This past weekend at Alpine Valley Music Theater, in East Troy, Wisconsin, the Dave Matthews Band played what many are calling, the best two-night set, in history. Of course, that is a subjective call, but taking a look at the songs that graced the stage, I can see where the superlatives are coming from. Night one boasted favorites like, "You Never Know," "The Best of What's Around," "The Song That Jane Likes," "Seek Up," "Pig," and even a rare, partial, "Blue Water." And that was just night one! Night Two was given a rarity score of 1 by dmbalmanac.com, because of seldom heard treats like "Little Thing," "Shotgun," "Raven," "The Dreaming Tree," and "Loving Wings."This past weekend at Alpine Valley Music Theater, in East Troy, Wisconsin, the Dave Matthews Band played what many are calling, the best two-night set, in history. Of course, that is a subjective call, but taking a look at the songs that graced the stage, I can see where the superlatives are coming from. Night one boasted favorites like, "You Never Know," "The Best of What's Around," "The Song That Jane Likes," "Seek Up," "Pig," and even a rare, partial, "Blue Water." And that was just night one! Night Two was given a rarity score of 1 by dmbalmanac.com, because of seldom heard treats like "Little Thing," "Shotgun," "Raven," "The Dreaming Tree," and "Loving Wings."
Yesterday, I happened upon a link to part three of the Dave Matthews Band's documentary, from their 2010 summer tour. The film, aptly named, "Hello Again," will have five parts in all, but only three have been released so far. Funnily enough, when I saw the clip, I knew that I would want to write about it, but then I found that we already have links to all three parts of the piece, here at DBTP. It's times like this when I am glad that the world doesn't wait for me, because everyone would be just a wee bit behind. 
I'm not quite sure why, but I haven't been terribly motivated to write an article since I saw DMB a couple of weeks ago in Charlotte. It wasn't that it was a bad show; as usual, they boys were amazing, and I even got "Bartender," and "#41," which are two of my all time favorite songs. But something in me seems to have shifted since that night, and since it doesn't seem to be shifting back into place on it's own, I figure I better write about it.
UPDATE: 07/23/12 - Congrats to Todd & Mike. Winners of this giveaway.
We all have our own reasons for loving this band. Great music, fantastic live shows, and the chance to meet amazing friends top many people's lists, regarding why they listen to the Dave Matthews Band. And then there are the reasons without words, like the chill to the spine that creeps in every time you hear Dave and Tim's version of "Bartender" from "Live at Radio City Music Hall." But also, it just feels good to support a group of musicians who contribute so much to important causes.
This weekend, I experienced the worst nightmare of any Dave Matthews Band fan. I sat, with tickets in hand, to a show in Dallas, while I was in North Carolina. As sometimes happens to all of us, unpredictable and uncontrollable circumstances arose that made my well-plotted plans a bust. And despite knowing better, I felt like a monkey who was pushed from her dreaming tree.
Dave Matthews recent collaboration with Jimmy Fallon will appear on his new CD, "Blow Your Pants Off" due on June 12th.
"Walk of Shame" which featured Dave Matthews briefly will be included on Jimmy's new album. The new albums features a compilation of impersonations and guest performances.
The track listing for Blow Your Pants Off is as follows:
When people ask me why I love the Dave Matthews Band, I rarely even know where to start. One thing I inevitably end up mentioning is the way that every time I turn around, the band is contributing to another charity event or production. This Mother's Day is no exception, with the boys offering a live version of "Sister," to the "Every Mother Counts CD," a compilation disk aimed at bringing awareness to the high mortality rate of mothers around the world.
Funny how history repeats itself. In 1995, while watching a late-night talk show, I fell in "love at first note," with the sound of a quirky and adorable singer/songwriter from South Africa. Seventeen years later, having evolved synchronistically with the music, it happened to me all over again.
Last night, Dave Matthews appeared on the Jimmy Fallon show to give fans a taste of DMB's new album. Dave performed an acoustic version of a song called "Mercy," with the help of the amazing guitarist, Captain Kirk, of "The Roots."
Last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Dave Matthews performed a new song called "Mercy". Jimmy posted a tweet on Monday stating that Dave would be performing a song off the new album. The late night performance was acoustic with Roots guitarist Captain Kirk. Steve Lillywhite responded to a few fans on twitter expressing that "Mercy" is "not just acoustic on the album" and "its not quiet on the ablum". This solo version of the new song is only a taste of what's to come.
Jimmy Fallon also sung a rendition of "The Walk of Shame" with a little help from Dave Matthews, while President Barack Obama joined the Roots to slow jam the news.
This has fans itching for more. There has been very little information leading up to this performance to tell what will be on the new album and when we will see it. This is clearly a start of what's to come and we can't wait to see what's in store. The 2012 Summer tour kicks off in Woodlands, TX on May 18th!
Check out all three videos below.