June 25, 2005: Not so sweet in Hershey

And just like that, it's been three months since I've posted to this blog. And it's been since August since I actually posted an entry with what this blog was going to be about -- my Dave Matthews Band concert experiences. Since that time I've seen another show, so No. 17 is really No. 18 and No. 16 is No. 17. So now I'm on No. 15, which is really No. 16. And just to remind you, this is my ranking of DMB concerts I've seen, starting with the "worst" and working my way to the best. So, here we go...

On some message boards, people will have you believe June 25, 2005, is one of the worst DMB shows in recent years. Well ... I don't disagree. And in hindsight, my opinion hasn't changed. That's why this show at Hersheypark is so far down on my list. The next night, though, ranks much higher -- maybe I'll get to that in a couple of years. (I kid, I kid ...)

Here's a look at the setlist:

Hunger For The Great Light
Dream Girl
Hello Again
Granny
Crash
Bartender
American Baby
When The World Ends
Louisiana Bayou
Lover Lay Down
Smooth Rider
Stand Up
Dancing Nancies
Stolen Away On 55th & 3rd
Tripping Billies
_________________
You Might Die Trying
What You Are

The fact that this show was heavy in "Stand Up" material doesn't bother me. It was to be expected. But starting the show with three new songs like that were disappointing, especially with the "Hunger" opening -- far and away my least favorite opening ever. Part of what made this show disappointing for me was the venue. Hersheypark in the football stands is not a good place to see a show. (The show the next year in the "floor" seating area is a completely different story for a later time.)

This show had some highlights -- "Granny" did get the crowd going, but things just seemed too up and down the whole night. It was nice to hear "Lover Lay Down," and it's sad to see that song such a rarity these days. And I'm certainly not complaining about "Nancies" or "Tripping Billies."

The encore was a bit blah. "YMDT" at that time was weak -- fortunately that song has evolved into a pretty good live song and finds itself usually early on in a set. "What You Are" is an excellent closer if, and only if, the rest of the set is solid. I'll take it if the rest of the show is above average. But this show wasn't ...

This show was the first night of two concerts two nights in a row for me -- the first time I had done that. And I'm so glad I did. The next night was at Nissan Pavilion in Northern Virginia and ranks in my top 10. Like I said, I'll get to that show eventually. Next up, and only slightly better than this Hershey show, a weird night at the now-defunct Veterans Stadium.

#16: Victory Stadium, Roanoke

It's very, very hard for me to put a 1998 show this low on my list, but a bad crowd, a horrible venue, a bad time of day and a setlist with strange songs (that would basically become classics and my favorites that same summer) all contributed to the April 18, 1998 show at Victory Stadium in Roanoke landing in this spot.

Here's a look at the set, which today looks pretty cool:

Jimi Thing
Satellite
Pantala Naga Pampa ...>
Rapunzel
Stay
Two Step
Crush ^
Lie In Our Graves
The Stone
The Last Stop
Typical Situation
Pig
Too Much
Don't Drink the Water
Tripping Billies
Encore:
Crash Into Me
So Much To Say

Notes:
^ Miss You was an outro sung by Dave. It’s the only appearance of the Miss You outro.

The night before the show, several college friends and I drove to Roanoke to stay in the now-defunct Howard Johnson. The next morning, we made an early trek to the gates -- this was a general admission show, so of course we had to be there several hours before it started. When the gates opened, there I was at the front. And then we waited for a few hours...

The show started at 2 p.m. with Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise. Um... I guess you could say they were OK. At 3:15, Bruce Hornsby came out and sang a few songs. He was, um ... disappointing. That's just the way it is, I guess. Then around 5 p.m., finally ... here they come ... my first ever full-band concert and they opened with one of my favorites, "Jimi Thing."

Then the crowd turned stupid. There were lots of people pushing, there was crowd surfing ... it was ridiculous, so after a few songs, I moved to the side, where the sound pretty much sucked.

There's really not too much else to say about this show. Since it started at 5 p.m., I thought maybe they'd have an extra long show, full of the yet-to-be-released songs off "Before These Crowded Streets" and their other classics to date, but it just didn't happen. It was just a regular-length show. I didn't really have a bad time, but it wasn't great either. I'll always be appreciative of the fact that I heard the song debuts of "Rapunzel," "Stay," "Crush," "The Stone," "The Last Stop" and "Pig." But with all the other elements, I just can't rank this show higher on the list. It's kind of strange considering how high the other 1998 shows are ... that you'll eventually read about.

Don't drink the water in my one sweet world

At my most recent show - June 28 in Bristow - I heard "Don't Drink the Water" as an opener. Thanks to antsmarching.org, I easily know that I've heard this time three times as an opener, tying it with "One Sweet World" as the song I've heard the most as an opening song. It's really no surprise as these two songs have been the top openers over the years.

"What Would You Say" and "Rapunzel" have opened two shows. From there it drops off with popular songs such as "Two Step" and "Seek Up" opening once - both in 1998. My first full-band opener was "Jimi Thing" in 1998, but Boyd kind of messed that one up. The "rarest" opener has to be "Recently," which came at a Madison Square Garden show.

No matter what, the opening of a Dave Matthews Band show is always interesting. You really don't know what you're doing to get.