Even by the most conservative standards, it seems safe to start celebrating the upcoming release of the Dave Matthews Band’s 8th studio album! Earlier this week, Stefan Lessard, who is always good about letting fans in on the progress of the group, tweeted, “Just imagine yourself dancing to something new and something beautiful!” And if that’s not enough to wet your whistle, check out this video where Rashawn Ross talks about his role on the new record. 
UPDATE 01/13/10:
Live in Las Vegas is now officially up for pre-order in the DMB store until February 12th, 2010. All pre-orders will come a FREE bonus disc entiled "Double Down"
It is currently unknown what songs will be featured on the bonus disc(s). DMB Store pre-orders will get a bonus disc with 4 tracks, but if you are a Warehouse member and pre-order from the Warehouse store you will receive a bonus disc with a total of 8 tracks.
The Europe CD/DVD Box Set has now been officially released and is starting to trickle into stores and in the hands of DMB fans. While there has been plenty of excitement for this release there are a few underlying issues that some fans have vocally complained about.
One of the most glaring differences with the release is the fact that some of the interpolations were cut from the DVD as well as the CD.
Cut from the DVD were Led Zeppelins "Heartbreaker" and "Stairway to Heaven" interpolations as well as the partial rendition of Jackson 5 "I'll Be There" which was played in memory of Michael Jackson, who died the previous day of the show.
Anytime a world renowned band releases a new album, a plethora of reviews is sure to follow. Every opinion from the good, to the bad and ugly will be expressed. Some neophytes expose their lack of knowledge about the band by misquoting lyrics or mistaking the number of albums produced, or worse yet, making it clear that they've never experienced a live show. In many ways, critical analyses tell far more about the assessor than the assessed. That being said, here's a summary of what the journalistic world is saying about “Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King.”There are a few key points that most writers are articulating in their descriptions of the new creation.