Betsy W.
oh my FRICKIN god, was that an awesome show!! ok lets start from the ground floor and work our way up... i had front row seats thanks to the warehouse. they were a little off to the left, but i was right in front of boyd which was exactly what i needed! see, on monday when dmb came into town for a 2-night stand at the pavilion i quick headed down to where they were staying and sure enough i ran into boyd. i asked him to play I'll Back You Up (my favorite song) and then i got a pic with him. anyways, so back to the show... i made a sign. on one side, it said HI BOYD to get his attention for the other side that said I'LL BACK YOU UP!! (REMEMBER ME?) so as they come out on stage boyd sees the HI BOYD and waves at me and kinda laughs to himself. then they play the stone, and i hold up my sign at the end in between songs. whats the point of holding it while they play? they wont really be able to read it, ya know? so i hold it up after the stone, and dave looks right at it... NO JOKE... reads it, and then throws his hand up in the air like OK YOU GOT IT!! so i was flipping out. they play some more songs, and he's lookin at me the whooooole time. now people usually say that, but im serious this time!!!! he WAS looking right at me!! there was another blonde chick standing next to me so we had him whipped! hahaha jk! anyways, so the whole rest of the show he keeps glancing at me and my sign. he pointed to it a few more times to let me know he saw it. they played so much to say and anyone seen the bridge which went right into too much, UNTIL they changed last second as a teaser and went into ants marching! i had never seen that before!! it was awesome!!! so the last song rolls around. to make sure i got my point across, i held up the sign the whole time. i could do this b/c i was in the front row of course. oh yeah, i sneaked a whole roll of pictures during the 1st set but i made sure to save 1 for the encore... juuuuuust in case. so dave kept looking at my sign and smirking. and then they leave, and when they come back for the encore, only Dave, Carter, and Stefan come out... hmm... I wonder why.... maybe b/c they are going to play I'll Back You Up?? YEAH!!! They played it for me!! For ME and only ME!!! I can't believe it!! So everytime Dave glances my way I of course put my hands together and mouth THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU and blow him kisses too. So the show ends and Dave is walking around on stage. He walks over to me, and what does he do? Puts his hands together and then blows kisses right back at me!!! TONS OF EM TOO!!! AHHH!!! Oh no, but I'm not done just yet. Carter hands out his sticks but I don't get one. Then all these trader guys are standing around with me in the pit to try to get a setlist or a pic or something. And I'm showing the roadies my sign and screaming I GOT THEM TO PLAY ILL BACK YOU UP! THAT WAS ALL ME! and a bunch of the trader guys look over and theyre like that was you?!?!? THANKS!!! I had a bunch of people thank me for making that sign. It was awesome. So one roadie is peeling up some tape and i'm like PLEASE ANYTHING! GIVE ME SOME TAPE!! Some otehr guys were then like GIVE HER SOME TAPE!! So he rolls me up a little ball and casually throws it off the stage so one of the employees of the pavilion could pick it up for me. AND THEN he comes out with a guitar pic in hand and looks at me to let me know its for me. Then as he reaches out to me other guys are trying to grab it and he pulls back and says NO! He puts his hand up to mine and makes sure it falls only into my deserving hands! I can't believe it!!! I have tape, a guitar pic, and the memories of Dave staring at me and singing to me, making sweet little faces at me, and PLAYING ILL BACK YOU UP FOR ME!! Life is goooood... and Dave, on the chance that you may read this... "Do as you please I'll back you up."

Brooks B.
And I thought last night was great. Tonight so blew that out of the water that I so can't wait to just get the tape of it. Seats were on the right, 5th row tonight so that I could see what I didn't see last night. Unfortunately, I missed Bela's opening but I heard they were better. Dave took the stage at 8:23, a little earlier than last night and opened with Stone. It was a good opener, got the band and the crowd warmed up. Then they busted out with the old stuff, Best Of What's Around, So Much To Say... Good crowd pleasers, short and high energy. Anyone Seen the Bridge was expected after So Much To Say and then so was Too Much but ANTS BABY!!! They played the first chords to Too Much and then went crazy with Ants, I was so surprised and excited at the same time!!! And the energy from Ants almost matched Watchtower from last night. That's a classic that will never die and just gets better and better in concert. LeRoi was on tonight as opposed to last night, it made the whole concert that much better. It was then time for new stuff, Bartender, very good cut of it - I missed it last night and got it tonight. I love the jam at the end that just peeters out to Carter and was wondering if it was going to go into Say Goodbye, not tonight. They backed it up with Raven which was nice to hear live to cover his new songs but it's probably my least favorite of his new songs. Back to old stuff, Song that Jane Likes always gets the crowd going, not a fav of mine. One Sweet World, what more can we say, this is one of my favorite with their musical intro, much better than OSW last summer in Raleigh (7/31/99) - it's all about LeRoi. I was wondering if Bela was going to come out yet seeing that it was about time. One more, Drive In, Drive Out - always a good concert song "Maybe we'll make a new god and have a tea party of our own". Then the night became majestic. Bela came on stage, there was a little D chord action and my dream had come true. Lie In Our Graves... By far the best if not the 2nd best cut of it that I've ever heard (11/28/98). Ok so they do the beginning part which was cool because Bela's banjo came through, Boyd freakin took it to another level - and I'm not a big Boyd fan. Then it was clearly Bela's turn. It took him 4 go arounds of the chord progression to get started, and boy did he start. It was awesome, little familier stuff, little new, all BELA. Then when he wound down, Butch came up and flirted with Bela and they started jamming. Butch finished up with the best Improv that I've ever heard him play, 20:45 of Lie In Our Graves, the longest I've ever come across. OK SO I LOVE LIOG AND HAD MY DREAM COME TRUE!!!! THANK YOU DAVE, BELA, BUTCH, BOYD, et. al. It didn't stop there, they broke into Jimi Thing and I was wondering what Bela was going to do with that jam thinking back to last night and #41. Then when it came time for the jam session, the Flecktones came out. They each got their turn, first Victor, then Jeff, then Bela, and Carter and Futureman went to town again tonight much like they did last night. Damn it was awesome. They broke back into the jam after the drum solo to end up with 25:12 of Jimi Thing. Grey Street came next, I thought it was the end but they had one more up their sleeve, Too Much - we got the tease completed. What could be coming for the encore? Grace is Gone came last night mid set, #40? LBV? Dave brought out I'll Back You Up from the bottom of his hat and clearly won me over, it's one of my favorites, I stood in awe. The "I Love You Dave" was correctly placed in the song too, can't wait to hear it on tape. The band closed with JTR, they opened with it last night so Houston might just be JTR. I was hoping for a Watchtower, that would have made the concert nearly Perfect. I'm not complaining though... Whoever gets to see them between now and 9/20/00, be ready for the best concerts that The Dave Matthews Band has ever put on. I will never forget these two nights. Dave, Carter, Stefan, LeRoi, Boyd, Butch, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones: My hat's off to you, Much Thanks!

Johnathan F.
This was the second show I saw at the Woodlands this week. Last night's was great (check out my review) but tonights was INCREDIBLE...I was blown away like I've never been before, at any concert anywhere....seriously. The setlist was amazing, and except for JTR and Grey Street, there were NO REPEATS FROM LAST NIGHT! What an amazing musician to be able to sing so many different songs and still melt the crowd each night. So here goes the review: THE STONE got everyone pumped up. This is a great opener, much better to start with than JTR like last night. BOWA rocked out so hard that everyone was jumping up and down...classic. SO MUCH TO SAY was awesome, with a sweet little bridge in between that and the next song...he teased TOO MUCH for like 2 measures and went straight into ANTS MARCHING!!! What a cool idea...we were all eating out of his hands at this point. ANTS was great, with some new improv from Boyd. BARTENDER is a song I like but not love, at least until tonight. Wow. This song is going to be friggin amazing on the studio album! RAVEN rocked, I'm liking that song more every time I hear it. STJL was a nice surprise, and everyone knew it, which surprised me. OSW, what can I say? DIDO was AWESOME, what a great song...I think this would be a great opener...LIE IN OUR GRAVES was the best song of the night, no doubt about it. Boyd tinsley rocks on this song and almost made me and my buddy cry....seriously....Bella rocked on it too. JIMI THING was LONG but well worth it, and the Flecktones rocked it out hard. GREY STREET...duh...release this soon please Dave, I'm not sure how much money I can keep spending on concerts! TOO MUCH.....too cool...for the encore, I'll back you up was nice with Stefan and Carter helping things out a little...JTR was a weird closer choice but they ended with some funk and got pretty intense with it so I didn't mind at all. Overall, the best Dave show I've seen, no doubt about it....can't wait to go on Friday to see ifhe can top it...it's gonna be tough!

Michael H.
On my review of last nights show I said that I didn't see how Dave could play a better show. He did. This show is the kind that you would spend days trying to find on mp3. This show is an instant classic. Everything about this show was great, the setlist, the crowd and especially the energy coming from the band. It was my first time to hear Best Of Whats Around and it was better then I expected. Then he went into to the So Much To Say epic which completely blew the crowd away. Bartender is abloutely unbelievable. Raven was also incredible. Then he pulls The Song That Jane Likes out of the closet, followed by One Sweet World. Both of these songs were great. Drive in Drive Out was really intense. Butch Taylor sounded great in this song. Bela came out next and completed Lie in Our Graves. Then the rest of the Flecktones came out and jammed on Jimi Thing. This was so incredible. The Flecktones are absolutely amazing and Dave loves to play with them.The Encore was pretty good also. I'll Back You Up made the show for me. I have wanted to hear that for so long. It was awsome how quiet the crowd got for this song. And then they closes how they started with an awsome JTR. This concert can not possible be described with any justice. This is something you would have had to experience for youself. Well, on to Dallas.

Nick M.
Wow! Dave, Carter, Boyd, Leroi, Stefan you guys ROCK! This was my first show to see this year and the boys seemed like they had a ton more energy then last year. Dave was a dancing madman which really gets the crowd pumped. I couldn't have asked for a better setlist tonight. The energy was absolutely incredible. The only thing he didn't play that I would have really liked to hear was #40. But hey, you can't have everything. The Stone was an interesting opener that me or my friends would have never guessed. It was played nice but pretty standard. When Dave started playing So Much I went nuts not knowing that in a few minutes it was gonna get better. Right after So Much they faded into the opening chords of Too Much and then switched to Ants. I had never seen that live before. My highlight was The Song That Jane Likes. Dave came to the microphone and said, "I gotta sister....." and I screamed JANE! I was really not exspecting that song tonight. LIOG Boyd had an awesome solo but it wasn't anything new listening to some recordings of previous shows this year. JTR as a closer was a little strange too but VERY VERY COOL! Opened with it last night, closed with it tonight? After the show I laid in the back of my truck and tried to absorb what I had just seen. See you guys in Dallas!

Diego F.
After going to the show last night, I didnt know how Dave and the boys could top it off tonight. First of all I was in the 14th row dead center whish was slightly better than where I was last night. Dave was in a good mood, dancing between songs and making his usual moans and faces. Ill say the first four songs of the night were amazing. Opening up with the Stone. And then going into Best of Whats Around which is one of my favorite songs. Leroi was on fire on this one, without wearing his sungalsses. Then So Much to Say and then going in to ASTB, they had the crowd on their feet up and dancing. Then they totally suprised everybody by going into the first notes of Too Much and then going into Ants Marching. Bartender was a great one, probably my favorite of their new songs. Song That Jane Likes was a highlight for me just because its the song that Jane likes. Then came my favorite part of Dave's stay in Houston. Bela coming out and playing on LIe In Our Graves, Dave again was pointind at Bela. Butch also impressed me here. After I thought it wasnt going to get better, Dave began Jimi Thing and kept Bela out there and then midway through the song Dave calls out the rest of the Flecktones and boy, did Mr. Wooten impress everyone on the bass, Mr. Coffin brought down the house on the sax, and Futureman along with Carter made "sense out of chaos" on the drums. Then they finally gave us Too Much which was received with high energy. For the encore Dave did something I never thought he would do, he went up to the microphone and said "this is an old song" and began I'll Back You Up and it was ony him onstage until Stefan came out to play the solo which was nice. They ended where they began in Houston with a great high energy JTR. These were too great nights which I will never forget and I cant wait till I get to see them again. Thank you Dave and the boys.

Jason C.
My lord!! What a show!!! The Stone- I wasn't sure how this was going to be as an opener, but let me tell you it rocked. The entire crowd was into it and singing along. Very cool. BOWA- Totally was not expecting this one tonight, standard version, crowd ate this one up. So Much To Say--->(ASTB)- Always a fun one, crowd was in a complete frenzy during the bridge, as was I. (Too Much)--->Ants- I didn't think the excitement level could get any higher but when the band busted into Ants the place nearly exploded. Carter went pretty much apeshit at the beginning. Bartender- The crowd settled down a little bit for this one. Great wailings by Dave at the end. Raven- Great song, even though I still can't understand what Dave is saying. People started to stand around a little for this one. Song That Jane Likes- Brought the crowd back a little from its new song daze. Very nice happy song. One Sweet World- Seemed like only a handful of people new what this song was from the intro, but once it got to the main part of the song the crowd was digging it. Drive In Drive Out- I thought they were going to play this one after Stone in the beginning but instead we got it here. The engery of the concert picked up again starting here. At the beginng Carter didn't hit the drums like he normally does, and Dave just looked back at him and laughed. The light show was great on this one. Lie In Our Graves- Wooo, had been hoping they would play this and it did not dissapoint. Boyd had an absolute killer solo that brought the crowd back into the frenzy. Hi my name is Bela Fleck and I play the banjo. Bela absolutely kicked ass on his solo for this one. Then Butch brought it down real nice and slow. At this point my friend snuck me into the pit and I was psyched! Jimi Thing- HOLY SHIT!!! What a version this was! The pit was absolutely loving this. After the lyrics part of the song finished Dave said they wanted to bring the rest of the Flecktones out to join Bela. Jeff Coffin and Leroi just ripped it up. Then the security Nazi's came and told me I had to go bacm to muy seat, so I missed about 7 minutes of the jam. But I did get back in time to see Carter and Futureman dueling it out. My god, I don't know how any human can play as fast as Carter can. I clocked this song at just under 30 minutes. Grey Street- I think this is defenitely the most popular of the new songs. I didn't see anyone sitting and it looked like everyone was having a blast with this one. Too Much- After teasing it earlier the babd came through and finsihed off the show with a bang. Encore: I'll Back You Up- Complete and total suprise here. I don't think think was on the original setlist but there was someone with a sign for this up front, so maybe that's why Dave played it. Great to see the emotion on Dave's face for this. JTR- Everyone was chanting for Two Step but instead we got this one. I'm not sure how I like this as the closer but with that jam at the end how could you go wrong. All in all a tremendous show, going to be very interesting to see how they can top this in Dallas. Last Stop maybe!?!? See ya'll in Dallas!!!

Brian K.
First thing first Bela Fleck is just plain awesome. They are all such talented musicians that it amazes me. I have never seen them before the Houstone shows and wow. Onto DMB They opened with the stone pretty typical, but I was surprised by how many people around me knew the words. Then BOWA, this was awesome for me. Before the show i had commented to a friend how much I wanted to hear this one but that they never play it, and then it came. This lead right into SMTS pretty good and right into Ants Marching after the too much tease. Some fans don't like Ants but this was awesome Boyd tore it up like he always does. Bartender and Raven were good I liked raven much more and thought bartender was way to slow after the energy filled ants. Dave stepped up to the mike next with his usuall I have a sister named jane, but the people around me didn't seem to recognize this. The show continued with the same high energy, until he invited bela out for lie in our graves, amazing. This must have lasted almost 15 minutes. Right after this he hit us with Jimi Thing and the entire Flectones. Like 41 from the day before everyone had a solo. The best muscicians in the world were just going at it trying to top each other. Grey Street is so cool it is my favorite new song everytime i hear it it rock. Basically everything was great especially the lights wow, my only complaint was that for an encore I'll back you up was way too mellow. I just need to find someone with a tape to hear jimi thing again.

Barry M.
What can I say? Wow! I made my second trip (from Austin to Houston and back to Austin in the same night) in two days. This may lead you to believe I am crazy but how can you pass up eight row. Anyway. I was a little disappointed with the setlist of the the first night's show. #41 kicked major ass, and it was the first time I had heard it. The songs other than that were good but seemed to match every other show Dave had played in Houston before. Overall, it was still pretty damn good. Night 2 was another story. Only 2 repeast made this show a gem. By far the best version of Ants I have ever heard. It was great to hear them come right into it after tesing Too Much. One Sweet World was great to hear live as was Jimi Thing. The only low-light was the encore. I like I'll Back You Up and JTR but thought they were misplaced. I was really hoping for Warehouse or Dancing Nancies, but we can't all get what we want. I just find it hard to believe that tehre were only 2 repeats, what an arsenal to be able to do that. Anyway. there were lots of boom mics in the crowd and if one of their owners is reading this, please drop me a line. I would love to have Night 1's gripping #41 on tape and the incredile Night 2 jams with Bela.