Dave Matthews Band

Dave Matthews Band

Arco Arena

October 30, 1998

When I joined the crowd in the Arco Arena a little bit after 7:00 PM, the opening band was already pumped up on the stage. They were playing a set of interesting tunes which consisted of roots, rock, reggae and rap. I’m not familiar with the reggae type of music, however, I liked their very active performance on the stage and they, (I didn’t get the name of the band) all eight members, played its brand of music well. A powerful vocalist of the opening band was jumping and walking around the entire stage inciting the audience, especially the groups dancing at the very front of the stage. Moreover, a slamming electronic guitar and the deep voice of two back up women singers created dynamic sounds. This band was a great opening act for the thousands of people in the arena.

A half an hour after the opening band took off, the Dave Matthews Band appeared and launched into "Two Step" as the crowd went completely bonkers. Well, this was my first time checking out the Dave Matthews Band and might I say that I was quite impressed by their dynamic sounds which were composed by a mixture of different styles of music, such as jazz, fiddle-style folk and rock. They played a variety of songs from previous albums, as well as songs from their latest album like, "Rhyme & Reason," "Jimi Thing," "So Much To Say" and many more.

The sound quality was great and was equal to the sound on their CD’s or even better. In addition to the good, clear voice of Dave Matthews, a bassist (Stefan Lessard) a flute and saxophone player (Leroi Moore), a drummer (Carter Beauford), and a violinist (Boyd Tinsley) all played with perfection and sheer tightness. Cool sounds also came from the inclusion of slide electronic guitar textures, mixed in among the band’s rich layers. "Tripping Billes" was played aggressively by the guitarist during a part of the violin solo. Their live performance was definitely more rock than the sounds which are heard on their CDs, and the thousands of excited fans couldn’t stop shouting from start to finish.

The Dave Matthews Band performed for over two hours on the stage which was set at one corner of the hall. The stage was simply arranged, with speakers at both sides of it. There was a light show which was timed with music to emphasize the effect and power of the sound. Tinsley, the most energetic performer on the stage, moved his body and shook his head intensively when it came time for him to play his violin solos. He is a totally hard-rock violinist.

The Dave Matthews Band displayed many different elements in the show, showcasing the band’s instrumental talent. The group featured each instrument in long solos and during the rather big introduction. The solos were very entertaining, but I sometimes felt some of them were too long. I wanted to hear more songs instead of long introductions! In fact, they actually didn’t play many single hits. Of course, they played hits like "Too Much," but didn’t play their best single cuts like "What Would You Say," "Satellites," "Ants Marching" and my favorite, "Crash Into Me." They didn’t even play their latest single cut, "Wasting Time."

Re-emerging for the encore on the stage, the band did their version of Bob Dylan’s song, "All Along the Watchtower." They started to play slowly during the first verse, and then played rock using their wide range of elements including clear tones of mandolin, which were pretty good. While the huge crowd yelled in excitement, the band left the stage.

Although they didn’t perform their most popular hits (right after the show, I heard some people complaining of the song list), it was a great show which demonstrated why the Dave Matthews Band is one of the best live performance bands around.

– Kayo Onoue

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