Christine
At approximately 4:00 PM, we got to the BK down the street from the World, met Woods, and got our tix.  We then proceeded to the special "back road" -- behind the lawn, to listen to The Fun That Is Soundcheck. SOUNDCHECK:  Ants, OSW (with the intro and an ELECTRIC GUITAR), Stay (with Poi background vocalists).  We geek out.  Who was playing the guitar? Well, I'll give you three guesses, and I bet you won't get it right. Ready for this one? A guy named Mitch. Mitch? Yeah. Mitch. Who's Mitch? Well, Mitch is the caterer. Yes, you read that right. DMB's caterer can play a mean electric guitar. He soundchecked with the band at Kansas City, and they said that they were gonna give him another night to practice, and that then they might let him guest with them on Crush. Evidently, they decided he needed more practice, because he didn't make it out onto the stage at Tinley. =) Good luck, Mitch. And the singers? Yeah, we were stoked for them, too. Let me tell you -- Arlene can WAIL. GETTING INTO THE VENUE:  Almost couldn't get the taping equipment in. Woods started off very polite, but the "security" chick who was frisking me had a *severe* case of rabies, and immediately started frothing at the mouth, when he said, "well, may I speak with the head of security?  I can wait."  She yelled, "NO!  We talked with our supervisors!  NO TAPING!!"  He said, "but it's a 7-year tradition. It's allowed.  Let me talk to their soundman.  He'll tell you."  She went completely mental, and Jason left to take the equipment back to the car.  Realizing that I was with Mr. Woods, she suspiciously glared at me.  "I need to search your bag," she bit out.  I complied.  (I had a really nice camera in my bag.  Hiding.)  She spied the bubbles.  "You can't bring those in here!!" she screamed.  I said, "the bubbles?"  She yelled, "YES!"  I said, "well, what should I do with them, then?"  She said, "take them back to the car!"  I said, "I'm not walking back to the car for bubbles.  Can I just throw them away?"  She got mad, but let me deposit them in the trash receptacle to my left.  Then, she says, "you have to unroll the clothes."  (The camera was in a pocket of my sister's jeans.)  I unroll my khakis, which actually made a neat sound as they unrolled.  If only I had had the Pot Brownie/Cheese Puff/Fanta Orange/Trip To Zimbabwe Experience ... she woulda had one hell of a surprise when I whipped those suckers out ... heh.)  She looked in the pockets.  I got nervous.  Then, she was distracted.  I took that opportunity to stuff my khakis back in the bag, and look innocent.  She turns back to me and says, "What else is in there?" and yanks the khakis aside.  Eyes wide, I say, "just my little sister's jeans ..."  She glares at me and says, "do you have a camera in there?!"  I look at her, and incredulously say, "are you kidding me? They're not allowed!"  She lets me through. Heh.  5 minutes later, her boss comes by.  Jason gets his taping equipment in.  Neener neener neener, bitch! BEFORE POI:  Dave had to do one of those retarded radio interviews. Girls got to touch him.  It was neat.  Two guys from Poi did the same thing a little while later (the interview, not touching Dave).  We spoke to Frank (one of them) afterwards, and after talking about Poi, asked about the backing vocals.  He said that tonight was the first night they'd be doing it, and that they were excited about it.  We thanked him, and left. POI:  Phenomenal.  This band is so incredible.  See them if you can.  I haven't seen them in two years, and they're even better than I remembered.  That's the Way Love Is. INTERLUDE:  Woods sees the setlist.  So, we knew that Crash and Ants were encores ... I, for one, *really* wanted to hear Ants, so I was happy.  Woods says he has to go to the bathroom, and that the security told him that DMB would start at 8:45.  It was 8:05.  He walks away. At 8:10, DMB walks onstage.  I freak.  Dave says something about starting early -- he hopes we don't mind.  For those of you who care about these things -- Dave was wearing a green/gray crew-neck long-sleeve tee-shirt and jeans.  Boyd was wearing a black vest and jeans.  Stefan was wearing a black and orange long-sleeve tee and black pants.  Roi was wearing a white short-sleeve shirt and white pants.  I thought he looked like an angel, but Heather said he looked like Tattoo from Fantasy Island.  I couldn't see Carter, but you can guess what he was wearing.  =)  I whipped out the binoculars, and I thought I spotted my lizard with the rest of them .... THE SHOW: DDtW:  It started at roughly 8:15.  It was obvious that DDtW was the opener, but they were strumming (is this some sort of intro, or were they just tunin' up?), so a lot of people didn't figure it out right away.  But when they did ... oh boy.  Crowd went wild.  Interesting choice for an opener.  When I realized what it was, I was thinking, "DDtW?!  What the hell are they thinking?!"  But I actually thought it did a good job -- got it out of the way, and ... surprisingly, I think it does well in that spot.  Starts off quiet and builds, etc. ... The lights were in full effect for this one.  They've got some sweet floor/mid-level lights that really make the whole stage.  Dave did a really sweet yodel-type thing because he screwed up a line.  =) STOP:  Woods was convinced this was Minarets.  Due to my superior knowledge, however, I didn't.  =)  Crowd went insane.  Lights started off white and red at the floor, and teal and green from the rig ... on the first "heeeere" they switched to purple.  On the second, "heeeere" Dave screwed up the following line.  I do believe he also stuck in an extra, "shut up you big lie," somewhere, too.  Boyd and Dave switched spots on stage during the jam, and Dave was doing this really retarded swaying left-to-right dance thing.  He had this spacy look on his face the whole time, and ... well, you probably had to see it to understand how funny it looked.  This song had INCREDIBLE energy.  Ended the song with the reprise, and the crowd went more insane.  Very, very sweet -- different words were stuck in there -- it was longer ... I thought I caught, "it's just for a night ..." OSW:  With that sweet as hell instrumental intro, and that sweeter than hell Swim Naked outro.  And this time, Woods already had the tape rolling, so we know it's not cut-off like last summer in Milwaukee.  =) Lights went softer -- just on Dave ... they gradually came up to white mid-level lights by the middle of the intro.  Great Davedance during this.  Definite Tour Premiere.  I was just happy I got to hear it at soundcheck -- to hear twice in one day was spectacular. LIOG:  During the first break/jam, the crowd went crazy for Boyd.  At the jam in the middle, Boyd came right up to the front edge of the stage (to the stage right of Dave's monitors) and went nuts -- kicked his foot like there was no tomorrow.  The lighters came out in full-force, and as Woods said, "they've got a 25,000 piece percussion section for this."  There was not a soul in the place who wasn't clapping along.  Well, except for me -- I was writing furiously.  =) The song ended at roughly 9:00 PM.  45 minutes, and 4 songs.  I love this band. SMTS:  You might say that the crowd sang along with this one.  =)  The lights were purple and yellow at the mid-level, then switching to teal/white (pointed inward), panning slowly outward during the vocals, and snapping back inward on Roi's first sax note.  Sweet.  Colors flipped to orange/white, then purple/orange during the verse, then to teal/purple .... LBJ/ASTB?:  More "babys" then I've heard in awhile.  Stefan.  He's the man.  That's all I can say. TM:  I still don't really like SMTS --> TM -- it's the LBJ that does it for me.  However, the wail that Dave did during this one made up for it all.  You know at the end where he growls into a wail?  Well, he started that off, and then, as he was mid-wail, hopped it up a note, and then slid it back down.  It was very nice, whether intentional or not.  CRUSH:  The crowd *freaked* out!  In the beginning, a purple spot was on Stefan -- as Roi came in, the mid-levels lit up, with rings of smoke visible through the white light beams.  Very nice.  Instead of "sitting, smoking," Dave made his Obligatory Obvious Pot Reference and sang, "sitting, toking."  The crowd appreciated his attention to detail.  During the line, "as wondrous as you there, sleeping?" the jumbotron cameraman had a sweet close-up shot of Dave, who looked like he knew it.  He was giving the guy some of his very best "come-hither looks" I've ever seen -- the crowd dug it, and the close-up lasted through "fill our souls up."  Boyd strolled over to keep Roi company on this jam, which was so wild.  There was some sort of "stop-time" thing going on, but ... how can I explain it?  It wasn't *really* stop-time, that's just the best phrase I can come up with.  It seemed as if only Dave were doing a stop-time sort of thing, and Carter and Stefan just kept going.  Hmm.  When I listen to it again, maybe I'll be able to explain it better.  Whatever it was, it was unbelievable. PNP --> RAPUNZEL:  Crowd, again, goes *crazy* for PNP.  There was some annoying Laser Pointer Guy (isn't there always?) pointing at Dave's head -- but ... was it really at Dave's head, or at the Jumbotron?  I couldn't tell.  Whatever.  It's still aggravating.  What a fun two songs, but at the same time, they weren't all that spectacular -- just well-played music. 2 STEP:  Random intro verse?  Caught the line, "everything so far away from what I know ..."  Hello, lights!  Fenton did a superb job, here. The lights were timed *perfectly*, as were the Jumbotron shots -- you almost didn't know where to look.  "Verse" at the end?  I caught, "won't you stop with me? ... oh please (something I didn't catch here), oh not to forget we will leave ... (into yelling) ..." and then a repeated, "we will leave," or perhaps, "we will believe?"  I couldn't tell.  Whatever.  It was incredible! #41:  Lasted about 10 minutes.  Nice green/purple lights ... Dave sang something like, "I don't want you to say"  Then he also screwed up the whole "used to play" lines -- he sort of mumbled it, yet somehow managed to squeeze almost all of the words in anyway.  The close-up of his face during this was vastly entertaining.  =)  The jam was all Roi. Hoo hah. Dave starts talking about television and how, "sometimes you listen to the radio," and then something else ... and then, "talk talk talk."  He started making noises, and motions with both hands as though he was shoving food into his mouth ... PIG:  Ooh yeah.  I wasn't convinced that I liked the changes this song has been through.  I may not like all the lyrical changes, still, but the music is all good.  Started off with all purple lights, blue at the top -- at the end, the rig was basically all orange.  I thought they sounded a little off on the first, "come sisters," but maybe that was just me. TREE:  Who said this song isn't good live?!  I need to come to your house, and beat you over the head with a mallet, because you are *wrong*.  =)  It's goooood.  Woods, my sister and I all really, really wanted to hear it.  We weren't disappointed in it, my friends.  During the girl's verse, Dave screwed up the line, "there is no place to hide."  Nice wailing in the jam -- I miss the old wailing ending of (dare I make the comparison?) Seek Up, so I'm just happy to hear it anywhere.  =)  And of course, it fits in very well here.  No flute, though.  *sigh*  Other than the lyrical mess-up, it was played very cleanly, I thought -- that jam was GREAT. JIMI:  Yee hah.  14 minutes of bliss.  I once asserted that there are fewer things in life more fine than the Jimi Jam.  After this show, I still think I'm right.  =)  Batman!!!!!  Oh baby.  Go, Roi -- he got the white spotlight.  Dave and Stefan did exceptionally well, I thought. STAY:  We kept wondering where this song was.  I had a sinking feeling it was the closer, and sure enough, it was.  I used to think that Ants was a great set closer, but Stay is pretty damn good, itself.  I mean, it's upbeat as hell, but as Dave said, "even Stay has some desperation in it."  That desperation lends itself perfectly to the desperation we all feel realizing that it's the last song.  And for a moment this good time would never end.  Dave messed up the lyrics at, "mouths open," and, "I will miss this thing."  Arlene and Robert and the Guy Whose Name We Forgot did an excellent job, though I thought that they were mixed a little high.  I like the backing vocals on the album, and I like Poi backing even more.  For those of you who hate that the backing chicks sing, "groping you":  Arlene and Robert and That Guy did not. =)  I have decided that I shall now refer to the jam at the end of this song as The Neverending Jam.  Holy cow.  Roi ... he's the man.  And if Arlene didn't have such a pair of lungs, it would have been easier to realize this. Was it just me, or did that seem like a *really* long break between the set and encore?  Maybe I'm just used to D&T breaks?  I don't know.  My sister decided (in her first-concert ever wisdom) that the crowd was infinitely louder than the band. CRASH:  The star background came on at the 3rd "craaaash," and the crowd freaked the hell out.  DMB went from 3 backing vocalists on Stay to 25,000 backing vocalists on this one.  Amazingly enough, from where I was standing, it actually sounded good ... I think it's like the Star-Spangled Banner.  When the people right next to you are singing off-key, it sounds awful, but when the people around you are on-key, and you hear them meld with 25,000 other people, it's really sort of hair-raising and awe-inspiring.  No electric guitar for Dave, here -- did he give it up for good?  The ol' Chet was held almost completely upright for this song.  Heh.  I am in love (and have been for awhile) with the Dixie Chicken outro. ANTS:  Wooooo.  HIP HOP HOORAY.  I was primed for this sucker, and I kept thinking, "oh god, don't let them change their minds, don't let them play something else ..." during the break.  Boyd made his way back over to Roi (they ought to get that boy some clip-on mics!) and hung with him for the song.  The band looked like it had a great time on this one.  As Joe said -- Dave didn't even try to sing our lines.  =) During that end jam, Fenton (as he told Woods later) was just randomly hitting buttons in time to the music -- the result was cool as hell -- stars alternating with lights ... really sweet -- looked planned.  Heh. Davejump at the end. SO YOU NOTICED WE TAPED THE SHOW ... Hey. Yeah, the show was taped. But I've been spinning it and spinning it for so long that I'm really dizzy. So PLEASE don't eMAIL me and ask me for it, okay? It's out there, I swear.

Jordan G.
Wow, What a show...  I arrived about 2 hours before the gates opened, so I heard the soundcheck.  It consisted of One Sweet World, which suprised me because it hasn't been played yet, and stay with backup singers.  I knew something was up.  Anyways on to the show... DDTW-Standard version with some Dave wailing at the begining.  Good opener. TLS-This song sounds so great live, with all the starts and stops.  Most people seemed to know this one. OSW-Came out of nowhere, but I was kinda expecting/hoping for it from the soundcheck.  What a great intro, and a great version of the song. LIOG-LOOONG Graves, lots of violin, and jamming. SMTS->Bridge->Too Much-Good SMTS, and a long jam for the bridge.  Too Much had the suck it up, fu*k it up lyric changes.  Real jazzy sound. Crush-Everyone rocked on this one, but it has to go to Boyd.  Stefan plays so perfectly too. PNP->Rapunzel-A great combo, some changes.  Overall excellent song.  Most seemed to know this one too. 2 Step-Hoping to hear it, and finally got to.  Good solid version. #41-Opened this one by saying, "This song is for a girl named Heather with a tear in her eye" or something close to that.  Good jamming and such Pig & Tree- Both Great songs everyone knew pig, but a lot of people sat down for Tree.  This allowed me to regain my composure for.. Jimi Thing-Yesssss, what a great live song.  Boyd soloed, Roi soloed, even Dave soloed.  Must have been between 15-20 minutes. Stay-Dave called out PDP to join in on this one, it was just like the album. Encore: Crash-Classic version, with Dixie outro.  A bunch of girls were annoying me by starting a group chain.  Oh well, you know it's gonna happen. Ants-Knew they hadn't played it yet so didn't expect it, but when Carter started it, I was amazed.  One of the best versions I've heard. Long ending inclulding that 1-2-3 combo thing at the end.  Good to see it back on the sets. Overall, this was a classic show, definetly worth a tapers collection.  Miss BOWA and Warehouse, but I guess I'll have to wait and hope. I'll be at Alpine Valley tomorrow, so I'll review that show then.

Scott L.
This was the second time I've seen DMB at the World Music Theater and this was the best out of the two. I've read past reviews and the setlist changed a lot from previous shows. Don't Drink the Water was very good as an opener. The return of One Sweet World and Ant's Marching was a nice surprise. Dave brought out the guest singers for Stay. This is a lot more effective in concert. The R&B singers sound a lot better live than on the cd. Dreeming Tree was just as good live. The crowd was really into it tonight. A great show.

Luke E.
I saw the show last year here and let me say that this year's show in Chicago was far far superior in comparison. The venue is really average and I didn't expect anything special but I was mainly surprised by an incredible set and enthusiastic crowd. Poi Dog was entertaining cuz they got these dancers who just bust it up off and on during their songs. Their music was really solid too. Things started picking up when my brother who spent forever screwing around in the parking lot accidently ran into Dave and got to shake his hand and meet him. I was quite jealous but oh well my time will come DDTW- I expected something else like Two Step or Panta and Rapunzel but this was a great opener, the crowd knew the song and it got everyone into it, the most standard song of the night Last Stop- Wow, I had my hopes up for this one and I was not dissappointed, first he yodelled in his middleastern blabber, the song just seems to move in and out, almost trancing and the outro was great One Sweet World- I was one of the few people who honestly knew this one right from the start when Dave busts it on the accoustic guitar, huge surprise... a treat for the true  fans SMTS--->Two Much- satndard but got the crowd really rolling, especially after we all went nuts for LIOG, a ton of energy on the lawn, Dave said F**k it up and Smoke too much Crush- new crowd favorite, have a terrible feeling someday this will be like Crash into Me for all the teeny bopper girls who only listen to the radio, the jam in the end was amazing, me and my freinds started noticing how much they had been jamming on the first few songs Two Step- Boyd was sick on this one, I just watched him pluck away on the intro as him and Dave built this song up into the most energizing  song of the night (next to Ants) our section in the crowd was just going nuts dancing and jumpin around #41- another surprise, a rarity one on the tour, Leroi jammed forever on this one, had to be near 15 minutes long, Dave said it was for some Heather girl with a tear in her eye, a highlight of the show, Batman? Pig- Dave started talking about eating after the show, (munchie reference) at MacDonald's and he did some crazy Davespeak like he was eating and eating eating, then my freind from Houston turns to me and goes "pig", what a call, great live. Carter sounded better than I thought he would singing the chorus Dreaming Tree-  they've been playing it more of late, I personally love it and thought it was a hell of a jam live, a very long version, gave the weaker fans a chance to piss and get beer Jimi Thing- Dave said something about being totally lost and not knowing what was going on, then he said he didn't know who the hell he was that night and then he got hit in the face with a stuffed animal he said "Maybe I am Jimmy", the absolute best live version of any Dave song I have ever heard, the highlight of the show, close to 20 minutes long, the lights were amazing, solos throughout, crowd was going nuts, UNBELIEVABLE Stay- once he said guests from Poi Dog (they have background singers) I knew it was going to be Stay, can't even compare the studio and the live its just so much better in concert Crash- I was dreading it but the dixie chick outro and the lighting made the song enjoyable, brought back the old feeling when I first started listening to the song before it got ruined, had rocks prepared to throw at couples making out Ants- wow a surprise first timer on the tour, what can I say you just can't find a better song anywhere to close a show with, new twist to the Boyd's solo, Carter joins him in beat, I have heard a million versions of this song but this jam was new to me, expected Watchtower or Overall a set with rolling energy, first time for OSW and Ants, can't wait for tonite because it will be tough to top last night, a great tape for trading even though there was no Watchtower or Halloween

Jenny G.
This was my first Dave Matthews Band concert and it was amazing.  We got there late and missed part of Poi Dog Pondering but they were pretty good from what i heard. Their dancers were crazy!!! It was cool but everyone wanted Dave.  We were sitting right in the middle of the lawn- center to the stage about halfway back.  Everyone went crazy when Daves amazing presence graced the stage (side note- he is so wonderful) They started off with Don't Drink the Water which everyone went crazy for.  Next was The Last Stop Which Dave and Leroi just jammed to.  The next song I remember was The first one on the new cd (i'm not even going to try to type it into Rupunzel.  This one was really cool live.  He went straight into So much to say which was crazy with Boyd going nuts and everyone singing and dancing around.  Next was Too much which was even longer than all the others had been.  It was so cool seeing Dave and Boyd center stage facing each other just playing and jamming.  Now was when Dave started talking to everyone.  He was saying something about "you know when you see people on tv, or in movies , or you see people in mcdonalds and the are just....(gestures stuffinf his face) ...they just go...:  then he made funny noises and was pretending to be stuffing his face with food.  next we headed into an at least 20 minute long version of Lie in our graves.  in the middle, they jammed with a Boyd solo where everything got really quiet and slow for a while. then- boom, right back into the song.  it was amazing.  Crush was next, it being one of my favorites from the new album, i was dancing and having a good ol' time.  There were cheers when he changed the lyrics from "sitting, smoking..." to " sitting, toking..." along with Daves' cute little smile.  This was even better live than i ever expected.  it was way cool.  Now were a buch of older songs that i am not familiar with but some nice solos but stephen, carter, and leroi!  some i know but don't know the names.  There were a lot of people sitting down and everything when Dave played the Dreaming tree but it too, was uncomparable when live. i loved it.  To get people going again, we got more Dave speak.  Finally, he said- oh, i don't remember what i was saying. i don't remember my name---- i think my name is jimi->right into another reallly long version(20 min- or more) of jimi thing.  There was another i didn't know and then Dave introduced Poi Dog members to help on what i knew was stay.  my other favorite from before these crowded streets- it was awesome live!  Another extended (as they all were) jam between Boyd and Dave, the boyd and stephan, then Dave and leroi, then Boyd and Leroi.  everyone was pumped  as they ended the concert with a bang.  oh, but wait-- one must have an encore!  Dave and the boys came back with Crash into me which was sung by everyone and some cool new lights onstage.  This one, which i don't really love was great live with boyd much more prominent.  Their last song was a 15 minute version of Ants Marching.  Erveryone singing (dave sometimes letting us do all the work for him) , and everybody dancing. Carter going crazy!  Everyone completely jamming together for a fast, frenzied, out of control finish.  it was truely amazing.  tThey were the best live band i've seen.  Dave and the boys put on a great show! I'm just mad i'm not going tonight!

Jason W.
Don't Drink the Water- great song that sounded awesome, but boys, please turn around and try starting this show again The Last Stop- I SWEAR this was gonna be Minarets, but it was damn fine, and the crowd was nutty One Sweet World- Heard it in soundcheck, and was hoping we'd get it - we did Lie In Our Graves- some sick Boyd Tinsley Band stuff goin on here, along with I THINK someone double-kick bass drum craziness from Mr. Beauford SMTS->2 Much- Chrissy let me go to the bathroom, I had to pee - bathroom highlight: Girl to guy while in the men's room stall, "Well, I NEED toilet paper, I'm a girl." Crush- Um, dayamn, y'all - gotta love this shit Panatala->Rapunzel- The end of Rapunzel was loud as hell I recall, it rocked out Two Step- okay, I still love this song, but I wasn't paying attention to it tonight - Fenton did some great light work on this though #41- for Heather =)... might not have been OUR Heather - this song is SO damn great everytime they play it and tonight was no exception Pig- Dave talks about eating, and then starts going "blah, blah, blah" - then he played Pig and made me a happy boy Dreaming Tree- now see folks, this is what Jay came to hear - this is my favorite song on the new album, and it was FANTASTIC live Jimi Thing- to all you people who go to these shows, then write reviews talking about a 20 minute Jimi (the only one I can think of that WAS 20 might be 7-10-97), buy a fucking watch - 14 minutes with a FULL Batman theme song from Roi =) Stay- Arlene, Robert, and the other Poi-person made this song so sweet, gotta love Poi and DMB at the same time =) Crash Into Me- Chrissy got pregnant Ants Marching- thank God - you can't end a show with anything BUT this song, its SO much fun, and tonight it was awesome to have it debut for the tour General Thoughts: as obnoxious as the crowd might be, they ARE there to have fun, whether they know the words or not. I know I complained about them talking about Beer during The Dreaming Tree, but they were having fun, so I'll let them live - just sit back and enjoy the tunes on your own, and I promise you'll have fun

James S.
Well...thinking I was a genius, I got to the show at about 3.  They wouldn't let us park.  We soon after were let in and I went straight to the gates.  I saw the famous "on the road busses" pull in and tried to follow but a man in a Orange shirt stopped me.  What a wise guy. Anyways, I heard them play a really neat song and did not recognize it (and if Dave has ever played it I would recognize it).  It sounds somewhat like 41 but am positive it was not.  Then they played ANTs and Stay.  People in the line I was in were singing along.  Kinda fun...anyways... DDTW:  Impressive, not a big fan but they did it well.  Glad it was over with now and not the Encore THE LAST STOP: Sounded good, I love the little refrain. ONE SWEET WORLD: Well, only a few recognized the intro and he played in great...I felt like dancing in cricles for this song. LIOG:Awesome, good jamming and the crowd went crazy.  Lighters everywhere..I got a good picture of that.  Not too long...I thought it was great with the crowd singing along SMTS: what can I say...crowd participation and then the same bridge used last year to.... TOO MUCH:  Same old same old but they had lots of energy CRUSH:  Probably my fav. on the new ablum and they played it great.  Every member got his time in the light. PANTA:  Caught me by surprised.  Did a strange little 2 note intro for about 2 mins.  SOunded good though RAPUNZEL:  I love the song....it went just like live @ the Ten 2-STEP:  The girl behind me kept yelling it and sure enough, Dave made her (and I) happy.   The song was great. 41: MY favorite.  I sang so loud I don't know how the song went Pig:The first Dave song I ever saw played.(Summer 95 "Don't Burn the PIG" DREAMING TREE: Many people took this opportunity to sit and realax.  Very slow. JIMI THING: Suppossedly somebody threw something and hit Dave in the face.  He played on that saying "Where am I , Who am I?"  The he said, something like" Oh, I must be Jimi" and jammed  that song to the max. STAY: POI DOG singers sounded good. It DID make me want to stay for the Encore ENCORE CRASH: All I could hear at the begining was screaming, in the middle I heard a good version of crash with lots of audience singing, and at the end all I heard was screaming ANTS: I heard it at sound check and thouhgt for sure they had to play it.  It was just like the good old days.  I thought they would play another song because he did not do his usual farewell at the begining.  Well, he did it at the end. Overall, an exellent show, one of the best, although I was stuck in the freaking lawn.  Oh well, today it's 14th row!!! One note:  I feel bad for Leroi because he always has to stand by his mic and Dave and Boyd and even Steffan were moving around and jamming Another note:  I am pissed as all hell because count 'em 7 people around me touched and shook Dave's hand after the Q101 interview....where was I? Buying a stinking shirt 20 yrds. away.  I heard screaming but thought it was just silly girls.  Today I will meet him.

Tony D.
My brief take on the show, considering how many people already have given a song by song account. I knew they'd be playing a short(er) setlist but a very long concert when song #4, Lie In Our Graves, came in at around the 45-minute mark. Regarding the setlist itself, correct me if I'm wrong, but I felt very, very fortunate to get #41 and Jimi Thing in the same show, let alone the return of Ants. The World is a venue that lends itself to the jaw-dropping singalong, I told my date (a first-timer) to look up at the crowd when the song stops and we get to shout "people in every direction..." and of course she'd never seen anything like it. Matinee idol or jazz ensemble? The soprano and alto singalong on Crash Into Me was the most girlish I've heard since George Michael was on his Faith tour. Yet it is amazing how Carter and Stefan can lay down a thick, roc- solid groove for these 10-minute-plus jams. It's great to see most of the new material played live, but opening with DDTW and Last Stop made it seem as though Dave wanted all the Middle Eastern out of his system early and quick. He does seem determined to get all of the new album over with the fans. For instance, Pig started out like a let's-go-get-a-beer song, but they got a hold of the Who-like closing riff and whipped it until the audience was screaming again. Just a prediction here, but Dreaming Tree will end up one of Dave's best; just because it's not getting a stomping response doesn't mean it's no good. C'mon, it's the only ballad he does except for the inevitable Crash. No Warehouse. Wonder what he's saving it for. That would have made this "A" show an "A+" Bottom line: everyone in the band is getting better at what they do. I last saw DMB at Madison Square Garden in 1996, they played a hell of a show then, but this year, they seemed even hungrier and more eager to please.

Brett G.
This show was by far and away the best I've ever seen live.  They put on one hell of a performance.  It was amazing.  The band is easily the best I've ever seen or heard (live), and they just never get tired.  Dave was in a great mood from the start when he came out to introduce Poi Dog.  But when some *sshole hit him in the head with a stuffed animal before Jimi Thing, he wasn't too happy.  Some people just never grow up.  Still. . . . DDTW-- Having followed the spring tour in detail, I was expecting either Panta-->Rapunzel or Two Step, but this blew me away.  The wailing, the emotion, Dave's face is so expressive when he sings, and in this song, he can't get enough of it.  The crowd went wild, since most everyone who listens to the radio knows this song.  But it is not even comparable to the album version when it is played live.  It was just incredible. Last Stop-- With the Davenoises at the beginning, I was kind of hoping he would pull a surprise Minarets, but I knew it was a long shot.  But this song was a very suitable replacement!  The outro with the stops and the starts is easily the best part of the song, and I was into it all the way. One Sweet World-- This was something I hadn't really been expecting, but it was great.  It sounded like a compilation of music and jams from Recently and TSTJL, and I was one of the few people around me who was into it, jamming away.  I was ectastic. LIOG-- Without question, this is one of the best songs live.  It has the jams, the music, everything.  While Roi shone too, Boyd was sick, he went crazy, by the end of the song, he had broken so many strings off of his bow from his intense playing.  Plenty more than he broke after DDTW.  By the end of this song, I was dripping sweat from head to toe, and I don't think the people next to me were appreciative of that.  I was unable to stop dancing.  I think I was in heaven for that long time. SMTS-->Bridge-->Too Much-- Again, not too many people around me knew the bridge, but it was great.  Solid version of SMTS, little baby, little baby, the underwater-sounding Davenoises and sick jams, followed by the best version of Too Much I have heard.  Not liking Too Much all that well, I was surprised beyond belief at how much five minutes can change my opinion of a song completely.  F*ck it up, f*ck it up, f*ck it up yeah!  Dave pleased the crowd immensely when he informed them he smoked too much. PNP-->Rapunzel-- From the beginning Rapunzel has been one of my definite favorites off of BTCS, so my opinion on this song is biased.  At the end of this song, I realized I had lost my voice, but that didn't stop me.  Although I was expecting the song, it was better than I could have imagined. Two Step--> When you hear Boyd's plucking, you know you are in for one hell of a treat.  This song releases all of the band's energy, and it is an incredible song live.  The crowd loved this one, and I couldn't stand still.  Even though I thought my legs were going to collapse.  You just have to dance on this one. #41--> I wish I were Heather.  Anyways, this is probably my favorite song of all the DMB songs with the exception of Granny, which I wished they had played.  I knew how few times they had played it before on the spring tour, so when Dave pulled this out of his bags of tricks, I felt like I was floating with happiness.  The best version I have ever heard of the song, and my treat for the night. Pig--> Dave began to imitate shoving his face, talked about McDonalds, and I knew this song was on the way.  Being in the center of the fifth row, it was a hilarious skit.  He should be a comedian.  This is another favorite off of BTCS, and I screamed my head off when I heard the first two notes.  An awesome performance.  And for those who think Pig will become the next Crash, they are surely mistaken, for Pig is far superior. Dreaming Tree--> This song was a treat for the fans.  Gave me a chance to regain my composure and energy from jumping around, time to chill and appreciate how the band is great and indescribable live.  This was a long version, with Dave and Stefan duking it out with their jams.  Pure pleasure. Jimi Thing--> Can I love this song ANY more than I do?  This long ass song rules.  And he put out so well after the jerk pelted him.  Everyone had their chance in this song, and I would have been content if it had lasted all night.  Two of the people near me lifted me up on their shoulders, so I was jamming above all the rest.  And Dave looked at me and grinned.  Acknowledgement was worth it.  And the crowd around me went wild.  This song was glorious, surely appreciated by anyone and everyone. Stay--> When he told everyone he had a few friends who were going to join him, and pulled out Poi Dog's singers, I was disappointed because backup singers belong back in the 80's.  However, I was impressed more than I could have believed.  This song is fantastic live, nothing more needed. Everyone brings out their lighters, and all of us in the pavillion were banging on the chairs.  The crowd was screaming so loud everything was shaking.  But Dave and the band came back, and I though everyone was going to go into shock from screaming so much.  But they didn't disappoint. Crash--> While I do like this song to begin with since I rarely listen to the radio, this is the best ever version of this song live.  Dave was both the king of the castle, we were all the dirty rascals.  I had been screaming Dixie Chicken throughout the song, and couldn't have been any happier when Dave began to sing, "you be my dixie chicken, i'll be your tennesee lamb. . . . "  The star-lights backdrop was amazing, and I was feeling nothing other than bliss.  Live, this song can never be ruined, no matter how much the fifteen year old teenyboppers squeal.  Everything added together in this song, it ruled. Ants--> I never would have guessed.  But Carter made my night.  The revival of Ants in the greatest city.  It replayed in my mind the entire night.  How does Dave do it?  Again, the best version of the song, the combos at the end and the long intro, everyone rules in this song, and it was the perfect end to the greatest concert I have ever seen.

Allison M.
Arriving at 6:30 we bought our shirts and headed for the pavillion.  I'd seen Dave their that Fall, when the played in Farm Aid last year.  If you don't know the World to well, the pavillion isn't that great, I mean it's better then lawn, but the pillars block to much of the view. Anyways onto my review... I was surprised that Don't Drink was the opener, but then again a majority of the crowd was of fans who seemed to prefer the hits.  THE LAST STOP, this song rocks!!  It's a shame that more of the crowd didn't buy or listen to These Crowded Streets, because this is a great tune if the crowd gets into it and knows the lyrics. LIE IN OUR GRAVES.... love the tune, and it got the crowd back in the show.  Dave, the whole show didn't seem to well, socialable.  A far cry from his smile and energy on MAY 30th.  Even the crowd seemed pretty chilled.  During the entire show, I had people around me asking what song they were playing, what album it was, or if they would play like two chords during the opening they'd say "hey DMB girl, what song are they going to play?"  and I'd reply "THEIR TUNNING up, I don't know!"  Or my ultimate annoyance, when their jamming and they'd say "hey DMB girl, what song are they on?"  and I'd say, truly amazed mind you "Their on the same song, their jamming!"  UGH!!! Instead of learning my name, the called me DMB girl.  So, as you can tell the fans were well not very familiar with the band, some even complained that they jammed for too long!  :O Jimi Thing was a real treat, and so was Crash into Me, especially with the new version.  I think it could the crowd off guard, but they deserved it!  Ants Marching! Wow!!!!!  The crowd seemed brewing for that one.  In fact I think the crowd even sang it louder then they did at alpine, proabably because Alpine lost its voices earlier in the show!

Bradley
First thing I want to address, is these self proclaimed "TRUE" Dave Matthews Band fans. I cannot tell you the feeling I get when I try to read these reviews and get excited about what the band is up to and all I seem to read about is those "TRUE" DMB fans who were disappointed because they didn't play this or they played that dumb radio song. Who cares if they play Ants, Satallite, DDTW or Too Much and So much. Is it fear that because they are on the radio, that they are not just your band anymore? I mean it seems like a lot of the reviews so far from this tour have done nothing but complain about DDTW. What if Crush was the single would everybody hate that too. DDTW is a great song with excellent meaning and should be out for everybody to hear. Now if someone could write me some mail I would be much excited to find the real meaning of a TRUE fan. DMB has been my favorite Band since 1991. I was fortunate to catch them in VA on 10/22/91, 5/13/92, 5/20/92 and 7/8/92 before my family moved to WI. I didn't a chance to catch them again till 3/15/95. I have seen them 4 times since and cannot believe them still. Granny was a new song to me but I loved it to death. I am proud of them. The status they have achieved from Floodzone days till now is fantastic. More people in this world need to hear bands like them. They have such positive and wonderful energy. I just don't see how they can be critized for thier songs, especially by their TRUE fans. Ditch that arrogance people. AS for my review of the Set list, I had Tears from TWO STEP all the way through ANTS. Crush was super powerful and so was Nancies. I feel that all of the weather was held off because of the positive energy 40,000 people gave off. It was a great show like every other show I have seen. I hope one day I will get to seem them again. Please from now on, focus on the positves of the show and write about them. They are not a negative band so do not make them out to be. Let's all be excited for their popularity and success. They deserve it.

Sam P.
After the show, driving down 57 North...I noticed 2 huge tour busses in farthest left lane...My brother joked that Dave and the boys were sitting in there....i didn't think anything of it until I looked up at the bus from the driver's seat and saw Dave sitting in the passenger seat....I almost cried...Anyway, I sped passed to state police to keep up with the bus and followed it to the Ohio Street exit downtown....followed for a couple of blocks and parked....my brother and I ran four blockes chasing the buss up to the Marriott......as we turned the corner off of Rush St., Dave got off of the bus, and we basically tackled him....he was very receptive and seemed so pleased that we chased after him all the way from tinley park....he signed our ticket stubs, and gave us a hug.....never again shall I have a better day.....