Review of Dave Matthews Band in Virginia – Tour Dates
I am a Dave Matthews Band fan. That is to say I am among legions who worship at the altar that is the Dave Matthews Band. Therefore my expectations prior to arriving at their August 8, 2009 show at the Nissan Pavilion near Manassas, Virginia were well beyond high, and I was not disappointed.
The Dave Matthews Band formed in Charlottesville, VA in the early 90’s, under the looming shadow of the University of Virginia. The band is considered “native” to Virginia and to a lesser extent, the Washington DC area. They are a jam band, known for lengthy tours, and long musical riffs on their songs, allowing each musician to showcase his abilities.
This particular tour comes after a near 5-year hiatus, one in which the band members were not altogether sure they would ever re-group. They were, in their own words, “burned out.” After separate music projects, and separate small tours, they reunited and began writing new music in their “eco-friendly” studio just outside Charlottesville. A tour was being considered when the band was struck by the sudden and unexpected death of their longtime friend and saxophonist, LeRoi Moore, who succumbed to complications from an ATV accident August of 2008. The impact helped form what would become “Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King
The band exploded on stage with “Why I Am”, a hard-driving ode to LeRoi (who, it should be noted, went by the nickname of “Grux”, and is referred to as “The Groo Grux King”, hence, the title of the CD). From there they moved to “Funny The Way It Is”, their current charted single from the album. They interspersed some of the older songs in between the new music, “ #41” being my personal favorite Dave Matthews Band song, and they even threw in a lively cover of the Talking Heads’ “Burning Down The House”, to the delight of the sold out crowd. Matthews himself played guitar and danced constantly, smiling all the while. His voice was in top shape and he was having a great time. He is a joy to watch.
Because they have a penchant for longer tunes to allow for the band members to jam and solo, the drawback tends to be, in my opinion, that you actually get fewer songs for your concert experience. However, the trade-off is enjoying watching these talented musicians weave their music together (some have called it “fusion”). Band originals include, along with Matthews, Violinist Boyd Tinsley, Drummer Carter Beauford, and Bassist Stefan Lessard (who joined the group at a mere 16).
With the evening devoted to music and very little chatter, the end still came far too soon. After over 2 hours, the band exited the stage for about 10 minutes before being hailed back by very exuberant fans. Their brief encore included an over 10 minute hybrid of “All Along The Watchtower”, and “Stairway To Heaven”. It was a big ending to a big night. Dave Matthews Band is a group of super-talented musicians who clearly love what they do. I highly recommend seeing them.
This review was written by guest blogger Erika Hudson Juliano . Thank you for sharing your DMB experience with us.
Dave Matthews Band has several more dates including the Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco, CA which runs August 28 through August 30, 2009 also featuring Pearl Jam and Tenacious D.
Here are the rest of the dates:
| Sun. 8/30/09 | w/Jason Mraz in Fresno, CA | Tickets |
| Fri. 09/04/09 | George, WA | Tickets |
| Sat. 09/05/09 | George, WA | Tickets |
| Sun. 09/06/09 | George, WA | Tickets |
| Wed. 09/09/09 | Los Angeles, CA | Tickets |
| Thu. 09/10/09 | Los Angeles, CA | Tickets |
| Sat. 09/12/09 | Chula Vista, CA | Tickets |
| Sun. 09/13/09 | Irvine, CA | Tickets |
| Sat. 09/19/09 | Camden, NJ | Tickets |
| Sun. 09/20/09 | Camden, NJ | Tickets |
| Wed. 09/23/09 | Scranton, PA | Tickets |
| Fri. 09/25/09 | Des Moines, IA | Tickets |
| Sat. 09/26/09 | Tinley Park, IL | Tickets |
| Tue. 09/29/09 | North Little Rock, AR | Tickets |
| Wed. 09/30/09 | Kansas City, MO | Tickets |
