RUSS'S STORY: (August 25, 2001 from the Gorge, Washington State)
I started writing this last week, but then got delayed. It's weird to write reviews this late, especially now that the shows are out and about... I haven't heard them yet, so I'm still relying on what's in my head. Saturday night (I felt) was the weakest of the three nights, so hopefully Sunday (which was unbelievable) will be a lot easier to write...
If people think it's annoying that I'm posting the reviews this late, let me know and I'll stop. Otherwise...
8/25: Seats A 22, seats 7+8
The boys came on at around 8:10 or so again, looking a little somber. Dave came out and pointed at each of the signs in the front, with either nods or head shakes (or so says Lee, I couldn't really see it). They didn't quite have the energy that I saw the night before. I was a little concerned until they kicked into...
==> Tripping Billies:
All of a sudden the night opened up into a rip-roaring Billiestravaganza. Trip-a-licious. Boyd was all over this one and it really got the crowd into the game early. Dave sounded pretty hoarse from the start, but he wasn't struggling, just raspy. I love Billies as an opener, it's like buying Carolyn some Dave porn: it's sure to get a positive reaction. A great way to start the show. ==> Warehouse:
Woos were all around us from the start. Warehouse used to be my favorite tune (until #41 nudged it out of the top spot), but it was the first DMB tune that really caught my attention. It's so much fun and it sounds soooo good with Butchy on keys. Warehouses without keyboards just aren't as fun. We had plenty of rolling runs on keys followed by raucous runs from Roi. Dave started to get into the show a bit more here, spreading good feelings all around. The tune ended, then Dave got that big guess-what-I'm-about-to-do grin on his face. He said something to Carter and Carter started laughing loudly again. He meandered up to the mike and began to doodle.
==> Don't Burn the Pig, Part II:
It was pretty obvious to me what Dave was trying to do as he fiddled around with chords and mumbling stuff while looking back at Carter and grinning. He was trying to remember where he had left off the night before! I went nuts. He started out saying "Here we are" or something like that, then nodded and said "Here are we, On this starry night staring into space" Then he said some other stuff that I don't recall, but remember as being close to the Pig lyrics for the 4th verse. He did not sang any part of the song on either night that corresponded to the B part of the melody. He just noodled around in the standard parts of the verses. Then the moment that we'll have to go back to the tapes for. I swear that at the end of this (shorter) tease (about 2-3 minutes tops) he sang "Don't burn the pig. Don't burn the pig." instead of "Don't burn the day". *That's* why I think that it was listed as the Don't Burn the Pig tease. My guess is that these are the older lyrics and that's why it wasn't listed as Pig. Now, some others (Lee, Holly, Heather, etc.) said that Dave said "day". I think they're nuts and just heard what they were expecting to hear. Either that or I was hallucinating. Anyways, after singing "don't burn the pig/day", he smiled and stopped. Then we went into ...
==> Won Suite Werld Jam:
This was a long one, with Dave and Roi taking some long, long solos. Very cool and very mellow. People in our section started talking, which drives me crazy. We also had some people passing us for like the 5th or 6th time. Please people: drink at concerts, do not get *drunk* at concerts. It only makes me hate you. Anyways, after some sweet playing we slid into...
==> One Sweet World:
I love this song, but I love it more at the Gorge. Something about camping outside, listening to the song overlooking this enormous river gorge, with millions of stars in the sky just makes me all tingly when I hear "Lie in our mother's arms". Crazy freaking goosebumps. Roi was really, really solid on this tune. When he plays, he never really moves. He looks like a statue, shades down, communing with all the other great sax greats that he channels through for some sweet, sweet stuff. Very nice. After this tune, the Ladies appeared and Dave had the acoustic, so I was thinking IIHIA, but instead we got a nice surprise in...
==> BOWA:
Awesome with the Ladies. They sing just enough to contribute, but not enough to change the original feeling that you got from the song. The crowd didn't really pick up on the "Hey La"'s as much as I had hoped but Dave and the Ladies were just trading them back and forth like mad. Dave has really improved his improvisational *singing* as well as his guitar playing. He was doing some mean scat all weekend and it really showed through on this tune. The nice thing about the old tunes like BOWA/Warehouse/Billies/OSW is that they keep the crowd fired up. I figured we were pretty much due for an Everyday tune and sure enough, out came the electric...
==> Fool To Think:
*Much* tighter than what I heard in Vegas. They're still giving Dave an extra beat (or is it Carter) so that the time change is easier to handle. I don't really like the extra beat, but Dave is sure playing the h-e-double-hockey sticks out of this song. It's very solid, but suffers from that same people-can't-dance-to-anything-not-in-four-itis that we see with STDH. Drunk (or boring) people started sitting down (or falling over the folded up chairs, that had been disconnected the previous evening). Sigh... still a very solid tune and it's really starting to grow on me. He's staying electric for the next tune and out come the ladies. I was thinking maybe Angel, but instead ...
==> I Did It:
The second time we got this one, a little better than the first night I thought. It had a little more energy to it, and we really needed it to bring the crowd back out of a post-FTT funk.
==> Crash:
Holy crap... the crowd pleasing roar that lifts your spirits. For me, this song (which looks bad on a setlist) can be a huge pick up in concert. I still feel that it was a mood killer in Philly in December (see my review of that show), but tonight it was like a life preserver. Dave was coy, as always, and the boys did a nice job. I still think that Mike Vernal was correct and that Carter needs to start playing this song with brushes again. I hate the snare rolls... grumble, grumble...
==> Captain tease:
Giddy-freaking-up. When he started playing I was wondering what song this could be... remember that I have not heard the Lillywhite Sessions yet AND I don't have any Dave/Tim Captain shows. So, this was a first for me. Tasty with Dave on solo, but his voice was really starting to break up here. The song is wonderfully dark and I was sooo... sure that they would bust out a full band version. Of course, I was wrong, but was not to be disappointed with...
==> Seek Up:
This song follows me around like a bad haircut. I mean, seriously, I've heard it like 4 or 5 times live now, and I just can't avoid it. Good thing it's one of my favorite tunes. This was a fantastically, jammalicious, tripping Seek Up. Stefan stole the proverbial show with some solid, solid bass work. I've noticed that a lot more people know the words to this tune than knew them at some of the earlier shows I've been too. Either a lot of the newer fans are buying the older CD's (or at least L@RR) or I'm getting seated with better fans. Probably a little of both. :-) Roi ripped off some great, laid-back solos as well. The only problem was that people WERE STILL MOVING AROUND. AHHH!!! I know that some of you have to use the restroom every 15 minutes, but that means that you left and came back TWICE WITHIN THE SAME SONG!!! They should just sell Honey Bucket seats for people who are ignorant enough to be meandering around in the middle of a jam. Anyways, even the constant flow of people in and out of our seats was not enough to kill my complete enjoyment of our boys' jamming. Dave did some scatting at the end and I was thinking that we would get some Minarets. After a long-long-long jam out we went into ...
==> Butch's Trippy Interlude:
Man, how can they ever play without Butch again? They need to cut him in on a full 1/6 of the proceeds, give him a Full Band Member #6 jacket and badge and make him full-time. He was absolutely brilliant during the interlude. When you play trippy, long-winded, Dead-ishly meanderful passages like this, you can seriously risk putting the audience to sleep unless you're really careful. I don't know that Butch avoided this for the ADD Saturday night crowd, but I thought what he played was at the very least masterfully sly. About 5 minutes of this, and we finally got to what I figured out was coming...
==> PNP:
Sweet. Some people might count Butch's Trippy Interlude as part of PNP, but, guess what, it's not. PNP brings the crowd up, because they all know the words and it can screamed: "Let us relax now..." Right into...
==> Rapunzel:
A little faster than usual, but still funky like crazy. At this point the boys are playing for what seems like about 30 minutes straight. Butch just took the show onto his back at this point. He was doing some MAD pounding of the keys. I mean, MAD pounding. Dave's voice came back a little bit for this one, but he really let the other boys shine. It also amuses me to no end that I almost never talk about Carter when I review stuff. I think it's because Carter ALWAYS shows up and almost never messes up, so we start to take him for granted. So let me say again: Carter is not good, Carter is *God*. Like a shot in the arm for the fans after the dreamy Seek Up/Interlude/PNP.
==> #36->Everyday->#36:
Will I ever again be able to hear this song live and not think of Vegas? I don't think so. Still, the crowd definitely chimed in with some Hani, hani's in the background towards the end. Most impressive during this tune was more Dave-scatting at the end. It was noticeble over all three days that Dave is really trying to use his voice like another instrument, experimenting with different rhythms and tones. I love this song and think it is one of the band's best (especially with the #36's on either end of it). Much dancing, much rejoicing, and thankfully nobody getting up and leaving in the middle of it.
==> Lover Lay Down:
A nice surprise. This song was an old favorite of mine, used to reside in the top 5 tunes for a while. It has since fallen by the way side, a victim of other songs that I'm just enjoying a bit more. This tune really showcases Dave's showmanship. I feel like he wants to have sex with *me* and I'm a freaking guy! Very sensual, very moving, very chill. When you hear this tune and look into a clear night sky and see million stars, thinking of the person you care about... sigh... no wonder everyone in the crowd loves it so much. Carter laid down a nice little backbeat to keep it from dragging, and Stefan made his presence felt.
==> If I Had It All:
I called this one straight away. Ladies+acoustic+we hadn't heard many Everydays to this point. Lee and I discussed this one post show and agreed: the Ladies make a decent song here totally bad-a**ed. I love the way they groove and the boys absolutely feed off of it. The Ladies are like Instant-Soul: take any reasonable DMB tune and turn into a gospel/R&B masterpiece. Lee and I are totally all over the "If-I-If-I-Had-It-All"'s that the Ladies sing. They're totally sic on this song, gotta love em....
==> Recently: No intros.
At this point, I think Dave just plays this song so that he can remember all the words for the next time that he tries to play a long version. Still, even without intros/outros/serious jamming, this is one of the strongest songs in the vaults and I love it. Dave was really showing some strain at this point. I thought for sure that he'd be wrapping it up after this song... no outros, although I always allow in my head that little wish for the Water/Wine outro...
==> Digging A Ditch:
Another one of those songs that gains added meaning when you're someplace situated in the middle of nowhere, with Mother Nature all around you. It's so mellow and so wonderful. You could totally tell that Dave was feeling this one. While he sings this song he spends almost all of his time looking out to the lawn and up at the stars. It's like he closes his eyes and completely communes with nature... awesome, awesome, awesome.
==> Grey Street:
Hoo-hah. By far, the most understandable lyrics to Grey Street that I have ever heard. Dave did not mumble or grumble through this at all. The boys were extraordinarily tight on this tune, in retrospect, I felt that this Grey St. was tighter than the one that they played on the third night. I have no idea how Dave pulled off the screaming at the end. By the end of Ditch, he seemed to be totally out of gas. But there's something about the way this song starts that just seemed to call him back to life. Boyd has started adding some really, really nice background stuff to this tune as well. Roi was fantastic too. It's obvious that this song is their favorite. Without a doubt, if the LWS's had been released, Grey Street would have won a Grammy. I'm completely convinced of it... it's one of those songs that appeals to everyone, yet doesn't fit into any one category. Grey Street and Bartender were the two Lillywhite casualties, I'm glad that they got some radio play so as to further distribute them amongst the masses. The lights during this tune are amazing as well. I was fairly certain that this was our closer... but then the Ladies came out... I was expecting a second Stay, but instead we got
==> The Space Between:
I don't think Dave botched the words the second time around. In fact, I think he popped a little glance back to Carter when he got to the part where he had messed up the night before. At this point, I thought Dave looked exhausted, I just wanted him to go off stage and get some rest before the Waste encore (I knew it was coming). But no!!! I heard Stefan fiddling around and instead of a break we got
==> Stefan's Big Mutha Solo:
Man, this guy is a good bass player. Why can't they get him so more solos?!?!?! Vic gets solos, Arne Livingston of Living Daylights gets solos, GIVE STEFAN MORE SOLOS!!! His fingers were flying, his slapping was gut-wrenchingly tight. It's ridiculous how good the Dave Matthews Band can be when there aren't enough solos for someone like Stefan. I'd love to hear Stefan get a good bass solo in #41 like Vic always gets when they're on Fleckation. Of course, that goes into:
==> Watchtower:
What is up with this guy? His voice is getting so raspy that *my* throat hurts, but he still belts out a totally great Watchtower. Boyd was on fire, I think I saw smoke coming from his bow. The crowd just goes nuts during this tune, you'd think they were giving out free oral sex or something with all the revelry. The lights just add to the feeling of being in a war zone that no one minds being in. Crazy, crazy, crazy... an emotional rush to the end of a set. At this point, I said to myself: Well, everyone should hear Jimi's version, cause it's still the best. But Jimi's dead, and these guys rip this tune off pretty darn well. It's not so bad that people are beginning to identify this Dylan tune with the DMB.
Whew... encore break. I was definitely feeling Waste-d at this point. But, of course, true to form, Dave throws in a little something extra for us at the Gorge...
==> #40:
Nice. Nuff said.
Waste: Hadn't heard this one yet either (I'm really behind in collecting 2001 shows). A great, great tune and hopefully will get some of the less ardent fans interested in some of Trey's other work. He's a talented songwriter and musician. The lyrics are quite strong, which I hadn't expected due to my less-than-informed Phish opinions. I expected something more smarmy and wise-acre, but it was actually pretty heartfelt. Dave did a nice job and people stayed surprisingly unannoying for the most part. The rest of the band came back on and I wasn't sure what we were gonna get. Dave went right back to Stefan and Carter and started gesticulating wildly with this hands. It seemed like he was trying to explain to them what he wanted them to play. It was really, really funny. Carter looked at Dave like he was totally nuts. Then Dave looked at Butch and started pretending to play the keyboard. He wanted Butch to play something on the synth, but I couldn't make out what it was. Then I realized... Dave wanted to skip SMTS and go straight into...
==> ASTB
Wow.... you wouldn't think that an interlude/bridge could make for a crazy good song on it's own, but these guys ripped it up. More Stefan on fire, more Butch goin crazy. Dave seems to really, really like this jam. I wonder if he'll try and expand it into something larger later on... of course, the solid finisher was coming up in...
==> Too Much:
A rip-roaring, string-busting, crowd-pleasing finale. Dave summoned the rest of his voice strength to drop a reasonable number of suckitups in their. The band was obviously toast by the end of the number, covered in sweat, despite the coolness of the night air. I was feeling pretty good, knowing that I still would be getting one more full night of music.
(Photos on this page courtesy of my friend Amy A.)
