Christine
Okay, this is the last review of mine that y'all will have to read, since tonight was my last show of this tour. *sigh* =( I hate to say it, but I could have ended my mini-tour last night, and been a fairly happy girl. It's not that Deer Creek was a terrible show, by any stretch of the imagination, but rather, it was a more average show. The guys had a lot of energy, but I really could have done without a few songs, and the venue is just rotten. I don't know what moron designed it, but he should be covered in honey, and tied to a hill of fire ants for his absolutely ridiculous plan. If you've never seen the venue, let me just say that if you aren't in the first tier of pavilion seats, you're screwed. We had the last row actual seats -- right behind us was the walkway, and then the lawn. Now this isn't much of a problem at any other venue, due to the big screens. However, Deer Creek has *one* screen, and it was directly over our heads. For me to look at it, I had to do a back bend over my seat, and I'm just not quite as flexible as I was when I was 8. However, a horrendous venue isn't the band's fault, so I won't hold them responsible for *that*. =) Oh -- Debbie sighted my lizard onstage tonight. He's famous! =) Okay, on to the song comments! Two Step: We called it, psychics that we are. =) This song rocks me, no matter how many times I hear it. As Heather would say, "I dig Stefan the most" on this song. Lots of wailing, and some really great lighting made this a perfect opener. I had some high hopes for the show after this. BOWA: Third time's the charm! Nothing gets better than hearing this one three times in a row. =) Hearing this, I was in heaven. We got a great Davedance, and the Davejump and a bow at the end. Beautiful. LIOG: This is one of those songs that I could have done without. It isn't one that they've been playing every night, so I was kind of hoping they'd stick something else in -- like maybe #36. =) The crowd loved it, though, and when Boyd started to jam, they loved it even more. I do like this song, but I am getting a little sick of it. You know what redeemed it for me? Hearing a pause at the end, all of us getting excited, and hearing Dave say, "And then we dance away." Yes, I will forgive anything to hear that at the end of LIOG. =) I often wonder how it's possible for him to *not* sing it -- after all, when I'm in the car with my groove on, and I get to the end, even if he doesn't sing it, I can't help but say, "And then we dance away!" It's infectious. Once you hear it, the song sounds unfinished without it. Jimi: Sure I heard it in Milwaukee, but this song is so rockin'. I love it. Plus, a few of our wacky group hadn't gone to Milwaukee, so this was their only chance to hear it. The lights for this were way cool. Boyd was high-stepping all over the place. There were two girls immediately behind us (where no one but security was supposed to be), and they were singing this song so loudly that I thought my ears would bleed. I honestly couldn't hear Dave over their caterwauling. Marc looked at me and said, "They should've spent the 25 bucks for the tickets on singing lessons." I heartily concurred. =) Carter had one rocking drum "roll," and Roi had a sweet jam as well. Dave did a slightly more traditional jam, and it was groovy as could be. LLD: Wow. I never expected this one, and it was very sweet to hear, even though I was looking at all these couples around me, thinking about how much I despised them all for being so mushy -- but I'm not bitter. =) This was a first for Matt to hear live, so it was cool. Boyd was gone from the stage for this one. 41: Dave made a mistake in this one around, "ghosts come back reeling in you now..." So, he just made a bunch of noises until he could find his place. I am so digging this segue thing into SG. Sure, it's just a bunch of strumming by Dave, but I like it anyway. =) SG: Well, I was going to try to listen to this one, but the super-drunk, super-huge guy behind me (yes, where no one but security was supposed to stand) decided to take this opportunity to yell, "WWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" as loudly as he could, at every chance he had to take a new breath. He then proceeded to tell the guy next to him, "I see these @$%*#&@^ guys every *^&#*^# chance I get! I mean it! Every #(&$ time they're here! You can't miss them!! They (&^*^ rock! The only thing that would make this night more perfect would be to hear What Would You (&&#%^&@% Say!! I'm gonna go get another beer! WWOOOOOO!!!!" So needless to say, I didn't hear much of this one. I thought about telling him to shut it, but he was bigger than me. =) I did see a nice little Davedance back by the drums while Carter was in the midst of his insane drum intro. Once again, the backdrop just fit so beautifully into this song. It came on right as Dave whispered, "please." Now *that* is some timing -- gorgeous! David bowed after this one. Recently: Still no intros or outros. I will be so bummed out if they whip a Pretty Girl out after this, 'cause if Heather and I can't hear it, well then, no one else should, either! =) Super Drunk Guy was back with his new beer by the time this song came on, but since he didn't know it, he sat down and drank. Phew. =) Chris called this one right after SG ended -- it was all he wanted to hear for his birthday. Dave made another mistake before, "looking forward to much more, little bay, little baby!" and again made some random noises til he got back into the groove. This jam is great. I love it soooo much. And the lights! AAHHH! Just spectacular! The backdrop was lighting in this wave pattern, and...well, you've just got to see it for yourself. We got another Davejump after this one. The crowd went bonkers for this song -- especially at the jam at the end. 'rets: It was cool to hear this one again, but I was actually hoping it *didn't* go into Typical. Really solid version -- great ending. TS: "too many voices." =) Like I said, I could have done without this one. Dave changed his guitar after this one, and then had a conversation with Boyd. Crash: We all called it. =) Lots of lighters here. As Heather pointed out, while it is a cool thing to see all of the lighters out, this just means that an awful lot of people are smoking! That's some unhealthy air we're breathing! =) SMTS-->Too Much: Again, another couple of songs I could do without. We did get a good Davedance, at least. The only thing that is saving these songs for me is the bridge -- it is beyond cool. Stefan changed his bass for it last night and tonight. Great wailing by David at the end of Too Much, and we got a great Davejump! We got a Greenpeace plug tonight, but so many people were screaming, that Dave might as well have saved his breath. I guess they won't be sitting at the reserved table I've got in heaven for donating my checking account. =) Billies: Lots of energy, but again, I'm thinking that this one is getting old. Dave broke a string, and poor Monk had to hobble out on his crutches and bring him a new one. Boyd went competely crrraaaazy on this. Roi was offstage for most of this, but he did come back for the end. Pretty high Davejump at the end of this one. End of show, and again, we get the "We want Dave!" shouts. Lots of banging on the chairs, and Super Drunk Man was about to have a coronary, he was yelling so loudly. As the guys came back onstage, someone tossed a glowstick to (at) Dave -- he ducked and acted like he got hit in the head with it. He picked it up, and whipped that puppy pretty far out into the crowd. He's got an arm on him! I wouldn't be surprised if he gets recruiting calls from some major league baseball teams. =) LMP: Hoo-hah! Stefan is the man in the beginning of this. I would've loved to hear that Daniel Lanois cover, but I wouldn't have given up this one up for anything. I can't wait to hear it again -- maybe on the next album? =) Ants: =) I love it, what can I say? Perfect ending -- it made up for a slightly lackluster middle of the setlist. I love this "new" ending. It's beyond rocking. Davejump at the end. Closing comments on tonight: Carter Beauford on the drums: You know, I always manage to take Carter for granted. I can tell you when Roi is on fire, when Boyd goes nuts, and when Stefan goes wild. However, since Carter is so consistently awesome, I just always figure that he'll be around and doing a great job. Tonight, since I couldn't see all that well, and I wasn't all that impressed by the setlist, I just sat back (figuratively), closed my eyes, and focused on Carter. And all I can say is, "Wow." I don't know much about drumming, but he is incredible. I'm not going to elaborate too much on this, because I really don't know what I am talking about, but sometime, I really recommend that you take the time out, and focus on Carter.

Pete N.
What are the four most popular words at a DMB show? -"Have any extra tickets?" Let me first start off by saying that Deer Creek is the worst venue I have ever been to. We drove from Michigan, got to the lot when it opened at 4:30, and as soon as we parked they forced EVERBODY in to the venue, or at least into "the plaza" where we all sat on blacktop for well over an hour and bought their drinks and food. They forced us in, but would not let us take our seats. I guess that was just their little way of shaking evey last penny out of us by not letting us eat and drink what we brought in our coolers. I was pissed and will never go back to that shit-hole again. Pine Knob in Detroit allows "tailgating", the lot scene was totally hopping. They also allow food and coolers on the lawn (no alcohol or softdrinks). So if you ever think about traveling to a show, avoid Deer Creek at all costs. Now for the good stuff....... We got to hear sound check in which they played (or played with) three songs that I have never heared. One of them may have been "Winona", but I have not heared it yet. That still leaves two other tunes. None of the three were played that night. I wonder if the shows at Red Rocks are going to be pretty memorable. We sat on the lawn and the sound was totally perfect. LIOG had quite the extended breakdown with Dave even taking a bit of a solo. "Jimi Thing" was good, but not as good as it was in Detroit. "Recently" was about the best I've heared. For me "Minarets-> Typical Situation" was the highlight of the show. I really like what they have done with "Typical Situation". Many people were sitting down during those songs and not even paying attention, and when they started "Crash" they all jumped up and started screaming as if nothing else mattered up to that point. I'm of the oppinion that Dave does not need to play this every night. I think it's a goog song, but it goes no where live, and caters to "pop radio" elements of the audience. "SMTS-> 2Much" was great, they have really fine-tuned the segue jam between the two. I can now officially say "Leave Me Praying" is an awsome song. It's quite powerful. The lyrics are probably Dave's best "...to our new neighboors, move on or we will bury you..." I think Dave also gives a nod to Yes (the 70's prog rock band) when he sings "....silly human race.." which is a quote from "Yours Is No Disgrace". Ants was cool, quite standard, but I was hoping to hear "DIDO" or maybe even "Watchtower". That is the show in a nutshell, I envy those going to Red Rocks. Tickets at Pine Knob were going for $70 to $100. At Deer Creek I met a who got in for $40, but he said some people were asking $80.

Todd M.
The Crowd was very receptive to the band and Every song was superb. No dull moments. Typical Situation was out of this world. Still waiting for Satellites in concert!!

Brian L.
This was my first DMB show. My brother kept telling me they play even better live than on the CD's,and he's right. I have to thank him for turning me on to DMB. Los Lobos did nothing for me as the opener. Spent their set catching up with my bro. We debated if they would play "La Bamba". We didn't recognize anything they played. DMB came out about 8:40 and played to about 11:05. I was impressed that they could play the whole time without an intermission or drum solo or something to give the band a break. Deer Creek was packed. I don't think I have ever seen that many people inside even at Dead shows. I couldn't walk around without tripping over some body. My highlights were: Jimi Thing- I dig the way dave sings "if you could keep me floating... just for a while" Minarets- the way it started with Dave's noises was cool. Crash Into Me- I like the whole damn song. the words,the music, the whole deal. This is the one I really hoped to hear and I got it. I figured they would strech out the "I'm the king of the castle..." and jam around with it. Didn't happen, but this is still my Fave. So Much To Say into Too Much-Great songs. Excellent jam between them. A very Dead moment for me. A turn the corner jam. I got into the jam, I kept waiting for Dave to start singing words to go with jam music thinking it was a song I hadn't heard and BAM there's TOO MUCH! Tripping Billies- Another Favorite. I really like the music to this one. Ants Marching- I get into the sax on this. The words are great too. I think everyone there knew the words to this one (along with So Much and Too Much). Overall an excellent show. I will definitly see them again soon.

Steven S.
What can I say....with the exception of some unreleased songs, this was a dream set. The band did seem to be a bit tired, but the energy level progressed throughout the evening. Dave had the crazy legs workin'...Roi was blowing up a storm and Carter Beauford was just thumpin'! Was very impressed with Typical Situation....long extended beautiful version that keep all on their feet. Was nice to hear LLD, kind of surprised they played it. Overall.....a great set, but believe it or not, Billies stole the show. I'm actually a bit weary of this song, especially lately, but the band was into it tonight....and it rocked. All were screaming for more. (including me) And more we had....a great Leave Me Praying and quite energetic Ants closed out the evening. 2 hours 25 minutes of DMB!! In the words of Marv Albert, "YYEEESSSSSSS!!!"

Michelle M.
Leave Me Praying is awesome- Dave jams out lyrically. Jimi Thing was awesome and long, extended jam. Carter's drum intro to Say Goodbye was incredible. During Jimi Thing, Stefan and Dave did a jam together and went nuts. During Tripping Billies, Dave and Boyd both broke strings on their respective instruments and when Dave was offered a new guitar he refused b/c he was so into the jam. I've never seen Roi be so into a show- he had many solos- especially in the first half. Not much DaveSpeak- only for the Greenpeace/Heaven schpiel. That's ok, I don't think anyone would have heard it- thousands of girls would scream every time he'd open his mouth and you couldn't hear what he was saying. Minarets had the awesome skat/alt. lyrics intro as well as Stefan with some funky bass- my thanks to the boys- great show!