Eat, Drink, and Be Merry for Tomorrow We Die
There are few things more amazing to me than watching a performer in complete control of his or her audience, especially when that audience numbers into the thousands.
Such was the case Tuesday night at Charlotte's Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. But the credit for the whirlwind atmosphere that left the crowd exhausted and exhilarated cannot go to one single performer, it must be shared among Stefan Lessard, Leroi Moore, Boyd Tinsley, Carter Beauford, and, of course, Dave Matthews.
It's a beautiful sight to see an ocean of silhouetted bodies swaying back and forth, their arms outstretched in the air, fingers pointing to the sky, as the spotlight shines across them and they sing along with every word of every song. That was the scene for much of the nearly 3-hour-long performance in which Matthews and his cohorts cemented their spot as one of the top live musical acts today.
When you pay to see a concert, you expect a show. You expect more than what you would get simply by listening to the CD in your car while driving to work. Dave Matthews Band exemplifies that by making each song an event. While so many bands tend to hold back during the show and then go all out for the encores, every live Dave song has the feel of an encore.
The songs begin simply enough but eventually turn into a 10-minute high-energy jam session that inevitably pulls you into its path, throws you up in the air a few times, fires you out of a cannon and then lands you safely. Wash, rinse, repeat about a dozen times and that's what you feel like after a DMB concert.
The songs you already liked become unforgettable and the songs you'd never heard become must-haves, if only to help you remember that emotional roller coaster ride you experienced one humid North Carolina summer night.
The classics were there Tuesday. "Don't Drink the Water" opened the show ... "Satellite" ... "When the World Ends" ... "Grey Street" ... "Crash Into Me," where many held lighters up to the night sky ... "Pay for What You Get," featuring a verse borrowed from the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood" ... "Everyday," with a fantastic several minute long solo by Tinsley and the Hendrix-like controlled insanity he channels on the violin ... before finishing with a rousing performance of "Ants Marching."
The energy was so fever pitched following "Ants Marching" and the band leaving the stage that I questioned whether or not we would have a riot. After all, young adults with a little alcohol and pot in their system can chant "Let's go, Dave" and stomp their feet only so long before they get rowdy.
If it helps to put you in the scene any further, imagine a collection of smells including but not limited to: perfume, cigarettes, beer, fried food, and pot. So, in other words, it smelled like college.
Thankfully, after several minutes of stomping, chanting, and clapping, the band returned with a handful of songs and concluded the show with "Trippin' Billies" to send the crowd home happy and help them forget all the money they wasted on overpriced hot dogs, hamburgers, and beer. After that song and all the songs that came before, the money spent seemed to be worth it.
"Yep," said fellow Star reporter Pete DeLea, "this was definitely a concert to tell the cats about."
(He has two cats. We're not sure why.)
With Tom Petty and now Dave Matthews behind me, I await my third and final concert event this summer (that I know of) - Counting Crows & Goo Goo Dolls, Charlotte, August 29.
Such was the case Tuesday night at Charlotte's Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. But the credit for the whirlwind atmosphere that left the crowd exhausted and exhilarated cannot go to one single performer, it must be shared among Stefan Lessard, Leroi Moore, Boyd Tinsley, Carter Beauford, and, of course, Dave Matthews.
It's a beautiful sight to see an ocean of silhouetted bodies swaying back and forth, their arms outstretched in the air, fingers pointing to the sky, as the spotlight shines across them and they sing along with every word of every song. That was the scene for much of the nearly 3-hour-long performance in which Matthews and his cohorts cemented their spot as one of the top live musical acts today.
When you pay to see a concert, you expect a show. You expect more than what you would get simply by listening to the CD in your car while driving to work. Dave Matthews Band exemplifies that by making each song an event. While so many bands tend to hold back during the show and then go all out for the encores, every live Dave song has the feel of an encore.
The songs begin simply enough but eventually turn into a 10-minute high-energy jam session that inevitably pulls you into its path, throws you up in the air a few times, fires you out of a cannon and then lands you safely. Wash, rinse, repeat about a dozen times and that's what you feel like after a DMB concert.
The songs you already liked become unforgettable and the songs you'd never heard become must-haves, if only to help you remember that emotional roller coaster ride you experienced one humid North Carolina summer night.
The classics were there Tuesday. "Don't Drink the Water" opened the show ... "Satellite" ... "When the World Ends" ... "Grey Street" ... "Crash Into Me," where many held lighters up to the night sky ... "Pay for What You Get," featuring a verse borrowed from the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood" ... "Everyday," with a fantastic several minute long solo by Tinsley and the Hendrix-like controlled insanity he channels on the violin ... before finishing with a rousing performance of "Ants Marching."
The energy was so fever pitched following "Ants Marching" and the band leaving the stage that I questioned whether or not we would have a riot. After all, young adults with a little alcohol and pot in their system can chant "Let's go, Dave" and stomp their feet only so long before they get rowdy.
If it helps to put you in the scene any further, imagine a collection of smells including but not limited to: perfume, cigarettes, beer, fried food, and pot. So, in other words, it smelled like college.
Thankfully, after several minutes of stomping, chanting, and clapping, the band returned with a handful of songs and concluded the show with "Trippin' Billies" to send the crowd home happy and help them forget all the money they wasted on overpriced hot dogs, hamburgers, and beer. After that song and all the songs that came before, the money spent seemed to be worth it.
"Yep," said fellow Star reporter Pete DeLea, "this was definitely a concert to tell the cats about."
(He has two cats. We're not sure why.)
With Tom Petty and now Dave Matthews behind me, I await my third and final concert event this summer (that I know of) - Counting Crows & Goo Goo Dolls, Charlotte, August 29.
posted by Graham at
8:25 PM
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