Best DMBLive Shows

[yatescory]

Hey Everyone! I am working on getting some DMBLive shows since they are on sale right now with the Black Friday Sale. I am really desperate to know today what shows are the best in your opinions and why. I will let you know the releases I already have.

I will say that I absolutely do not care about the historical aspect when choosing a show. Just because it was at Trax nightclub doesn't make it any more special to me. I am all about the sound of the band and if songs sound high quality and unique in comparison to other versions. I love all years so I am down for any suggestions.

Here is what I have:

Dave and Tim Appalachian State- Like this one a lot
Benaroya Hall Dave Solo- Like this one a lot
Dave and Tim Prism Coffeehouse- Like this one
Blue Note Columbia, MO 1994- This one is just ok to me
Live at Irvine Plaza- I like this one, but not a lot
Live at Masquerade Tampa, FL- Like this one a lot
Live at the Bayou 1993- This one is just ok to me
Live at The Floodzone 1993- Like this one a lot
Live at Town Point 1994- Not a big fan at all...the crowd noise really bothers me
Live at Warfield Sal Fran 1995- This one is just ok to me

So what are your favorites?
I am seriously considering:
1. MSG 1996...Its MSG and I think they put on good shows there, plus its a little cheaper to purchase...not sure why.
2. Dave and Tim 199 Kingsbury Hall...pretty much going to buy this unless someone talks me out of it.
3. Trax 1992- I LOVE the sound of the band with Peter G. playing on keys. Thoughts?
4. Frank Erwin 1996
5. China Club...its a Dave Solo show. Is it good or great?
6. The Revolver Club Spain- Really worried about the crowd noise but I can take that if its a GREAT show.
7. Cameron Indoor Stadium- I've heard a lot of great things. What stands out about the show to you?

I appreciate the feedback and think it could be useful to others as well. I know I saw a thread with recommendations from 1994-1996 but I thought at this point it would be nice to know the best shows in all since there is a lot of shows and they are on sale right now with the discount.

THANKS for taking the time to help.

[Madnana]

Totally agree about Town Point Park... very loud, obnoxious crowd.

I'd say definitely yes on MSG. Solid show, great recording. Definitely the best value.

The only other one on your considering list that I've heard is China Club. Actually just listened to it for the first time the other night. It's okay, but waaay over-priced. It's not so much a concert as it is a radio show, with a couple of Q&A sessions with some annoying DJ in the middle of it. If it were $10, I'd say go for it, but anything more than that seems a bit extreme.

Others I'd recommend: Oak Mountain '96, Backstage Theater '94, Kirby Fieldhouse '95, and you can't really go wrong with First Union Center '98.

[KitKat76]

A few suggestions:

Philly 98
Athens 94
Academy 95
Cameron Indoor 95
MSG 96

I know you said you don't care about historically significant shows, but I also dig both Trax 92 & 94.

[tubaguy1145]

cameron indoor is a top five DMBLive for me (I own about twenty of the thirty in this series).

I find the MSG release to be underwhelming. It’s fine, but not spectacular. After the first few listens, I’ve almost never gone back to it.

Other definite favorites are:

Tampa Masquerade - #1 overall
D&T App State ‘03
Dave solo at Benaroya

[coldengrey12]

I think the Benaroya show would be my top pick, especially over China Club.

It's one of the essential Dave solo shows.

[yatescory]

Great suggestions guys. Definitely went with the Academy show. Can't believe I missed that was an acoustic set. Sounds phenomenal. Went with a few others too but haven't listened to them too much to comment yet.

[TwoStep2888]

the 99 D&T show is a favorite of mine

[comeandsee41]

france show is very underrated.

[TwoStep2888]

Originally Posted by comeandsee41

france show is very underrated.

it's really good

[yatescory]

Okay so I did end up downloading the Madison Square Garden Show and have listened to a good chunk of it. Have to agree that it's not as good as I was hoping it would be. Not bad just not really a stand out show in any way. I've seen a few people mention the France show but I never see a French show come up in my searches. There is a show from Spain but not France. I've even used the search for France and nothing pops up.

[comeandsee41]

https://www.davematthewsband.com/mus...keenes-791995/

[Cptn. Monkeyman]

Originally Posted by yatescory

Okay so I did end up downloading the Madison Square Garden Show and have listened to a good chunk of it. Have to agree that it's not as good as I was hoping it would be. Not bad just not really a stand out show in any way. I've seen a few people mention the France show but I never see a French show come up in my searches. There is a show from Spain but not France. I've even used the search for France and nothing pops up.

Originally Posted by comeandsee41

https://www.davematthewsband.com/mus...keenes-791995/

It was the last DMBLive release. It is a fantastic show. A great opening Seek Up, an early #41, and a solo Two Step encore closer. The mix sounds surprisingly good considering the inferior recording equipment

[comeandsee41]

Originally Posted by Cptn. Monkeyman

It was the last DMBLive release. It is a fantastic show. A great opening Seek Up, an early #41, and a solo Two Step encore closer. The mix sounds surprisingly good considering the inferior recording equipment

even True Reflections blows my soc....um, its really solid.

[Pottsy]

It looks like it hasn't been mentioned yet, but for the love of god, DON'T buy that Spain show. Without question, the worst live recording this band has put out. It's not even close. It's the benchmark - when someone doesn't like the sound of a live release, if you compare it to the Spain show, You would find it's really not that bad

[dobyblue]

Listened to the Spain show once, I get there is something unique on it but yeah it's a very hard listen. I would put that one at the bottom of the entire DMBLive series and have to agree with Pottsy.

[DMBlunts]

I love the Trax 92 show personally, just so fun to listen to and refreshing. Would be incredible if they had Buddy pull out some of the stuff that Peter G. did back in those days.

[yatescory]

Originally Posted by DMBlunts

I love the Trax 92 show personally, just so fun to listen to and refreshing. Would be incredible if they had Buddy pull out some of the stuff that Peter G. did back in those days.

I totally agree. I really wish Peter had stuck around for the long haul. Even songs like satellite sound better to me with what he adds.

Thanks for the tips on the Spain show. Also, would really like someone to explain what they enjoyed about the Cameron Indoor Stadium show. A lot of people mention that one.

[TwoStep2888]

love Peter Griesar era DMB

[snow1868]

Originally Posted by yatescory

I totally agree. I really wish Peter had stuck around for the long haul. Even songs like satellite sound better to me with what he adds.

Thanks for the tips on the Spain show. Also, would really like someone to explain what they enjoyed about the Cameron Indoor Stadium show. A lot of people mention that one.

Great set, but that encore is just batshit insane good. One of my favorites.

[Cptn. Monkeyman]

Originally Posted by snow1868

Great set, but that encore is just batshit insane good. One of my favorites.

Yeah this. The performances are top notch all night long, and that 41 is a gem.

[Cptn. Monkeyman]

I also wanna add, I like that #40 more than Yoshi. But the 40 from the previous show (Academy) is the best imo

[snow1868]

Originally Posted by Cptn. Monkeyman

Yeah this. The performances are top notch all night long, and that 41 is a gem.

The Watchtower is pretty solid too.

[KitKat76]

Originally Posted by yatescory

I totally agree. I really wish Peter had stuck around for the long haul. Even songs like satellite sound better to me with what he adds.

Thanks for the tips on the Spain show. Also, would really like someone to explain what they enjoyed about the Cameron Indoor Stadium show. A lot of people mention that one.

I'm a Duke/UVA fan, so there's the added bonus of a band from C'ville playing in the Devil's house.

The energy of first the Academy and then Cameron 2 days later is straight fire. Plus, we have the first 2 live performances of #40 and the early #41 is gold. Those 2 shows basically go hand in hand for me.

The band had just returned from Europe and this was also around the time MTV put WWYS in its' Buzz Bin rotation. The shows really were on point and DMB was in the process of blowing up to a larger audience.

[tubaguy1145]

I listened to the Georgia Theatre performance from April 6 1994 yesterday for the first time, and it is easily one of the best DMB shows that I have heard in this series. In addition to the one and only performance of Me and Her, there are early versions of Two Step and Rhyme and Reason, and an extended outro jam on Recently. As with the Cameron Indoor show, the band’s energy is off the charts, particularly in the second set.

One of the big differences in both this show and Cameron that really elevates them (imo) is Boyd’s performance. In both of these shows Boyd is locked in and consistently hits his licks, not just during his solos, which are played with a tremendous urgency, but also during the times when he isn’t being featured. Having him in the mix continuously (and playing in time and more or less in tune) is one of the rare ingredients that distinguishes a great show from all the others for me.

[KitKat76]

Originally Posted by tubaguy1145

I listened to the Georgia Theatre performance from April 6 1994 yesterday for the first time, and it is easily one of the best DMB shows that I have heard in this series. In addition to the one and only performance of Me and Her, there are early versions of Two Step and Rhyme and Reason, and an extended outro jam on Recently. As with the Cameron Indoor show, the band’s energy is off the charts, particularly in the second set.

One of the big differences in both this show and Cameron that really elevates them (imo) is Boyd’s performance. In both of these shows Boyd is locked in and consistently hits his licks, not just during his solos, which are played with a tremendous urgency, but also during the times when he isn’t being featured. Having him in the mix continuously (and playing in time and more or less in tune) is one of the rare ingredients that distinguishes a great show from all the others for me.

Both of the Athens shows are incredible. I like how you can chart the music's growth over a year. Like you can with the 3 VA '96 LT's of 4, 18 & 7

[Whiteyxc514]

I am a Spotify user but keep all my DMB in Google Play so that I can easily access it from anywhere. I just purchased two Live Trax and also bought a DMB Live that it turns out I already owned. So much for taking advantage of this weekend’s sale. Haha.

[wmg21]

Originally Posted by Madnana

The only other one on your considering list that I've heard is China Club. Actually just listened to it for the first time the other night. It's okay, but waaay over-priced. It's not so much a concert as it is a radio show, with a couple of Q&A sessions with some annoying DJ in the middle of it. If it were $10, I'd say go for it, but anything more than that seems a bit extreme.

Just grabbed the China club release in order to push me over the free shipping $. It's ok with some interesting commentary but you're right, the DJ/MC guy is pretty annoying.

Somewhat related question...is the DMBLive series dead?

[RSSR]

Originally Posted by wmg21

Just grabbed the China club release in order to push me over the free shipping $. It's ok with some interesting commentary but you're right, the DJ/MC guy is pretty annoying.

Somewhat related question...is the DMBLive series dead?

I’ve asked BruceW about that in public half a year ago or so on here, he doesn’t know. Nobody has come forth (who hears things) announcing the series is no more.

[comeandsee41]

I believe someone on tdc mentioned that it was on permanent hiatus...so yes. Dam shame I listen to each one quite frequently

[Madnana]

Damn shame, too. This would be the PERFECT time to bring back the DMBlive series. Imagine how awesome it would be when they announce that the tour is getting cancelled/postponed, but they'll be dropping a new DMBlive every week this summer to make it up to the fans.

"Stay inside this summer and listen to all these classic shows we've got sitting around gathering dust"