Time lags hurt strength of performance of Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews gets older; his fans stay the same age. There were a few graying professionals at AmSouth Amphitheatre�s Friday night Dave Matthews Band show to poke a hole in that theory. But the dominant demo suggested that year in, year out, this model for grassroots acoustic jam rock brings new collegians into its cohort, who learn the lyrics like a tribal ritual.
But if the DMB is one of the most popular courses on the sprawling college of musical knowledge, it�s neither required study nor a waste of time. Matthews� shimmying New Orleans backbeats, skillfully supported by drummer Carter Beauford, and the interplay of the five members keeps the shows lively, even if the songs can get a bit redundant.
Friday�s 8:20 to 11:05 p.m. set drew from those strengths, but was undercut by lags between tunes that sapped energy from the sold-out shed and lawn. The break before the encore was especially tedious at more than 10 minutes. And even at the opening of the show, the band sidled out and took forever to just get past the guitar tuning and bow rosining.
Once they did, there was a crafty segue from the lyrically cryptic #41 into Everyday, which featured the first of several powerful LeRoi Moore saxophone solos. A trained jazz man, he has the ability to really build drama out of a musical idea. I�ve said before that fellow soloist Boyd Tinsley, who plays the electric violin, isn�t even in the same league; he�ll saw on three notes ad infinitum, though his ensemble parts and plucked highlights are always fine.
The rest of the night didn�t see equivalent attempts at fusing one song into another. Matthews would set off a cycle of blocky, Celtic inspired guitar chords or spidery riffs, sing a while, the guys would solo and then bring it home. A pensive, Bruce Hornsby-like piano solo from sideman Butch Taylor that sidled into a subtle drum sequence during Bartender was a welcome turn, and later guest guitarist Mike Durham joined in for a manly rock lead in the song Jimi Thing.
Matthews� frequent Nashville guests Futureman and Jeff Coffin (of Bela Fleck�s Flecktones) added percussion and saxophone respectively on a funky-then-whipping Two Step. Then came the lengthy wait for a quick two-song encore of Where Are You Going? and What You Are. It was on those existential notes that a generous evening, obviously one appreciated by those very loyal fans, came to a close.
Earlier, Louisiana singer/songwriter Marc Broussard sounded rich and soul-saturated, like a less affected Joe Cocker, on a small outer ring stage, while the Donavon Frankenreiter Band opened the main stage.
Craig Havighurst/September 20, 2003
The Tennessean