The Dave Matthews Band's short, 16-show spring tour has been a nice treat for fans in the southeastern U.S., as the band has been heating up venues one city at a time.
After a few shows up north, the band played twice in its hometown of Charlottesville, Va., a show in Pelham, two shows in North Carolina, one in Nashville, Tenn., one in New Orleans, La., and two in Alpharetta, Ga.
The guys are currently en route to Texas, where they will play their next two shows.
I had the pleasure of seeing the band for my fifth and sixth time, in Nashville and night two in Alpharetta.
First off: I've never heard the band sound this good.
DMB has been playing some new material from the upcoming album, "Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King," due out June 2, but it's not that the new songs are so good. It's the quality of the music I'm talking about.
Everything\0xAD -- old and new, top to bottom \0xAD-- is sounding crisp, and much better than in recent tours. They are simply hitting on all cylinders.
Jeff Coffin, who is replacing the late LeRoi Moore on the saxophone, sounds like he's been playing with the other members for the last 20 years.
Moore, a founding member of the band, died in August of last year from injuries suffered in an ATV accident that June.
Coffin's style is a little more aggressive than Moore's was, and they both have their pros and cons, but Coffin is undoubtedly the best possible replacement for Moore there is, especially because DMB has jammed with Coffin's band, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, countless times in the past.
So without further adieu, the following are two separate reviews of the shows I attended this year.
NASHVILLE:
I was up at the front for this one, just about dead center. I've never been closer than this, so obviously the energy and excitement were high.
The venue was nice -- I had never been to Vanderbilt Stadium before. It's very small in college football standards, but great for a concert.
Old favorites like "Ants Marching" and "Jimi Thing" rocked, as usual.
Drummer Carter Beauford's drum solo on "Two Step" was one of the best I've heard, and trumpet player Rashawn Ross' jam with saxophonist Jeff Coffin toward the end of "Grey Street" was fantastic. Nice to see them take that song and run with it.
The big treat of the night was a full-band, albeit partial version, of the rarity "Blue Water Baboon Farm."
The soft "Blue Water" was heavy on 1993 setlists, and has since been teased a few times and played in a handful of acoustic shows. Before Nashville, the last time a full-band version of Blue Water was played was 1995.
Other notable performances from the night were three new songs, "Why I Am," "Spaceman" and the band's radio single, "Funny The Way It Is."
"Why I Am" is a heavy, fast song with a lot of promise. Matthews told the crowd it was Moore's favorite of the new tunes he recorded for "Big Whiskey."
ALPHARETTA, NIGHT TWO:
The boys threw Alpharetta two debuts Wednesday night, an unexpected b-side from "Big Whiskey" called "Beach Ball" and a cover of Tex Ritter's "Rye Whiskey."
However, "Rhyme and Reason" made the night. It's one of my personal favorites and I had never heard it played live. The band brought up guest Joe Lawlor, who played a great electric guitar solo.
Fan favorites like the opener, "Everday," were played, along with "Crash Into Me" and "Tripping Billies."
Something else worth mentioning - electric guitarist Tim Reynolds, a touring member of the band, played an eerie intro to "Satellite," something I've never heard before.
My friend David, who was sitting much closer (I was in the lawn) told me one of Beauford's drums broke and they were changing it out so to avoid silence, Reynolds took Satellite and messed around with it. Really looking forward to hearing that again.
I'd like to hear Reynolds jam more often though. There needs to be at least one or twos songs per show where he has a real opportunity to cut loose.
Regardless, anticipation is high for the new album. I've heard it sounds similar to the band's 1996 record, "Crash," so take that as you may.
I would imagine the band will unveil one more new tune before the spring tour wraps.
DMB's year is just getting started, and if this spring tour is any indication, the 2009 tour might be one of the band's best yet.
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