Show Review - Dave Matthews Band @ Walnut Creek 7/02/08

Last night I was fortunate enough to get to see the Dave Matthews Band live in Raleigh at Walnut Creek. My friend (also named Stephen) is a big fan, and since I've been bugging him and a few other friends to see the Black Keys, we all decided to go to shows that the others wanted to see. We'll be seeing Coheed and Cambria at Myrtle Beach in August, the Black Keys in October, and possibly Matisyahu as well. While searching Ticketmaster for all sorts of shows we might be interested in, I came across the Dave Matthews Band. I told Stephen, and he was all for it. Our plan originally was to sneak in wearing uniforms like the folks who worked there (Stephen worked for them for seven years), but we found out once we got there that they had been bought by Livenation, and thus the uniforms had changed. We walked around, debating about what to do, and eventually snagged two reflector vest thingies out of a truck and planned to wear those. But, Stephen ran into one of the dudes he worked with, and he told him that the concert actually hadn't sold out and that there were still plenty of lawn tickets available. However, I had told Stephen from the beginning that I was too poor to buy a ticket, so he was nice enough to pick it up for me (honestly, I wouldn't have been able to pay rent had I bought a $45 ticket). I'd never been to a DMB concert before, nor I had I listened to his music much. I've heard plenty of it, but I've never sat down with an album and spent time with it. Needless to say, the show was absolutely amazing.

7/02/08 Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek, Raleigh, NC

First Set: Seek Up, So Damn Lucky, Corn Bread, Granny, Crush, Sledgehammer, #41, Pantala Naga Pampa>Rapunzel, The Space Between, Dancing Nancies, The Idea of You, Smooth Rider, Everyday, Louisiana Bayou

Encore: Gravedigger, Tripping Billies

Unfortunately, I didn't bring a camera. I kinda sorta kick myself for not doing it now, but all is well, the show was two-and-a-half hours long, in which time I probably wouldn't have taken more than five pics. They all came out with a bang, and the intensity didn't for once die down. All the members impressed me, for all are true masters of their craft.

Tim Reynolds was one of the highlights of the show. He has played with DMB on and off for many years. Tim was able to make his guitar plead for mercy, especially when he played slide. He took it beyond the frets, practically to where he was picking the notes. Tinsley also put on a great show, beating the hell out of that fiddle on every song he could. He shined, along with Stefan Lessard, on “Louisiana Bayou,” one of the last songs of the night.

Jeff Coffin from Bela Fleck and the Flecktones was also an amazing spectacle. Coffin was filling in for LeRoi Moore, who was in an ATV accident earlier this year. In fact, before Dave decided to start the encore, he had the entire audience chant “We want LeRoi!” Even though Moore was absent, Coffin was a superb replacement. Matthews, Lessard, and Coffin all jammed together on the fantastic “#41,” where Coffin went into an amazing solo with Lessard and Matthews right next to him, all of them bouncing up and down and having a genuinely good time.

That was the feeling that the entire night had; a genuine sense of fun. All the members were smiling at each other, and Dave was caught several times dancing around the stage and just enjoying life. As for everyone on the lawn, they were all drunk and smoking cigs, shouting out the lyrics as they fell over each other. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be sure to go to another one soon.

If you were there or have been to any of Dave’s concerts this year, please drop a line and leave your story! I’d love to read it, as well as see any pictures/watch any videos you might have of it.