Breaking the streak of Wagner posts (here, here, here, and here; more here) is a little DMB. There’s some symbolism here as well, considering that DMB is what snapped me out of my Wagner haze that settled in around the time of the composer’s birthday. If anything will distract me, it’s a run of three great Dave Matthews Band concerts.
I attended two cold but amazing shows at Saratoga, NY’s SPAC, followed by a great performance the following weekend in Cuyahoga Falls, OH outside of Cleveland. (For the former, DMB’s the only reason I’ll camp in 30-something degree weather…) This summer’s tour has been rife with jaw-dropping surprises. While the band is known for varied, relatively unpredictable setlists, this summer’s tour has taken things to another level. Many shelved oldies have been dusted off, and some forgotten tunes (notably “Captain” – largely neglected after 2002…and they’re playing it right now in Mansfield, MA as I type this!) are now in regular rotation. Below are some select rarities I saw over the course of those three shows.
“Joy Ride” — One of five songs debuted on the 2004 tour, it all but went away after 2006 (save for one 2011 performance).
“The Idea Of You” — Not as forgotten, as it’s gotten some live release love. One of the 2006 song debuts, it’s been been played few times since 2010. (But it used to be played quite a bit, giving it less mythic status than its sibling “Shotgun.”) Still a pleasant surprise.
“Oh” — A DMB debut. It’s a Dave Matthews original, but this was the first time it’d been played at a full-band show. It’s usually only played by Dave Matthews solo, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, or Dave Matthews & Friends. A nice little song off of Some Devil, Dave’s 2003 solo album.
“Captain” — This was my first “Captain” in over a decade, with the last being in December 2002.
And even though it’s a rare song, this particularly “Halloween” from SPAC night 2 is especially noteworthy as it was a double encore, which almost never happens (my first and only in 61 shows)…
Past DMB-centric MTH-V posts here, here, here (SPAC 2012 goodies), here (from 1992 — watch this if you haven’t), and here.