When the Dave Matthews Band comes to Bristow, 20,000 plus fans show up to party, as they did Saturday evening.
According to a source at the venue, there were only 200 tickets left for the performance.
Fans were treated to a performance billed as “A Very Special Evening with Dave Matthews Band,” which included two sets: an hour-long acoustic set as well as a two-hour full-band electric performance.
Dave Matthews occasionally tours with band mate guitarist Tim Reynolds, performing acoustic renditions of DMB tunes. While “the Dave and Tim” combo rarely comes to Northern Virginia without the rest of their band, Bristow had the chance Saturday evening to finally hear the songs performed more intimately.
After beginning their acoustic set with Matthews and Reynolds performing “Stay or Leave,” from Dave’s 2003 solo album, the rest of the band, drummer Carter Beauford, bassist Stefan Lessard, fiddler Boyd Tinsley and brass players Jeff Coffin and Rashawn Ross joined them to perform stripped down versions of songs from their entire career. The set included “Old Dirt Hill (Bring That Beat Back),” “Two Step,” “So Damn Lucky” (another of Matthews’ solo tracks), “Sweet,” “Stolen Away on 55th & 3rd,” “Satellite,” and the ever-popular “Ants Marching.”
This format was especially conducive to the brand of improvisation the band frequently offers their audiences. Songs like “Two Step,” featured a Calypso-inspired interlude and “So Damn Lucky” served as a gateway to an audience sing-a-long of Sly and the Family Stone’s “Thank You
(Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).”
The one thing the audience at a Dave Matthews Band concert can count on is that the set list will be unique, night after night. Dave often hauls out the deep cuts and teases fan favorites.
The band’s electric set launched with one of DMB’s oldest songs “Minarets” from 1993’s Remember Two Things.
Members of the audience twisted and contoured through a variety of newer and older material including “Shake Me Like a Monkey,” “The Best of What’s Around” (which was dedicated to the Wounded Warriors), “Seven,” “The Song That Jane Likes,” a 15-minute rendition of “Crush” and “You Never Know.”
The band, which had included at least one cover song at each concert during this tour, performed a very lively version of Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer.” (One member of the audience was adamant that Robert Palmer originally sang the song.)
Long jams and solos are a trademark of DMB and this was evident when Matthews introduced sound engineer Joe Lawlor to play guitar on “Rhyme & Reason.” The song, one of the band’s most energetic and gritty, featured Matthew’s growling vocal effort on such lyrics as “My head won’t leave my head alone/And I don’t believe it will/Until I’m dead and gone.” The song’s coda featured Lawlor and Reynolds trading solos.
As Virginia natives, members of the band have an affinity for the region. The band, which got its start in Charlottesville, often takes a hiatus from its tour after playing shows in Bristow.
Matthews announced, “I’m going to drive home two hours and sleep in my own bed.”
DMB shows are also filled with special moments for new and old fans. Saturday evening was no exception. Following “So Much to Say,” (complete with the "Anyone Seen the Bridge” segue), the band teased “Too Much,” before launching into the often fan-requested “Halloween.”
As herds of people filed out of the venue to beat the traffic, DMB closed out the show with an encore that included “Drunken Soldier” and “Why I Am.”
Jiffy Lube Live (previously the Nissan Pavilion) holds a special place in the heart of the Dave Matthews Band, as it was the site of the final concert of the original five members. In 2008, two days following the Bristow performance, founding member saxophonist LeRoi Moore died from injuries sustained in an ATV accident.
“It’s always a little bittersweet to play here, because this was the last place we played with our friend Roi,” Matthews said.
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