Dave Matthews Band - Zenith Munich 20th February 2010
Setlist: Pantala Naga Pampa>Rapunzel / Funny The Way It Is / You Might Die Trying / Seven / Why I Am / Squirm / Spaceman / Crash (Into Me) / Lying In the Hands of God / Burning Down The House / You and Me / Crush / Alligator Pie / Shake Me Like a Monkey / (Still Water) / Don’t Drink the Water // Baby Blue (Dave solo) / Two Step /// All Along The Watchtower
From the Dave Matthews Band website:
Just coming off the stage after an amazing show in Munich. We played a big'ol building from 1918 that used to be a railway repair facility. The weirdest places seem to bring out the best shows. We're having a blast out here. Looking forward to a day off in Milan before our show there on Monday. See you soon. Ciao.
The DMB Crew
Saturday, February 20 5:33 PM EST
Just coming off the stage after an amazing show in Munich. We played a big'ol building from 1918 that used to be a railway repair facility. The weirdest places seem to bring out the best shows. We're having a blast out here. Looking forward to a day off in Milan before our show there on Monday. See you soon. Ciao.
The DMB Crew
Saturday, February 20 5:33 PM EST
When I saw Dave Matthews play in Manchester as a solo performer in 2006, I wrote that, it had taken me eight years to see him live, and that I hoped it wouldn’t take me another eight years to see him live with the rest of the band. Well, it hasn’t. It has only taken four years! What is more, I am going to see DMB again, at the Apollo, in Manchester, in two weeks. So, half the time, twice the number of shows. That’s what I call a result.
The venue, The Zenith, is a steel framed building that was constructed between 1916-1918, as a repair facility for trains and holds between 5000 and 8000, or so I believe. Now, I remember similar places in the UK, from the ‘70s and ‘80s (now thankfully demolished!), such as the Queens Hall in Leeds, and Stafford Bingley Hall, to name just two, and they were some of the worst places to put a band on that I have ever been in. Back then though, PA systems were not as good and, usually, the sound was shocking (and the coating used to come off the floor in the Queens Hall and cover your shoes in brown crap, then the sweat would condense on the cold roof and drip back down; it was generally a pretty grim place). The Zenith is scrupulously clean and, even though it is mostly metal, the sound, whilst not the Royal Albert Hall, seemed pretty good for the support band, Alberta Cross, who were Marillionishly good. I am not a support band kinda guy, but I would recommend seeing this one.
The venue, The Zenith, is a steel framed building that was constructed between 1916-1918, as a repair facility for trains and holds between 5000 and 8000, or so I believe. Now, I remember similar places in the UK, from the ‘70s and ‘80s (now thankfully demolished!), such as the Queens Hall in Leeds, and Stafford Bingley Hall, to name just two, and they were some of the worst places to put a band on that I have ever been in. Back then though, PA systems were not as good and, usually, the sound was shocking (and the coating used to come off the floor in the Queens Hall and cover your shoes in brown crap, then the sweat would condense on the cold roof and drip back down; it was generally a pretty grim place). The Zenith is scrupulously clean and, even though it is mostly metal, the sound, whilst not the Royal Albert Hall, seemed pretty good for the support band, Alberta Cross, who were Marillionishly good. I am not a support band kinda guy, but I would recommend seeing this one.
After an astonishingly quick and efficient changeover on stage, the lights went down and we watched the Dave Matthews band traverse the suspended walkway from the dressing rooms to the stage. It was a very low-key entrance, very down-to-earth. This is one thing you notice immediately about DMB; in spite of being one of the biggest bands on the planet, there is no bullshit, no egos. It is just some bunch of (supremely-talented) players doing what they do. Very old-school.
So, after all twelve years of waiting, was it worth the wait? Oh. Not many, Uncle!
The Munich gig was only the fourth date on the current European tour, but you would never have known. Everything about the performance was outstanding right from the off. For DMB (and for any Americans who have seen them before) this is a small, intimate venue. In the US, this band plays National Parks and small islands, and they play to tens of thousands of adoring fans at each show. In Europe, their following is [still] limited to the cognescneti; those of us who have discovered the magic. To be able to get this close to the band had the large American contingent of the audience very excited, and some of them were very pretty girls too. But, I digress. I suppose for the band, it must feel quite different too. They certainly seemed to respond quickly to the enthusiastic audience reaction. Early on, Dave looked quite taken aback by the response they were receiving.
So, after all twelve years of waiting, was it worth the wait? Oh. Not many, Uncle!
The Munich gig was only the fourth date on the current European tour, but you would never have known. Everything about the performance was outstanding right from the off. For DMB (and for any Americans who have seen them before) this is a small, intimate venue. In the US, this band plays National Parks and small islands, and they play to tens of thousands of adoring fans at each show. In Europe, their following is [still] limited to the cognescneti; those of us who have discovered the magic. To be able to get this close to the band had the large American contingent of the audience very excited, and some of them were very pretty girls too. But, I digress. I suppose for the band, it must feel quite different too. They certainly seemed to respond quickly to the enthusiastic audience reaction. Early on, Dave looked quite taken aback by the response they were receiving.
There is nothing fancy about the stage set up they have. Clean, simple backdrop, very nice lighting, and a group of musicians that is quite sublime. For this tour, not only did we have regular band members Boyd Tinsley, Stefan Lessard, Carter Beauford, Dave, and Leroi Moore, the touring band also comprises Jeff Coffin on sax, Rashawn Ross on trumpet, and the amazing Tim Reynolds on guitar, which I had not expected. The level of musicianship is beyond belief, yet they play with such passion and commitment that it takes your breath away. They are obviously well-rehearsed, but there is never any feeling that they are just going through the motions. I’ve seen some bands that put on flawless performances, that they have worked hard and long to perfect, but you see more than one show on the tour and you see exactly the same thing each time.
DMB plays a completely different set at every single gig; the chance of you seeing the same setlist at another show is almost zero, and about the only song that appears in the set at the same point seems to be All Along The Watchtower, which they tend to play as the final encore, and even then, that is not always the case. Obviously, they have a core of songs that they play at each show, tracks from the superb new CD, Big Whskey and The GrooGrux King, but it is not guaranteed that they will play the same songs on two consecutive nights. I don’t know how many songs they have in the repertoire to play on this tour, but it must be a shitload!
DMB plays a completely different set at every single gig; the chance of you seeing the same setlist at another show is almost zero, and about the only song that appears in the set at the same point seems to be All Along The Watchtower, which they tend to play as the final encore, and even then, that is not always the case. Obviously, they have a core of songs that they play at each show, tracks from the superb new CD, Big Whskey and The GrooGrux King, but it is not guaranteed that they will play the same songs on two consecutive nights. I don’t know how many songs they have in the repertoire to play on this tour, but it must be a shitload!
So, you have a stunning group of musicians, an outstanding catalogue of tunes, a very excited audience, and a [relatively] small venue, and around 2 and ¾ hours of music. How good can it get? I don’t know, is the simple answer, but if it gets any better than Saturday night, I will probably spontaneously combust.
The songs they played included nine from the new CD, Big Whiskey and The GrooGrux King, which is possibly DMB’s finest studio outing yet. Normally, if a band plays that many new songs, there isn’t a great deal of old material in a standard 90 minute set. However, DMB gives great value for money and the set included a fine selection of favourites from the back catalogue too, from the opener, Pantala Naga Pampa>Rapunzel, through Crash (Into Me), Burning Down The House, Crush, and main set closer, Don’t Drink The Water. The new material is so strong that songs like Squirm, Seven, You and Me, Funny The Way It Is, Why I Am, just fit into the set seamlessly. For the encore Dave played Baby Blue, solo, with the band returning and getting the biggest cheer of the night for a stonking Two Step. A final return to the stage for All Along The Watchtower brought the evening to an end and, even though your particular favourite may not have been in the set, I doubt that anyone left feeling short-changed. Certainly, I would have loved to see them play Tripping Billies, Gravedigger, Grey St, Song That Jane Likes, #41, Ants Marching, oh the list is an entire gig’s worth, but this is no criticism; maybe they will play some of those in Manchester. Who knows?
The songs they played included nine from the new CD, Big Whiskey and The GrooGrux King, which is possibly DMB’s finest studio outing yet. Normally, if a band plays that many new songs, there isn’t a great deal of old material in a standard 90 minute set. However, DMB gives great value for money and the set included a fine selection of favourites from the back catalogue too, from the opener, Pantala Naga Pampa>Rapunzel, through Crash (Into Me), Burning Down The House, Crush, and main set closer, Don’t Drink The Water. The new material is so strong that songs like Squirm, Seven, You and Me, Funny The Way It Is, Why I Am, just fit into the set seamlessly. For the encore Dave played Baby Blue, solo, with the band returning and getting the biggest cheer of the night for a stonking Two Step. A final return to the stage for All Along The Watchtower brought the evening to an end and, even though your particular favourite may not have been in the set, I doubt that anyone left feeling short-changed. Certainly, I would have loved to see them play Tripping Billies, Gravedigger, Grey St, Song That Jane Likes, #41, Ants Marching, oh the list is an entire gig’s worth, but this is no criticism; maybe they will play some of those in Manchester. Who knows?
I could have written a much shorter review, but that is not my style. The short version would have told the same story: The Dave Matthews Band played a simply amazing gig in Munich.
Still here dancing with The GrooGrux King…
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
21st February 2010
Still here dancing with The GrooGrux King…
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
21st February 2010