Dave Matthews Band Show

On 4/20/09, we went to see the DMB with our friends Eric & Kelly in Birmingham. We all went to eat some BBQ at Full Moon BBQ before the show. For those of you unfamiliar with Birmingham, it has great BBQ. There is literally a BBQ joint within blocks of wherever you are in Birmingham, it's crazy....it's also crazy good. We left in plenty of time to make the show, however we barely made it in time. Full Moon was about 5 mins from the venue and we left there about an hour and a half before the show even started and traffic was so bad it took us 45 mins to go about 5 miles....and to make things worse, when we get to the show, the will call line is a mile long and barely moving. We finally got in, missed the opening act and didn't sit for 5 mins before Dave and the Band came out....wheeewww! That was a close one!

Now...this was my 16th time seeing the DMB...crazy huh? What makes them so good is that no show is the same and this one was no exception. We got to hear an incredible set that flowed very well. They played some really old tunes like Recently (one of their first songs) and jammed out some of my personal fav's like Ants Marching, Grey Street, and Dreaming Tree. They played 3 brand new songs (Funny the Way it is, Why I Am, and Spaceman) from the upcoming album and all of them were great. I believe we all agreed that Why I Am was probably our favorite of the 3...it has a great upbeat sound and a great hook. It will likely be the second single from the new album....I'm always excited for new DMB music, however their past few albums have just been OK in my opinion. This album has the makings of being a great one. Ok...back on track...they jammed out the song Recently with some clever rhythm changes (Did I ever mention Carter, their drummer, is a phenom) and jams with the horns that were crazy! Same goes for Rhyme and Reason, Ants, Cornbread, and Grey St....crazy jams! Dave let the crowd sing nearly the whole song called Jimi Thing...it was pretty cool. After Jimi Thing, they went into a Jam called "Anyone seen the bridge" into the song Too Much (Just for a second) as a fake...then into a rocking Tripping Billies to close the set. Now...in amongst all of this...Dave was in a funny mood all night, dancing crazy and being silly on stage, talking to the crowd quite a bit which also added to the entertainment value as he is a pretty odd individual.

The Encore was super...They played a few verses of another incredibly old song of theirs called Blue Water and then Dave played a very pretty song called "Sister." After sister, we all got a super surprise of DMB covering the old 80's song "Burning Down the House." It was very very awesome...and it wasn't even over then. We got Rapunzel as a closer, which is one of mine and Jennifer's favorite songs. It was a great great show...always leaves me wanting more. This was also Eric & Kelly's first time seeing DMB...and Kelly's first big rock concert in general. We all had a great time and I think DMB set the bar pretty high for Kelly with it being her first show...tons O fun. Below is the setlist they played and a pic of all of us before the show.

Don't Drink the Water
Dreaming Tree
Recently
You Might Die Trying
Why I Am (New Song)
Rhyme and Reason
Funny the Way it is (New Song)
Ants Marching
Raven
Crash Into Me
So Damn Lucky
Spaceman (New Song)
Cornbread
Grey Street
Jimi Thing
Anyone Seen the Bridge--->
Too Much (Fake)--->
Tripping Billies

Encore:
Blue Water (First verse)
Sister
Burning Down the House (Talking Heads Cover)
Pantala Naga Pampa--->
Rapunzel

Picture of all of us before the show...