DMBzilla
04-20-2009, 12:43 AM
Second night at Charlottesville marked my third and final show of the spring tour, and it could not have ended on a better note. I'll get to my review in a moment, but first...
The day started on a somber note, as my girlfriend and I took a trip to visit LeRoi's grave site. Upon our arrival, another pair of fans showed up, and we found the site as a trio was already there paying their own respects. We gave them the time they needed, and then headed over, and it was clear that many, many people had been there before us -- a plethora of flowers, cards, photos and sunglasses had been placed in front of the monument already. I never posted much here on Ants about Roi's passing; I always internalized my feelings and viewed it as a personal matter. However, I will say that this moment, standing there, officially saying goodbye, was the first time I it hit me that he was gone for good. I continued to reflect on my feelings through tears as I walked back to the car, and as hard as the moment was, I am confident that I would be sitting here now regretting not paying my respects had I decided against it.
After returning to the hotel for a bit, we headed to the downtown mall for lunch, and caught most of TR3's set at the Pavilion. Great times, and nice to see a pretty solid turnout. We slowly made our way to JPJ, and got to our seats in time to enjoy Old Crow Medicine Show's set. They had a nice bluegrass/country/folk/southern ballad vibe to them, and I thoroughly enjoyed their set. Great music.
I saw the 12-string being brought out before the show began, and being that I assumed they wouldn't be opening with JTR, I correctly surmised the obvious Bartender opener. I would have liked to have heard something different, but this was a very tight version, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Pig was a nice follower, and was played to perfection (unlike it was at MSG). Granny was nice to hear again, and this was the first song that really got the crowd rocking -- the "Love! Baby!" outro got the whole floor moving it seemed.
The first surprise of the night came with the Old Dirt Hill tease segueing into Why I Am, and I really liked the way this was done. Using only the last verse, which clearly reflected on Dave's missing Roi, was perfect, and the transition to Why I Am was seemless. The crowd was really into this one, and roared with approval every time Dave mentioned the "Groogrux King" to the point where I got chills. It's clear that the Charlottesville faithful have a strong connection to these guys, and losing Roi was losing a hometown hero. Definitely my favorite performance of this tune so far.
Nancies was nicely done, with an old-school Dave vs. Boyd face-to-face duel going on during the outro. This was a moment that made me smile from ear to ear, recalling the number of times I'd seen these old friends do the same thing in years past. Again, the best Nancies of the three I saw on the tour. Don't Drink the Water and Funny the Way it Is were standard, but got good crowd response.
Then came Recently, which was absolutely perfect. John D'Earth added some really nice tones, and getting to hear the Pretty Girl outro was great. The longest, and far and away best, version of Recently they pulled out thus far. Crush was a strong follow up tune, with a slightly reworked intro and more of Jeff and Tim dueling a la Izod.
Danny Barnes added some nice sounds to Spaceman, but this one still doesn't seem to resonate too well with a large audience. Once the album comes out, I suspect that will change. Barnes soloed right into Cornbread, and easily provided for the best version I've heard of this tune. The fun these guys were having up there by this point was absolutely evident, and Barnes just added such a laid back and cool vibe. His contributions continued to an INSANE Jimi Thing (one of the best I've heard, without question) where everyone on stage was playing off one another and the outro jam was just out of control. Seriously, this show is worth it for Jimi alone -- check it out.
I was also thrilled to hear So Much > Too Much, and I think Dave was so flustered from the amazing Jimi thing (and everything else that had been going on) that he lost his mind for a minute at the beginning of So Much To Say, but this made for a pretty cool version with a bit of a different beginning that usual. Anyone Seen the Bridge was great, and before I even realized it they were jamming on Too Much, which I took for the set closer. But, as the setlist dictates, the band followed up with a nice Two Step to close (yes, my third Two Step closer in as many shows, but it was to be expected, and with what had gone on up to that point, I was in absolutely no position to complain).
The encore...well...we all know what happened. However, just to dispel some silly rumors, Dave was NOT mad about the chanting. We all know now that Last Stop was NOT on the setlist, and likely wouldn't have even been teased if not for a focused Last Stop chant. Dave had a little fun with it, and did a few lines much like he does for every song that gets teased. Anyone who says that Dave purposely doesn't play songs because of signs or chants is being a little presumptuous -- as I said in another thread, chants and signs have gotten songs played on several occasions, and I think the unfortunate fact here is that DMB just isn't ready to play The Last Stop at this point in the tour. It's a lengthy, complicated song, one that may not have even been practiced yet with Tim and/or Jeff, and while I fully expect it to make an appearance this year, this was not the show for it to happen. Tough break for us there, but I've seen worse encores.
#27 was standard fare, and I had no problem whatsoever hearing Stay -- another tour debut for me, and a perfect way to end the weekend in the hometown (since, afterall, the song was written about summer days in Charlottesville).
Now, as far as my previous issues with setlist variation, for some reason it just didn't bother me at this show. Perhaps I expected it, perhaps it was just being back in Charlottesville, or perhaps (and most likely) it was because DMB played their hearts out for nearly three hours and put on one of the most energetic, well played and outright fun shows I've seem them play in a damn long time. Plus, 5 debuts isn't bad.
So, as a recap, I'd say C'ville N2 was the best show I saw on the spring tour, with MSG coming in as a photo-finish close second, and Izod bringing up the rear.
Until Fenway night two...
The day started on a somber note, as my girlfriend and I took a trip to visit LeRoi's grave site. Upon our arrival, another pair of fans showed up, and we found the site as a trio was already there paying their own respects. We gave them the time they needed, and then headed over, and it was clear that many, many people had been there before us -- a plethora of flowers, cards, photos and sunglasses had been placed in front of the monument already. I never posted much here on Ants about Roi's passing; I always internalized my feelings and viewed it as a personal matter. However, I will say that this moment, standing there, officially saying goodbye, was the first time I it hit me that he was gone for good. I continued to reflect on my feelings through tears as I walked back to the car, and as hard as the moment was, I am confident that I would be sitting here now regretting not paying my respects had I decided against it.
After returning to the hotel for a bit, we headed to the downtown mall for lunch, and caught most of TR3's set at the Pavilion. Great times, and nice to see a pretty solid turnout. We slowly made our way to JPJ, and got to our seats in time to enjoy Old Crow Medicine Show's set. They had a nice bluegrass/country/folk/southern ballad vibe to them, and I thoroughly enjoyed their set. Great music.
I saw the 12-string being brought out before the show began, and being that I assumed they wouldn't be opening with JTR, I correctly surmised the obvious Bartender opener. I would have liked to have heard something different, but this was a very tight version, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Pig was a nice follower, and was played to perfection (unlike it was at MSG). Granny was nice to hear again, and this was the first song that really got the crowd rocking -- the "Love! Baby!" outro got the whole floor moving it seemed.
The first surprise of the night came with the Old Dirt Hill tease segueing into Why I Am, and I really liked the way this was done. Using only the last verse, which clearly reflected on Dave's missing Roi, was perfect, and the transition to Why I Am was seemless. The crowd was really into this one, and roared with approval every time Dave mentioned the "Groogrux King" to the point where I got chills. It's clear that the Charlottesville faithful have a strong connection to these guys, and losing Roi was losing a hometown hero. Definitely my favorite performance of this tune so far.
Nancies was nicely done, with an old-school Dave vs. Boyd face-to-face duel going on during the outro. This was a moment that made me smile from ear to ear, recalling the number of times I'd seen these old friends do the same thing in years past. Again, the best Nancies of the three I saw on the tour. Don't Drink the Water and Funny the Way it Is were standard, but got good crowd response.
Then came Recently, which was absolutely perfect. John D'Earth added some really nice tones, and getting to hear the Pretty Girl outro was great. The longest, and far and away best, version of Recently they pulled out thus far. Crush was a strong follow up tune, with a slightly reworked intro and more of Jeff and Tim dueling a la Izod.
Danny Barnes added some nice sounds to Spaceman, but this one still doesn't seem to resonate too well with a large audience. Once the album comes out, I suspect that will change. Barnes soloed right into Cornbread, and easily provided for the best version I've heard of this tune. The fun these guys were having up there by this point was absolutely evident, and Barnes just added such a laid back and cool vibe. His contributions continued to an INSANE Jimi Thing (one of the best I've heard, without question) where everyone on stage was playing off one another and the outro jam was just out of control. Seriously, this show is worth it for Jimi alone -- check it out.
I was also thrilled to hear So Much > Too Much, and I think Dave was so flustered from the amazing Jimi thing (and everything else that had been going on) that he lost his mind for a minute at the beginning of So Much To Say, but this made for a pretty cool version with a bit of a different beginning that usual. Anyone Seen the Bridge was great, and before I even realized it they were jamming on Too Much, which I took for the set closer. But, as the setlist dictates, the band followed up with a nice Two Step to close (yes, my third Two Step closer in as many shows, but it was to be expected, and with what had gone on up to that point, I was in absolutely no position to complain).
The encore...well...we all know what happened. However, just to dispel some silly rumors, Dave was NOT mad about the chanting. We all know now that Last Stop was NOT on the setlist, and likely wouldn't have even been teased if not for a focused Last Stop chant. Dave had a little fun with it, and did a few lines much like he does for every song that gets teased. Anyone who says that Dave purposely doesn't play songs because of signs or chants is being a little presumptuous -- as I said in another thread, chants and signs have gotten songs played on several occasions, and I think the unfortunate fact here is that DMB just isn't ready to play The Last Stop at this point in the tour. It's a lengthy, complicated song, one that may not have even been practiced yet with Tim and/or Jeff, and while I fully expect it to make an appearance this year, this was not the show for it to happen. Tough break for us there, but I've seen worse encores.
#27 was standard fare, and I had no problem whatsoever hearing Stay -- another tour debut for me, and a perfect way to end the weekend in the hometown (since, afterall, the song was written about summer days in Charlottesville).
Now, as far as my previous issues with setlist variation, for some reason it just didn't bother me at this show. Perhaps I expected it, perhaps it was just being back in Charlottesville, or perhaps (and most likely) it was because DMB played their hearts out for nearly three hours and put on one of the most energetic, well played and outright fun shows I've seem them play in a damn long time. Plus, 5 debuts isn't bad.
So, as a recap, I'd say C'ville N2 was the best show I saw on the spring tour, with MSG coming in as a photo-finish close second, and Izod bringing up the rear.
Until Fenway night two...