Robert B.
I'll spare you the details, but a 4-hour drive took six (why is signage optional in NC?), and we missed Los Lobos for the *third* time, but oh, well. Then, looking at the third show in a row, I thought Dave's voice might be a bit ragged. Fortunately, the band felt our pain and made up for our misfortune by mixing up the set a bit. And for the first time in several gigs I've attended, LeRoi seemed to come in a good mood and ready to play. While not as long as Richmond (which felt like a glorified dress rehearsal to me), this show was much better. Onto the set. Billies (sans "Nature") was a unexpected but decent opening. A fine Jane, and then into Nancies, where (as someone who'd prefer more LeRoi and less Boyd) I must admit that Boyd showed he was in above-average form. It wound down, I crossed my fingers, but then it ended completely. Damn. But alas, the cranked back into Warehouse; a good version, even if it seems that the loud and supportive crowd definitely wasn't as familiar with the UTTAD album tracks. We got the "castle" bit in Crash, then an nicely extended Jimi Thing capped off by a cool bit of harmonics from Dave that I hadn't heard before. Two Step went well -- as someone said in a Atlanta review, I agree that it was nice to get a show with no guests after the Bela stretch. BOWA was another pleasant surprise, as was Wynona, not for its inclusion but because it had bloomed into a fine band arrangement from it's skeletal debut in Richmond. All I can say is something's really wrong if Dave doesn't get to work with Daniel Lanois at some point, preferably soon. DIDO was uneventful; then #41 (nailed, despite the 3-gigs-straight schedule) and SG, but again unconnected. The usual So Much / Too Much rounded off the set well, and the lawn lit up with so many lighters I thought I'd been transported back to the 70s again. The band took its time returning to the stage, and I finally got to hear Weight Of The World. Seems cool but the kind of song that would need repeated listenings. It, too, had the kind of feel reminiscent of Lanois. Refreshing to know he's still writing now that his albums have pretty much caught up with his notebook; it was cool, if not exactly radio friendly. Then Ants, and that was it. Overall, everything's a lot tighter than just three weeks ago, including Fenton's increasing mastery of the new tricks in his lighting arsenal. As for the venue, the "Dave's feet Cam" was a nice touch for the video screen, too. Most of all, LeRoi was inspired, and it felt more like a whole band than at any of the past few times I've seen DMB. It was almost enough to make me go back to Raleigh, but not quite. A terrific show on a hot night.