointed with his shows, for he provides a fair and balanced mix of songs from older albums, newer albums, and unreleased music. However, for the non-converted Dave fan, his show has enough variety that it should snag anyone into having a good time.