Z. R.
Amazing show. First one for me!

The opening acts were great and the show started off with a ton of energy with Everyday and Pantala Naga Pampa into Rapunzel. Other highlights included the 20-25 minute Jimi thing with Bela Fleck and all the Flecktones with an amazing solo by Victor Whooten. The crowd went crazy when Dave launched into an amazing 12.5 minute "Last Stop." "Lie in out Graves" went on for an amazing 17.5 minutes and Crush was awesome. Finished up with an awesome high powered Tripping Billies. Only upsetting part was the lack of amazing classics such as Crash into Me, 2 step, Ants Marching, #41 and Wharehouse. Also it seemed every time the crowd was going crazy with tons of energy Dave played a slow song that really cooled off the energy.

Overall an amazing show and I heard some huge dave fans say it was the best show they've ever been to. Hope its first of many for me.

36 Everyday
Sesamea and I Dream of Jeanie make for a night that’s off the hook!

Hey now, Nancies! Last night was my 16th show (or no. 17?), and this is the first time I’ve seen DMB twice in one summer since 2003. Also, it is the first DMB concert I went to alone, and it was the highlight of a really fun summer weekend. Please allow me to preface my review: I am hooked on DMB concerts because I prefer their high-energy songs. Although I am blown away by Dave’s energy, I do not like him as a singer (nor do I dislike him), and I go to experience the performance of the band. Other than Crush and Say Goodbye (which by some miracle I was able to see in the same night!), if I don’t have a date with me at the show, then I really have no desire to hear any of the slow songs. That being said, you can imagine what a phenomenal time I had last night, because the energy was high and I heard some of the best instrumentals I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing at a DMB concert. The sight of Boyd bouncing around the stage in his yellow shirt and grinning like the Cheshire cat throughout the show is only one of many points throughout the evening where I was thoroughly impressed with these guys as talented musicians. Below I’ve included a quote of what I thought during each song, followed by a brief explanation.

Everyday w/ No. 36 Ending – “What a happy way to start off the night!” Not like you’d guess from my user name, but since we’ve lost the Lovely Ladies, I just love it when we can sing “Ha-nay, Ha-nay… Come and Dance With Me” at the beginning and end of Everyday. For awhile I was the only person in my section singing and I think a few people were looking at me, but I just didn’t care.

PNP --> Rapunzel – “Kewl, I get to hear this again?” Yeah, I just heard this at Hartford on 29Jul06, and I’ve heard it many times before, but it still feels happy to me and I love to sing along.

Say Goodbye – “Carter is the MAN! I wonder, could this be the intro to…” I think Carter’s solo on this song might have been the best I’ve heard yet.

SMTS --> ASTB --> TM – “Geeze, this is just like Hartford again!” Yeah I’ve recently heard it there and at Central Park, but I STILL love this combo!” Such high energy, and the crowd was going nuts.

LIOG – “No, way - I haven’t heard this one in years!” This song was off the hook, and the solo with Bela was just amazing.

Last Stop – “Damn, I get this twice in the same summer tour? This song is the JAM!!!”

Can’t Stop – “Hey, this song sounds pretty good…” For a new song, I was surprised that I liked this one - too bad I missed it getting a beer when I was at Hartford.

Crush – “Geeze, I really love this song – too bad I’m not here with someone I love.”

Jimi Thing – “Dude, this is insane” (repeated multiple times). Hey, kids, the word of the night is ridiculous, pronounced REE-diculous. This is the best instrumental of this song that I’ve ever heard. The whole scat thing was sick, like when I was at the Meadows on 17Jul04, and - WOAH! Butch sings, too? The bass player from the Flecktones was unbelievable, and their sax player blew my mind . The dude in the pirate’s hat - with the crazy-lookin’ instrument that could throw out funk from a multitude of colourful buttons – was just insane. And the random horn solo from “I Dream of Jeanie” was the icing on the cake.

Louisiana Bayou – “Yeah, Dave, we know your voice is shot. You dropped the beautiful closing notes to Say Goodbye two-thirds, but we really don’t care, ‘cause this has been an awesome night.” Still thought this song sounded great, and it was a good way to leave the audience before the encore.

Steady as We Go – “Wow… this is beautiful.” Butch’s intro was so pleasant and serene. I had no idea what song would come next, but it was a great feeling to start-off the encore. The guys also played this to start the encore at Hartford on 29July, but something felt so magical tonight. Dave might have killed his voice, but he sang this one with heart and all of us could feel it.

Tripping Billies – “Yeah, ANOTHER old-school jam!” Those of us who remained until the bitter end were elated as we danced around with our Cheshire smiles.

Yes, I wish I could have experienced the Cortez the Killer, Dancing Nancies, and Warehouse combo from N1 (plus Pig and Rhyme & Reason). All Along the Watchtower would have been great towards the end of the night, and a lot of us locals were chanting for the NY/NJ favourite Two Step to end the encore. But this night ranks in the Top Five DMB concerts that I can remember.

NYFreeek
I have been to 11 shows now but only shows in the North Jersey - CT - New York vicinity so I oftentimes hear the same songs at every show. Needless to say, I was absolutely thrilled that I got to hear LIOG, Say Goodbye and Last Stop - 3 songs that I love yet never heard live before this night. Jimi Thing - I got sort of jaded of hearing that song live because I'm not totally into long-winded jams that lose their energy halfway through, but this one really restored my faith in the song. The Flecktones really had great solos and they had my energy through the entire song - absolutely amazing.

Along with Jimi Thing were a lot of other NYC area staples - SMTS --> Too Much, Everyday, PNP--> Rapunzel, etc. I thought they were all great and I really really love Rashawn Ross (forgive me if I'm butchering the spelling of his name) on trumpet. I really hope that Leroi can still tour with the band but I think that Ross compliments him so well and I LOVE that extra horn part ... he's amazing and it adds amazing depth to the band.

I have to admit that I sat during WTWE and Sleep to Dream Her but partially b/c I was all achy from dancing like mad on N1 and for most of N2 - so it was a good sort of pain! If I were to compare N1 to N2, N1 was a lot of live favorites - many with new takes - but general concert staples. N2 had more songs that I am not personally in love with, but they really pulled out some rare stuff which was unbelievable.

Rebecca
Let me just say that this weekend was HEAVEN, I take back everything mean I said about Hartford. The highlights: incredible Dave/Band chemistry, songs that we actually LIKE to hear, long jams that have been missing from previous shows, and of course Bela Fleck's pirate hat. CTK on Saturday was like the second coming, it certainly separated the "men from the boys" of DMB fans in the audience (I'm sure half the crowd thought it was a new song!). Personally, I had been waiting for an old-fashioned LIOG for what seemed like YEARS, and I wasn't disappointed...Dave, Bela, and the band seemed to be having so much FUN up there and it was rubbing off on the audience (dancing in the aisles ect.). The only scary moment of the show was Boyd's VERY WHITE TEETH smiling like a demented jack-o-lantern, but hey, he was having a good time! This weekend renewed my faith in DMB, pirates, and humanity in general.

Talairys
Saw both shows at Randall's, N2 definitely more strong and more energy than N1. We sat in essentially the same seats both nights, dead center, 300 section and the band and crowd had much more energy the second show. Highlights for me were - SAY GOODBYE - awesome drum solo intro by Carter, probably one of the longest I've ever heard. Great job by Roi on the Pennywhistle/flute. Dave hit all the notes and it was full of passion - just like the song. LIE IN OUR GRAVES - haven't heard it in a long time, and this one should be required listening for everyone with Bela sitting in on lead Banjo - supper jammed out. Boyd was on fire on this one. And then-- ohhhh LAST STOP - I can never hear you enough. They started with so much energy on this song and then built it and built it up and then slowed to a cruise through the jam - very nicely done - My section was going absolutely crazy. CANT STOP - I love what Dave does with this song, I really hope it makes the next disc. JIMI - best ever. the call and response between Dave and Bela was AMAZING, and then, Dave asking BUTCH TAYLOR to PLEASE sing some scat lines. I have never, ever heard Butch sing lead vocals - he did it, and surprise, he was fantastic! BAYOU - the band loves playing this song and it was a great way to close the set. Encore, I was really hoping for something else, but BILLLIES was strong and left the place jammin. I took the ferry over, and I heard many many people saying this was the best NY show they'd ever been too (including SPAC and Central Park). Coming from Chicago, it seemed like a really solid effort and we were thrilled to be a part of it. Great night guys, thanks!

Dmb1122
wow what a show!!! actually wait what shows!!! both nights at randalls were absolutely amazing...pretty much every classic that was played this tour was played not including some but dave def made up. There was a lack of two step etc. but dave redeemed himself during Cortez the Killer, #41, The Last Stop...what more can you ask for....The crowd was absolutely amazing!!! during night two i did feel liek i was going to collapse at some points from lack of sleep and excess of alcohol in my system from two days of sitting in a dirty field in the hot sun but the energy coming from dave and the crowd definetly gave me what i needed to hang in. Tripping Billies was probably the best possible song to end these great nights, somehow sneaking up to 8th row from being in about 70th (section 503) was accomplished and everyone was rocking out as hard as they could....

I dont understand why dave wouldnt make the randalls nights into his next live trax cd. I think that these two nights blew fenway out of the water by far, they maybe even beat the shows dave played at MSG this past december

SteveO
Another great performance by the band, although it couldn't surpass saturday's show. Everyday is not one of my favorite openers, but it seemed that the crowd was really into it right from the begining, with every one singing and swaying to the "honey, honey" part. PNP-->Rapunzel and SMTS-->ASTB-->Too Much were also great as always. Break Free was my favorite out of all the new songs that Dave has debuted on this tour, and hearing it live only made me like it more - great song, great lyrics, and awesome jam at the end esp. Leroi and Rashawn Ross.

The real highlights of the show were LIOG and Jimmi Thing. They are always two of the best songs to hear live but were even better tonight with the addition of Bela and the Flecktones. Bela was amazing on banjo and the jamming and lyrics from the band really seemed tight. Not as good as the epic version #41 from night one, but then again, very few things are. Bayou and Billies were great, high energy songs to end the weekend on and sounded great despite Dave claiming to have a soar throat.

All in all, an amazing weekend of music from the band. WAY better than the two night stand at Fenway Park that they are releasing for their next CD.

T-Unit
Although this was only my 5th show, and i'm only 16, i have a feeling that this entire experience will be hard to top. EVERYDAY was only a decent song to open, but was given an extra boost when dave sang the entire first verse of #36 on the outtro, so that was great. PNP/RAPUNZEL, finally didn't get this song as a closer, which was a huge plus for me. dave had his dancing shoes on for this one and the boys really seem pumped to play this song, which makes it better for the entire crowd. Carter's intro to SAY GOODBYE was SO nasty; he has got to be the best drummer on the planet. i also like seeing LeRoi being a real man playing the flute. The actual song is always enjoyable to listen to, you just cant be mad when you hear it. WHEN THE WORLD ENDS, we'll be burnin one! always a custom to be smokin a fat one for this song. SO MUCH TO SAY > ASTB > TOO MUCH was a first for me, so that was incredible to hear. Too Much is steadily becoming one of my fav live songs, especially the scat outtro. SLEEP TO DREAM HER was slow, but a well-deserved break, and a first, so i can't complain. BREAK FREE picked up the tempo again, and is definitely the best of the new songs, but it was just a smidgeon of what was to come. Bela Fleck then came out, and Dave hit that sweet opening riff of LIE IN OUR GRAVES. Boyd rocked it out as usual, and Bela was lightning fast on the banjo. I love it when they slow down the song to a stop then pick it right back up. i was then blown away when they started playing THE LAST STOP. I feel blessed that they played that song because many people go to shows in hopes of hearing that one song ("the holy grail" as it's described) and i heard it after only 5 shows. Anyway, it was SICK. CAN'T STOP is really growing on me, real funky and whatnot. sounds like a good porno background, but obviously on a higher level. CRUSH was a personal goal of mine, so that was awesome. love the baseline, and Carter and Boyd tore it up. Pissed now that i know we didn't get SEEK UP with the Flecktones, but I guess you cant win them all. Then, of course, the show stealer JIMI THING, with all the Flecktones. their sax player Jeff Coffin surprised me with his skill. Victor Wooten is the man! and Futureman is just totally out there with that crazy instrument, which i found out is called the "drumitar." the best part was singing Buffalo Springfield at the end, which was a high point of the show for me. I love BAYOU as a closer especially seeing Boyd jumpin around the stage (although it can't compare to Robert Randolph). A short break into a relatively short encore, but great nonetheless. STEADY AS WE GO was real slow and sort of a crowd killer, but I knew they would play something big to end, and they did. TRIPPING BILLIES was amazing to hear and a highly energetic cap on a highly energetic evening. ZERO complaints about the entire evening, but had Dave dropped STDH and SAWG, played SEEK UP, and ended with a TWO STEP or WATCHTOWER...... But it didn't happen, it's just a "what if" now. The show was rockin all night, and it will be one of the best shows i've ever been to for the rest of my life.

Scavone
I attended both nights and Randall's and N1 had a couple fantastic highlights, but overall N2 was a HUGE improvement. After N1 I almost felt like I've heard too much DMB in my life and may be moving on... but N2 had me almost in tears with that soul-connection only DMB can deliver.

N1 highlight/best surprise: So Right. Why do they rarely play this live? The live version was very special, and a good change up from the WTWE expectation from the Everyday album. Rashaun Ross is a perfect addition to the lineup. He brings brassy horn hits in the upper register that stun. BTW, RR is freaking huge. N1 he wore a white t-shirt emlbazoned with a Biggie Smalls image and the funny thing is the Biggie image was actual size and homeboy still dwarfed it like a 12-inch Stonehenge. It was like DMB with special guest Marshmallow Man float from the Macy's parade. Anyway, his trumpet is awesome.

New songs: Idea of You is very good (not stellar), and Dave commented at the end "I LOVE this song!" which is VERY rare for Dave to compliment his own music. 'Can't Stop' is a throwaway scat jam- completely useless. 'Break Free' is the best new song and I look foward to hearing it develop and on the album. Lyrically the new songs are simple and repetitive and I'm worried Dave is running out of juice on the new music. It's like he hasn't written a great new song since.. oh.. Grey Street perhaps. But I still love these guys and the energy they bring to their live shows. I actually worship the band, but I'm worried that all their great works have been created and now we'll just get sporadic and occasional gems with a lot of avearge DMB stuff. (although average DMB is better than most everything else out there)

Sleep to Dream Her is the worst song in the setlist and serves only to completely grind the energy to a halt. No idea why this song was ever created. Fool to Think or even IIHIA would have been much better there. Interesting night 2 in that it was very Crash album heavy, which I happen to love. All due respect to BTCS and UTTAD, but Crash just happens to be my fave so I was stoked... I think DMB is best when they are jazzy.