Laurence F.
We drove from NYC to see this one and were not dissapointed by the band one bit. However, the crowd was lacking in just about every area but weed supply. Almost our whole secton was sitting down and the three people behind us sat with their legs and arms crossed the whole time and didn't move a muscle. Anyway, on with the show: Venue: The Corel Centre is really nice actually and the sound was quite good. Definately better than some of those other arenas. The New Meanies: Let's not waste any words: They sucked. Dave and the boys came on at 8:20 to thunderous applause and teased the crowd for about 10 minutes. Dave sounded like he was playing the intro to OSW but instead LeRoi took a nice solo before things even got started. The band then broke out into Pantala Naga Pampa Pantala Naga Pampa---> Rapunzel: A solid opener. We were hoping for Seek Up and also that we weren't going to be kicked out of the seats in the third row that we had taken. We were denied both, but the band seemed to have a lot of energy right off with Dave and Boyd coming together in the center of the stage for the jam. DDTW: Pretty standard. Thought this show was going to suck after opening with these and then Crash Into Me: Also pretty standard. We've just heard this good song too many times. Anyway, got the mostly radio crowd into it.No Dixie Chicken though. Dave spoke afterwards and it was clear that his voice was going early on. Warehouse: Complete with the stop-time intro, this was a highlight of the night for us. At the beginning it seemed like they had brought the key of the song down for Dave because his voice was so screwed up and it did sound weird at the start although they got it together by the end of the intro- This was the beginning of the Boyd Tinsley Show. Jimi Thing: About 20 minutes long, this featured two solos from Boyd, on the second of which they gave him the entire stage. The next solo went to LeRoi and then Tim who is quite sketchy looking with his hair and bathrobe but who can play like no one else we've ever seen live. Good lights on this one especially. Stay: Pretty standard but the end seemed to go on for even longer than ususal. We've decided that this song is much better without those three divas. Anyway, this got the crowd going again after a long jam at the end of Jimi Thing. Lie In Our Graves: This was great as Boyd took some amazing solos on this one too as usual. He was all over the stage and Timmy had an amazing solo as well. Crush: Even though it's a single, nobody seemed to know this one and we think this is the reason that it wasn't stretched out. Still, its a great tune. Two Step: Definately a strange version. It started off great with yet another different mumble from Dave. Then, during the interlude into the third verse, Carter seemed to play what he normally would have played in the jam. (It's sort of hard to explain)Simultaneously, Dave broke a string and so this one seemed to take a slip in the middle. They then brought the volume way down and made everybody think the song was over, but they kept going, brought the volume up again, and finished up great. Another great tune every time. Pig: A big surprise, and we also thought that there was enough from BTCS already, but it was still great. Dave seemed to get his voice back for this one and he put lots of emotion into this one as usual. Again, the crowd had no idea. ASTB--->Too Much: They needed to get the crowd back into it and succeeded by playing a pretty standard version of this one. Whatever. Rhyme And Reason: We were really happy to hear this one. Dave was really into this at the end and it's always been one of my faves. Ants Marching: Got right into it with Boyd playing some killer solos here. The crowd loved it and if there was question they wouldn't want an encore (which there was,) this brough everybody to their feet. I'll Back You Up: Dave came out and said that it was a quiet one that they "hadn't played in years...until last week"- The highlight of the night for us, and Tim added a nice twist to this. Really beautiful, and the crowd was actually pretty quiet. Watchtower: Wanted Billies or even Nancies, but we got an amazing Watchtower instead. This was preceeded by a Stefan solo and other solos by a plucking Boyd, LeRoi, and Timmy. A great ending, and the place went nuts after about a 10 minute jam. Overall a great show and well worth the drive. Ottawa is a really exciting place,especially coming from NYC. See ya at the Garden, Albany and Detroit.

Eric P.
This was my third show of this tour, and definately the best, the boys were having FUN out there last night. Dave had his dancing shoes on!! It's nice to see them playing around with PNP, it was great to start the show. I totally love the nice long jam at the end of Rapunzel. DDTW was very intense and full of energy (dave really loves this song -- so do i). I really enjoyed Tim Reynolds, he adds so much and also brings new jams to the songs. There were new jams (for me anyways) on jimi, crush,2step,watchtower. Warehouse was excellent and a little longer than usual, I'll Back You Up was so nice, i'm really happy they started playing that one. ANTS was incredible, and LIOG was the BEST i have heard Boyd was incredible!!!!!!!Also one of the best Watchtowers i've heard with some jammin' from everyone,,,great closer !!!!! All in all a great great show from the best band in the world. One more thing, i know some people were taping the show and i would love if someone could get in touch with me to set up a trade, i have a lot to offer in return (about 20 shows) good 98's and older stuff too, so pleeeeaaaaase get in touch with me ,,,,thanks. See yall in Montreal on Monday night.

Jenn P.
Great setlist, comparable to the show last May at the Congress center.. Good crowd, Tim Reynolds Rocked! Amazing electric solos, Boyd went nuts with the violin, lassard played a wicked intro for crush..... Leroi was amazing all throughout!!! Crazy show, started at 8:10pm finished at 10:45pm... Reynolds was wearing leather pants with some kinda bathrobe.. Dave danced a lot! They played many intros.... Rapunzel-everyone went nuts! Don't drink the water-everyone in the stadium was stading, great jam Crash-what a surprise! this came early.. Stay-sax was great warehouse-boyd was wicked Jimi thing-great jam, highlight!!!! Crush-Lessard did a great intro on bass for 5 mins. Lie in our graves-what a good jam, made it long.. Pig- surprised again.. Two step-greastest intro Rhyme & Reaosn- intense Ants- played with it; interesting Too much- wild! Encore I'll back you up-Tim's electric spin was good Watchtower-nice, #41 or #36 would of made it the ultimate set... Montréal will be hard to match, this show was awesome, I was very impressed.. The new meanies sounded a lot like PHISH!! they where okay.. I liked the electric guitar, tim the tall man... Most people came from New York, not that many Ontario liscences!!! (invasion!) Overall great show for an arena

Jeff M.
This was my sixth DMB show, and I have to say that I've never seen the band with this much energy. It might have been the two day layoff, but from the start the band was on fire, especially Boyd who was ripping it up the entire show. The setlist was lacking a little a the beginning, but the boys picked it up later on, and it was an amazing show. As for the opening band, the New Meanies, I had heard from a few people that they were good, but I was dissappointed with their perfomance. Leroi solo > PNP Rapunzel - I was surprised that this was the opener, but the band made it into a great opener. It was a little slow getting it started, but it was the best Rapunzel I've seen in 5 shows this year. Don't Drink the Water - Not a big fan of this song, but the energy put into it by the band was amazing. Dave's voice was sharp and emotional. Stefan was especially feeling it on this song, and Leroi was smooth Crash Into Me - This song sure got the radio fans out of their seats Pretty standard version, and no "dixie chicken" outtro or anything. Warehouse - I love hearing this song, and the stop time intro is a nice touch. The whole band including Tim were rocking on this song, especially Boyd who was amazing. Jimi Thing - By far the best Jimi Thing I've seen, it may have been the best song I've seen DMB play in concert. It lasted forever, and there were nasty solos by Boyd, Leroi, and Timmy. The energy in Dave's voice and the lighting made this the highlight of the night. Lie in Our Graves - Can I say long.........This song lasted forever, and in decending part towards the stopping point, Boyd ripped into his violin, and Timmy put on a beautiful solo on the electric guitar ( he was prevelent the entire evening, it really spiced things up). Great song Crush - What can I say, I love this song. Dave's voice was electirfying, the whole band felt the groove that Stefan set early. Tim had another kicking solo, and Dave and Boyd were all over the place. Two Step - My favorite song. There was a unusually long intro with Dave, Stefan, and Boyd, and then they rocked again on Two Step. Dave's voice had me screaming my lungs out, and the whole crowd was going nuts. The band stopped towards the end of the song for a quiet Tim solo, and then when I thought the song was over, Carter picked it up and then the band went into the ending. Cool version. Pig - I have to say I was in shock that they played this one, but it was great to hear in concert. The radio crowd sat down, but with Leroi's flute and Dave's enchaning vocals, it was a great song. ASTB - I am a big fan of this jam, especially Stefan' part. I thought Carter's drums were pointing towards Halloween, but they werent Too Much - Hey, the radio fans were back and on their feet. High energy througout this song, but it was a standard version Rhyme and Reason - Not many fans knew this one, but for me who's never heard this in concert, it was a treat. Great emotion by Dave, and Timmy complemented him perfectly. I thought this would lead into the encore, but no. Ants Marching - Haven't heard this in a while, but I'm glad I did. Something must have got into Boyd, because he was all over the stage tearing it up on the violin, and he ended up jamming with Stefan and Leroi near the end. Great set closer. I'll Back You Up - Beautiful song. The majority of the arena sat down, but the real DMB fans stayed up and swayed. Dave's voice was so emotional, and Timmy's smooth guitar made this extra special. Carter played some nice drums at the end. I was excited to hear this. Stefan solo > - Nasty......I love Stefan's bass playing, and this solo was better than ever. Watchtower - I was hoping for Halloween, but the band made sure this was a great closer. Dave was screaming his loudest, and and Carter was a mad man on the drums. The jam in the song lasted at least 5 minutes with Boyd (plucking his violin), Timmy (electric guitar) and Dave, it was a really surreal point of the song. Leroi had a great solo, and then Dave reentered his voice (Hendrix style), and just went off, as well as the entire band. It was a great ending to a exciting and high energy show by the Dave Matthews Band. It was the best I've seen the band play in six shows, and by far most energy.

Mike R.
I'd say this was the 2nd or 3rd best show of the 5 I've seen. That's not to say that this was a bad show. It's more to say that I've been spoiled with the shows I've gone to. First off, the show didn't sell out and the crowd was sort of dead. Dave and the boys still had a great time up there. They looked like they were really enjoying the music. The opening band wasn't too bad, a little guitar heavy. After seeing Ben Folds Five, Beck, Bela Fleck and Ben Harper as opening acts, I'm somewhat spoiled here too. As for the show, most of it was really tight and Boyd was on fire. He was absolutely amazing. Tim Reynolds played the whole set, adding a little edge to the music. They gave him a bunch of solos, but they weren't accepted particularly well by the crowd. I was having trouble making out the different notes of Stefan's basslines. I blame the sound system. When playing by himself, it was easy to hear. He is awesome. It was cool to hear Stay without those damn back up singers. I liked it better this way. Lie In Our Graves was great. This was Boyd's highlight of the night. He rocked. I was surprised to hear Pig, but even more surprised to hear how much the middle of the song just rocked. Unbelievable. Twostep was good, but just when the jam was starting to get good, they broke it off for a Tim solo. I'll Back You Up was great except for the screaming people in front of me. Being a bass player, I was in awe when Stefan played a little solo at the beginning of Watchtower! He doesn't get enough credit. Overall, a fairly mainstream setlist. That's what was gonna work for this crowd. I give the Band much credit because they could have seen the crowd and given a half-assed performance, but they had a great time and rocked. Another great show!

Nick S.
Let me start off by saying that the sound at the corel centre is unbelievable. The show started out like they were going to play everything that I have ever heard on the radio, but by the end of the night I was far from disappointed. Boyd really blew the croud away durring LIOG, and Timmie was fabulus. I am sure that someone will follow with a more in depth review but Ottawa is a long way from NYC and I am beat. Just wanted to getthe setlist to you.

Ben G.
Took the drive from Montreal to see this show with some buddies. We were not dissapointed at all. In fact we were baffled. Not only did the band put on a great performance, but the 40$ticket also included a pretty fantastic light show. We realize that fancy lights should not consume our minds during a concert, but I'm telling ya, it surely increases the level of excitement when the band is reeling. Dave seemed to be friggin' into it also. After Jimi thing,(which included solos from practically everyone) Dave came up to the mike and screamed "Yes!!!!" That pretty much captured the moment for us too. Wicked show, no complaints. And to conclude, for anyone who has seen Tim with the band or plans to see him in the future with them will understand when I say... Tim rocks man!! He wails! Yes!!! P.S. I must say that Ottawa's Dave Matthews women concert goer's are beautiful. Yes!!!!

Patrick
Basically, I thought the show was pretty good. This was my fifteenth DMB show and it was by far not the best, yet again it wasn't the worst. I think the drawbacks were: 1) The crowd, which quite frankly sucked. 2) Canada: I missed the U.S.A. 3) The New Meanies: need I say more? 4) The venue's location: far, far away from downtown Ottawa. 5) Too much French. 6) The abundance of radio songs i.e., Crash Into Me, DDTW, Stay, and Crush-all good tunes but a bit too much in one show. The good parts were: 1) The venue itself..by far the most beautiful arena I have ever been to. Clean, modern, and efficient. 2 "I'll Back You Up"-what an extremely pleasant suprise. It made my girlfriend and I extremely happy to be together. 3) The fact that I was watching DMB-I'm such a big fan, that all of the fore-mentioned drawbacks were faded by my love for the band. 4) WATCHTOWER!-believe it or not, only my second time hearing it live...it was a great version with an awesome jam. 5) Boyd-he seemed extremely on and into the show the entire time. Honestly, he was the life of the show. 6) Timmy-the man is an amazing guitar player...he looked and sounded like Jimi Hendrix from where we were. (except, of course, the fact that he Timmy is white) 7) The acoustics of the building were awesome...I usually don't like inside shows but this one was damn good acoustically. So, I guess mathematically the show was a success (7 good points to 6 drawbacks). I wanted desperately to hear "Say Goodbye" or "Nancies" but you can't get everything. I did get to hear "Pig" which is my favorite song on BTCS but it was kinda ruined by the fact that the stupid radio-fans around me kept asking "what the hell is this song?" I just wanted to tell them off...but that wouldn't be cool. A show is a show and everyone should be able to enjoy it...even if they are ignorant fans. See y'all in Albany.

Dave R.
I won't comment on every song but I will give my pros and cons of the show. First of all it was a great show. I wasn't thrilled with the setlist up untill Pig (only because the two shows I saw this summer had 9 out of the 10 1st songs that this show had...which was really annoying). The highlights for me from those songs were definately the trio, in order, of Warehouse+Jimi Thing+Lie In Our Graves. Except for Jimi Thing which is always long, the other two were especially long and Timmy had the most unbelievable solo right after Boyd's on LIOG. Right up until the last two songs of the set, I thought the show was just average compared to the other two I had been to. Then Rhyme and Reason came on and WOW!!! What a song and then the best Ants I had ever heard (except for the one with Trey). IBYU was also sweet to hear...would have liked something other than Watchtower but it was an awesome version. All in all great but I hope to hear at least 7 or 8 different songs in Montreal tommorow night (please please please WWYS and Proudest Monkey!!!).

Adam
It was the best of 5 shows I have been to. Hershey after but tjhis one blew it away. It was incredible. The opened with Carter hitting the bass drum thus no one had a clue what song it was opening with. They hinted with a song I recognized yet I cannot remember which one. Anyways i was fifth row floor so everyone was up and about dancing except for some people in the first row that obviously won their tickets or got them coincidentally. The setlist was amazing and Boyd's solos especially in Liein Our Graves snt a chill throught my spine..it was mad phat. Anyways, I saw my ol'friend DM thenight before and asked him to play pig so he did, he is so very cool. Anyways...I was gonna ask him for #40 but I thought it would be too much. Anyways a great show with bonuses that are not for your ewars. WOW the girls in Ottawa are so phat ...wow..they are gorgeous.

Marc G.
The 5 hour drive from Toronto was worth it. Besides the fact that the show was in a big venue and the crowd wasn't into it, I still think this was the best DMB show that I've ever been to. The Corel Centre had pretty good sound and I had great seats so it all worked out. First show I've seen with Tim. I think the he adds so much to the show. What a great set can't wait to get the show. Any one who has it e-mail me, I got a big list. Here is my play-by-play: PNP---->RAPUNZEL: What a great opener! This or seek up and I was happy. After the 1st "For You I Will Be True" Dave gave one of the best "HEY!!" I've seen on the '98 tour so far. DDTW: Great song live! Dave seemed to get into a lot. CRASH INTO ME: This got all those damn radio fans happy. I was praying for a Dixie Chicken but I guess he didn't sing it because the stupid people from Ottawa wouldn't know it but I hoped but it never came. WAREHOUSE: I'd never seen this live before. It rocked. Dave got into this a lot to. Cool Stop-Time intro JIMI THING: WOW! WOW! WOW! Best Jimi I've ever heard. Tim went at it with a great solo as did Boyd. Unbelievable! LIE IN OUR GRAVES: Another Great Jam! With some more great Timmy. He rocked it out. Went on for about 15 min. Great Jam! STAY: Nothing Special but dave and the boys still got into it. CRUSH: As a bass player, I loved it. Another great jam. I think me and only about 50 other people in the crowd were up and dancing. Another cool Jam. TWO STEP: Cool Version. Dave broke a string so the song sort of stopped in the middle but Carter, Roi, Boyd and Tim kept it up. Good plucking job by Boyd! PIG: This was my highlight. I've seen them do this once before. They've only played it like 10 times and I've seen it twice. By then my voice was gone. Great job. Dave sings with suck great emotion on Pig. ASTB-->Too Much: Never seen Too Much, I enjoyed it a ton. RHYME & REASON: No one was expecting it but it pleased me. Cool Version. ANTS: Exteneded Boyd Solo! He was awesome. The version carried on and the crowd loved it. I loved it. Dave loved it. The crowd AND dave did "people in every direction..." This was wierd but different. E:I'LL BACK YOU UP: I knew it was coming but when it finally came I didn't know what to do. Great song. Excellent solo by Tim, Carter did back up beautifully and Dave was great ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER: I'll never get sick of this. Great jam about 10 min. Stephan's Bass intro was great. When the crowd heard "There must be some kind..." They went wild. Great ending to a great show. Anyone who does have a copy please e-mail me. See ya'll in Toronto!

Rob S.
No need to go song by song, it's been done, I just want to give my opinion. 10 people from Rochester, NY make the trek to Ottawa for the weekend to eat, drink and be merry. We were very succesful. First of all, I was surprised at what a great city Ottawa is. We all give props to the capital of Canada. Our energy was amazing from Friday night through the show. I am a DMB freak and was really dying to get into the arena. This was the 19th show for me. When it opened with PNP/Rapunzel(which I absolutely love), DDTW, Crash Into Me, I was a bit disappointed because the setlists leading up to this show were incredible. Don't get me wrong, the songs sounded great. I had a hard time picking up Tim for those songs. Everything came together for me though. My highlights include Jimi Thing(as if it needed to be better..........Tim Reynolds......Damn), Warehouse, Pig, Two Step(Rocked), Rhyme & Reason(This song gives me chills). Actually, I was really looking forward to the possibility of hearing I'll Back You Up. I hadn't heard it since my 1st DMB show ever. When Dave walked out for the encore I knew we would hear it. This song was sooooo beautiful. It was nice too because the crowd was extremely respectful of the type of song it was, and you could have heard a pin drop. This was a great show.

Colin D.
Extraordinary!! I love this band! I mean, I know their setlist was very simple, but that's only because the band knows that Canadians haven't been exposed to DMB as long as Americans have, so therefore many Canadians learned to love them through those songs. But, for those of us who have known them for years, well, those singles are still awesome songs, and they're a million times better live. And what a pleasant surprise: Timmy Reynolds! I am just happy they did Two Step. That's all it took to make me happy... that and the (almost too classic) Watchtower finale. Some guy near me was trying to do the Red Rocks thing, screaming out, "Watchtower!" like a mad man, trying to get some attention... loooser...But the people at this show were much cooler than the crowd at the last Montreal show in May, where many people were just plain pricks. So, despite the "ordinary" set-list and the loser in front of me, this Dave Matthews Band show rocked, with the powerful musical energy on stage (and Dave's dancing around on stage...) PS: To the guy from Ney York City sitting next to me, drunk of his ass on Southern Comfort, I'm sorry I left without thanking you for making some of the show worth while. If you read this and recognize yourself, please contact me...

Andrew B.
Four of us drove from Prince Edward Island to see this concert.We thought the concert was incredible.We were in the first row of the third deck but the floor looked like the people were dead,we didn't sit down the whole concert.Dave was incredible, the whole band was so energetic.When they started with PNP, then Rapunzel, it was definately a crowd pleaser with us.I can only imagine the setlist being better if Dancing Nancies, and Say Goodbye were played but no complaints about any songs played.The sound and venue was incredible.I love these guys and would travel another 1200 kilometers to see them anytime!!!!Lots of people say DMB is the best band live and after hearing this concert, I can't imagine anyone better!I hope they tour somewhere close again, I will definately be getting tickets.Later, Andrew.