Nate
Dave never disappoints. Even though this was only my second show, it was the best one yet, and it's hard to imagine it getting much better than last night. Crush as an opener was a wonderful suprise that had the whole crowd pumped as soon as Stefan played the opening riff. Two Step, 41, are always pleasers for me. My biggest suprise was how sweet they made Everyday. I'm not the biggest Everyday fan, but they made that song one for me to remember. The song that made my night was Ants Marching though, as my favorite DMB song, they played it to perfection. The encore was sweet as well, leaving everyone dancing with Stay. All I can say about that concert is damn that was sweet.

Rob B.
This was my 24th dmb show, and easily the strangest setlist yet. For longtime fans the biggest shocker was that songs that used to be considered seriously rare are now played frequently. Tour-hardy fans were dissapointed that well over half the setlist was played in Portland. What a bummer he split up the normal 3 night blowout at the gorge. It just wasn\'t the same. The band had a hard time at this show. By this, I mean both getting the songs out right and technically. If you were paying attention, you saw and heard that Dave\'s guitar cut out during the intro to one sweet world. He comes back in and plays a few measures and finally just gives up and lets Butch play it on the keyboard and the rest of the band joined while dave just played the air keyboard. His guitar cut out again during the first chord hit following the intro. I have never heard such serious technical problems at a dave show before. The band wasn\'t really into it. Even as we were treated to spoon, and help myself and dreaming tree, they weren\'t very tight. What was tight was the transition between Anyone seen the bridge-->PNP. That was really cool. Bummer they did the exact same trick in portland. (I missed that show though, so it was still cool.) Minarets was the best played song of the evening. Dave really has that one down. What about that slide guitar stefan was playing? That was tight.

Ryan
The Gorge experience does not let down. This was my 5th DMB concert and ties for the best (w/ the Sacramento show last May). First, we enjoyed Leroi driving through the parking lot on a golf cart a few hours before the gates opened. Then I met Boyd at his CD signing before the show (requested Lie in Our Graves, but no deal). Anyway, on to business....Crush, they have played this song at all 5 of my shows, as usual it was brilliant (and fun as an opener). Other general highlights were: GIG (cool ending), Dreaming Tree, SMTS=>ASTB=>PNP=>Rapunzel, and Ants Marching, which was the high energy point of the night (esp Boyd, who could not keep still as he soloed all over the stage). But to express why this show was so great I can only point to mid-set: Two-step and then #41 (w/ the everyday ending) right into Everyday!!!!!!! Sweet Jesus, this was perfect. Two step was 20-plus minutes (rock on Butch), then everyone was singing the 'everyday' and 'Hani, Hani, Come and dance w/ me' parts, and so Dave ended up singing around us at the end of Everyday. Also, SPOON! Thank you DMB for bringing this back, it was so smooth last night. Other general comments: Dave seemed to be having trouble/hesitations with the high notes, but he knew it and made up for it with his scatting, funny mood, and a ton of dancing. The Dave dance is alive and well.

Noah
CRUSH - Great opener, lots of energy. After this song, Dave said something about the moon, but no one could see the moon since it was behind us. FTT - meh, nothing special. I heard it in Portland with the same segue... GIG - Not a great flow of songs in the beginning. The crowd was into this song, although I've heard this at every DMB show I've been to. However, tonight's version was the best I've heard.. very country sounding with a new jam at the end that really made it worth it. OSW - wow.. Roi and Butch really made the intro something special. Dave really got into his scat at the end. There were some guitar problems after the first few notes of the intro.. I thought Dave just stopped playing, but I was too far away to tell. Guitar cut out again for the opening chords of OSW. WTWE - I love Dave's vocals after the bridge. Other than that, nothing special. 2 STEP - Hell yeah! Clocking in at almost 20 minutes, everyone had a solo here. Stefan did a great job at the beginning, Roi and Boyd had some nice fills, then Butch had a very lively solo that grew in intensity as Carter helped build it up. Next, Boyd did some plucking, I thought he would do a big solo, but instead Dave played a guitar solo. Finally, Carter built it up again for a stunning climax. #41 - Always great to hear this song. Included the Everyday/stop time outro into... EVERYDAY - Dave just went right into it.. pretty cool transition. Boyd's solo was great, with everyone singing "Hani honey come and dance with me" at the end. Dave sang a little of #36 too. WAYG - At last! I get to sit down! SPOON - I smoked a bowl during this song so the ending jam was amazing! ANTS - What can I say? Great energy as always.. got the crowd back into the show. HELP MYSELF - And the crowd wonders off again. Too bad since this is a great song. It did sound a little stale though. DREAMING TREE - Yes! I can't believe they played it! Great great song. Everyone sat down for this, but that's okay because most of them were still listening. SMTS - Dave couldn't sing all the high notes, but still a great job on this one. With the bridge into... PNP/RAPUNZEL - Great way to end the set. A lot of energy here. The ending jam was SO tight! Dave did a few extra scat vocals at the end, then Roi came right in with his solo. Incredible. Best Rapunzel I've heard. MINARETS - Maybe not the crowd pleaser it should have been, but I loved it. Dave started playing the riff and sang some stuff.. it was very quiet at the beginning, but Dave's voice grew in intensity at the end. STAY - Good closer. Got the crowd dancing again. It closed in Portland too, and although I'm impressed with how the end jam has progressed (Dave scat vocals, Roi's sax work, etc) it just doesn't work for me as an encore closer. Oh well, still a great encore and an amazing show all around.

Kristin
This was my 18th DMB show, and my 23rd time seeing Dave (counting in Dave solo and D&T shows). The Gorge is such a beautiful venue to see DMB at- this was my 9th DMB show there. CRUSH was a nice way to start the "weekend." FOOL TO THINK was a surprising second song in the set. It was played on the acoustic, as it has been this tour. Just like the rest of the week, it segued right into GRACE IS GONE. That is one of my favorites, and it is the song that I've heard the most in concert (18 times!). WHEN THE WORLD ENDS was next, even if the official setlist doesn't have it listed. My brother was laughing about it because the next song was ONE SWEET WORLD (if you just look at the names, it's funny). I'm always amazed at how many people don't realize that the intro to One Sweet World is part of the song- they get really excited when the main chords start. TWO STEP was next. I like having it mid-set. I could hear the intro clearly from my seats in sec B row 18- sometimes when you are closer it's harder to hear or something. It was basically about being alone and having "no one to share a cigarette or conversation" with. #41 followed, and again they did the Everyday outro which led into EVERYDAY. Dave sang some of the lyrics from #36 as we were singing the "honey honey/ Hani Hani" part. I knew they would play WHERE ARE YOU GOING sometime at the Gorge because they surprisingly hadn't played it all week. The crowd was into it, as usual. (There seemed to be a lot more "casual fans" at the Gorge this year as opposed to last year, or maybe it was just where I was sitting.) It was nice to hear SPOON for the second time this week. My brother really likes this song and this was the first time he heard it live so he was excited. I thought it sounded good. Dave seemed to be looking at the lyrics for it, of course, since they haven't played it very much! This was a good spot for ANTS MARCHING (no snare intro). It was energetic and the crowd was really into it. It always feels like a closer, though, no matter how many times they do it mid-set. HELP MYSELF is always an energetic song, even if some people didn't seem to know it. I was very happy to hear DREAMING TREE again. I heard it in full in 1999, and then partially last year at the Gorge. It is a beautiful song. This was good placement of it too. (Last time it was after about 5 slow songs.) Roi sounded great. SO MUCH TO SAY followed, and I guessed the next segue correctly. It went into ASTB, PNP, and RAPUNZEL. That whole song segue was again amazing. It was so energetic. I'm torn as to whether I like that segue or into Too Much better. Dave did a little scatting and a little dancing during ASTB. Stefan was bouncing up and down. And of course as has been the case for the past few years, Dave didn't do the high falsetto notes for PNP. I really like Rapunzel as a closer. During the encore break, I was thinking about Minarets. I really wanted to hear it because I hadn't heard it in concert before. When they came out for the encore, I heard a little bit of a drum part that sounded like Minarets. I turned to Dan and Lesley (see my Vancouver review- yes, their seats were right next to ours again) and told them that it sounded like Minarets but that "I don't think they would do Minarets as the first song in the encore." Sure enough, it really was MINARETS. I was really excited to hear it. It was an amazing version. At the end Dave was yelling a lot about God and "what is freedom if you got none." Then appropriately they closed with STAY (as in, stay for tomorrow night's show- well, that's probably not what Dave was thinking, but you never know). This was the most energetic Stay that I have ever seen (all three times full-band, which isn't all that much). Dave was dancing and scatting a lot at the end. It was a great way to close a great show!

Justin A.
Killer show. Crush as an opener was a great little surprise. Two Step was the best version I have ever seen. Butch Taylor did an awesome solo in the middle of it and they closed it out with as much energy as was humanly possible. The Dreaming Tree was a nice break from the plethora of newer Dave songs. PNP into Rapunzel was an AMAZING closer, and Minarets to open the encore... wow! Stay was good as usual to end with; all in all one more great show by the DMB!

Amber
Out of the eight shows I have been to, this one was the worst. The setlist was awesome, especially when the band went from 41 to Everyday to 36 and that they played alot of songs that I have never heard at a show. I think the weak crowd had a big influance on the preformace. People were laying down in front of us during up-beat songs like Reupunzle and Stay, you could tell the band was not feeling it. I actually expected the band to walk off stage during the show and was not expecting an encore. Traveling all the way to Washington from Wisconsin to see this show was very disapointing.

Adam H.
Tonight was my first show at the Gorge but my third show overall. I had very high expectations and was rather nervous going into the show as far as not knowing the venue and how things worked. After they opened the gates, our water was confiscated but oh well. I would rather pay $8 for 20 ounces than $2 for 2 quarts anyday.HA. On to the show. Tonight was NOT a good show. First off, we were surrounded by morons. "PRETTY GIRL" at every female that walked by that was half way decent and there were a lot of them. Pretty annoying. The boys took the stage 8:30ish and Stephan started playing a little funky bass solo. Didn't even dawn on me what was up first. CRUSH! I was so stoked to hear this. I was definitely surprised at the set placement of it but excited none-the-less. This was the first highlight of the evening and the show went downhill fast! From Fool to Think to the end of #41, my mind was anywhere but the show. The intensity of the band was just not there. Two Step had a long jam that was just tedious; trying to repeat the Portland Two Step earlier in the week, IMO. And while we are on the subject of Portland, this Gorge show was pretty much a repeat. 11 of the 18 songs played in Portland were repeated tonight. The segue from #41 into Everyday (#36) was beautiful and Everyday kicked ass. The crowd of course sat down for Spoon because they don't know how great that song is and did the same for Dreaming Tree. Those fans should really do themselves a favor and listen to the entirety of BTCS; it is a great album. SMTS > ASTB > PNP > Rapunzel was a great closer but again, a repeat of the great Portland show 4 nights earlier. Minarets was a good encore opener and I was thinking they might segue into The Last Stop but they didn't. They went to Stay which was solid. All and all, just a bummer of a show. I was totally not feeling it tonight. If I had only come for this show, I would have been really disappointed but I was lucky enough to have tix to the second show. NOTES: Dave speak: "How many of y'all are camping this evening? . Me too. But I'm stayin' in a big fuckin' tent-ah." That was great. Final note: The show was just bad. There I said it. It was a Dave show so it can't be that bad but for a dave show.Horrible. Tomorrow can't go anywhere but up!

Liam
As far as opening night at the Gorge goes this one was not my favorite but I can't say that I have any complaints either. My girlfriend and I sat in the 22nd row just off of center and couldn't have been happier with the weather, the crowd, it just all seemed to fall into place. Crush was a great opener, an unexpected choice that eased me into the right mood ... Fool to Think was a disappointment (I just don't dig the Everyday album that much) - its interesting to me that the Everyday songs don't have jams, they're played exactly as recorded with no imbellishment, no improvisation, and they come off kind of flat, almost like the band doesn't believe in them and only plays them to keep the RCA executives happy ... One Sweet World was delightful, especially with the Me+Her intro and the Dave scat at the end - my girlfriend turned to me and she's sure Dave sings like that to his babies and they must eat it up ... When the World Ends was alright, not all that notible and not all that forgettable - of course the crowd got altogether too excited at the mention of 'burnin' one' (big surprise as most folks seemed to be doing just that) ... Two Step is one of those songs that I never get tired of, its always on my list of 'I hope they play it tonight' and Butch's mastery on the piano solo made it that much sweeter ... #41 is a personal favorite and I thought that it was just about perfect - LeRoi's solo work is absolutely magnificent - Butch on keys is a nice addition (in place of the recorded version's electric guitar track) but the best part was the transition into Everyday - the Everyday lyrics over the #41 music was so good my g/f and I both said we liked it better than the album version. The crowd interaction on this tune was something to see and one of the reasons a good DMB show is so special ... Where Are You Going was nice - the highlight came during the bridge when the girl two rows back yelled out that 'Mr. Deeds Sucks!' ... Spoon was a nice surprise (although the energy level of the crowd really nosedived after a third slower tune) ... Ants with no intro in the middle of the show was a great change of pace to get the crowd back into things ... Help Myself was very, very good and another nice surprise ... Dreaming Tree is another personal favorite - Stefan seemed in rare form ... So Much To Say grooved just right through Anyone Seen the Bridge and into PNP/Rapunzel - a great way to end the set ... Minarets was the perfect high-energy encore and Stay provided a nice teaser in anticipation of Friday's sure-to-kick-ass show. Dave backed off a bit on his falsetto in a couple of spots but most folks were singing too loudly to care. The rest of the band did what they do so well, they took the ideas and emotions in the lyrics and made them their own - Boyd was on fire a couple of times, Butch's solo work was awesome, LeRoi added just the right touch, Stefan and Carter layed down a melodic and rythmic foundation fit for such a beautiful night. All in all I'd consider the show (my 7th at the Gorge) a great success. And anytime you can get out of a concert without hearing Mother Father you should give thanks.

Jason A.
Once again, two amazing shows at the Gorge. The weather gave us high temperatures with a minor dose of warm wind which set the stage for a great pair of nights. I'll admit I was thrown off by opening with Crush, Fool To Think, and Grace, but all were played well and enjoyable. However, what followed was arguably the best line-up of songs I've witnessed at a show. One Sweet World was solid, and Two Step was *amazing*. The crowd (and the band) was stoked at this point, and the energy spilled into a killer #41 with the popular crowd-led-seque into Everyday. I don't think I could ever get tired of that little combo, and the crowd was all over it. The version of Spoon was solid and definitely worth getting your hands on. Ants Marching was good, but nothing too insane as it landed in the middle of the setlist. Help Myself was fun to hear again, and I think a few people around me actually recognized the song. Dreaming Tree was beautiful.. 'nuff said. The band had a ton of energy going into So Much To Say and Rapunzel.. I knew the night was coming to an end when Rapunzel was busted out, but the way the band was playing made it seem like they wanted to keep going. Finally, the encore: Minarets was solid, even though we didn't get the trance-like "screaming" at the beginning. Very cool to hear this live and very much appreciated by us old school folks. Not sure if the band read up on my review of the Portland show, but rounding out the night again with Stay was awesome. I have to think that the Gorge is the ultimate setting for Stay, 'cause when you're there, all you want to do is stay, stay, stay...