Friday, May 22, 1998
Under the stars and dreaming
MUSIC: The Dave Matthews Band crashes into Irvine Meadows with
an
exciting, crowd-rousing performance
By Mike Prevatt
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Anyone with a ticket to see the Dave Matthews Band’s only
Southern California appearance who wasn’t already a fiercely
devoted fan received all the proof they needed to be converted at
the Irvine Meadows Amphitheater.
Among a restless, screaming throng of 18,000-plus, Dave Matthews
and his crew delighted anyone within earshot during the almost
two-and-a-half-hour show, one of 20 or so in North America aimed to
introduce the crowd to the just released "Before These Crowded
Streets" album.
The new album, meeting critical acclaim for experimenting with
styles darker and more daring than their previous commercial hits
("Under the Table and Dreaming," "Crash"), has done the
unthinkable. Selling a remarkable 400,000-plus copies its first
week out, it knocked the "Titanic" soundtrack off the top spot of
the Top 200 Billboard Album Chart. Only the Garth Brooks boxed set
has sold more copies in the past three weeks than "Before These
Crowded Streets."
With the success of the new album and the previous two studio
releases (which have sold a combined nine million copies), Dave
Matthews Band have proven they have an unshakable fan base and
stand to be one of the most popular bands in America. This is
especially true for the college crowd, who overwhelmingly dominated
the scene at Irvine Meadows. Countless UCLA sweatshirts could be
found throughout the night, as well as UCLA bumper stickers out in
the parking lot, a testament to the popularity of DMB here on
campus alone.
The youthful (and extremely inebriated) crowd shrieked in
ecstasy as Matthews and company walked on-stage around 8:30 and
opened with "Two Step," from the "Crash" album. Within the first
few notes, the capacity crowd became a sea of moving, arm-waving
bodies. Boys adorned in greek-related paraphernalia screamed "I
love you, Dave!" over the pleasantly-loud PA system. Girls in
overalls did likewise.
The ever-humble Matthews countlessly thanked the crowd for their
overwhelming appreciation. Perhaps the best thanks the crowd could
receive, though, were the 13 blissful jams that comprised the
stellar set list for the show.
DMB, noted for their unique blend of gritty pop, jazz, folk and
R&B, displayed a musicianship missing in the majority of acts
featured on the same radio formats as them. With genius drum
playing from Boyd Tinsley, wildly energetic drum work from Carter
Beauford and Matthews’ own harmonious vocals and guitar strumming,
DMB took the sum of their parts and created a musically rich
soundscape marked with a lively vibe. Even with the darker, newer
material, like the Near Eastern-influenced "The Last Stop," the
band served as the ultimate of party bands, without reducing
themselves to that level.
The endless sight of couples dancing served as foreground for
the softer songs, like the now-classic "Satellite" and the soaring,
new hit single, "Don’t Drink the Water," which featured Matthews’
Peter Gabriel-esque vocals highlighting an affecting chorus.
But the loudest cheers surfaced for the faster, livelier tracks.
Clearly the standout of the evening, "Tripping Billies" highlighted
each member of DMB (accompanied by legendary musician Bela Fleck)
with their respective solos, climaxing as every musician came
together with a dizzying flurry of pounding drums and blindingly
fast string section. This moment of musical brilliance helped
illustrate the idiocy of the notion that DMB are just a folk band
or jam band. Especially impressive was Tinsely’s extended violin
solo during "Dancing Nancies."
Material from the new album dominated the evening, thanks to
"Water," the equally beautiful "Crush" and "Stay." Without the
silly gospel vocals featured on the album, the latter made for a
much improved song.
But that’s DMB’s forte: taking the live presentation of the
album material to a higher level. The extended jam sessions that
occurred during songs like "Jimi Thing" and "#41" didn’t slow down
the tempo one bit. Even in this day and age of the catchy
three-minute pop ditty, its good to see the audience opening its
mind to different, longer musical structures. Or maybe we’re just
over-analyzing and undermining the band’s style, enjoyable no
matter how it was presented.
Come 10:40, Matthews stepped up to the mike and asked the crowd
if it wasn’t all right to just skip the encore and play straight
through to the 11 p.m. curfew. As they played "#41" and "Rapunzel,"
now accompanied with Fleck’s Flecktones, they took their time
through the two songs rather than rushing through them to play more
hits.
As a result, classics like "Crash Into You," "What Would You
Say" and "Too Much" were left out, sadly. To add to crowd
disappointment, the band adhered to the 11 p.m. curfew by not
returning, with the audience briefly groaning as loud as they had
screamed earlier. But if this was the only thing the crowd had to
be bummed out about, then Matthews could only feel lucky to have
such passionate followers.
In the end, the crowd forgot about the curfew and skipped all
the way to their cars, still high from the pleasantly lengthy show
and whatever it was that they were smoking. Most bands who skip the
huge hits end up upsetting the concertgoers, but not the Dave
Matthews Band. It says a lot when your audience leaves the venue
happier than they came in. It says your band plays with talent,
cohesion and exuberance. For DMB, its just one successful night out
of several that validate their reputation as top-quality,
entertaining performers.
Dave Matthews performs at Irvine Meadows.
Photos by DERRICK KUDO/Daily Bruin
Boyd Tinsley, playing the electric violin, and Dave Matthews
delighted the packed crowd.