K.C. .
i know some people who havent attended many shows are going to comment on how awesome the atl show was, but as a veteran of quite a few shows, i have got to say it was terribly weak, ESPECIALLY to be the final show of the tour. it was very disappointing that we didnt get to hear a seek up or a last stop at the very least. come on dave where are the classics?? what kind of an encore is where are you going on the final show of the tour?? the show was mediocre at best. the majority of the songs he played were repeats of atl's last summer tour mainly, and a couple from the winter show. i only feel sorry for people who came from all over to see it. highlights i would have to say were ants and all along the watchtower, but definitely left disappointed.

Jeff M.
Just got back from the show in Atlanta tonight and wanted to post a nice review for all of you. This was the last stop of the 2003 summer tour and the band really went out with a bang. Yeah we got no Last Stop or Halloween (guess my sign didn't help) and there were a lot of repeats from last night, but you know what, this band can really play. This was my 25th show, and I can't remember the band playing as tightly as they are now. The setlist featured a ton of radio songs, but the crowd was good, the weather was beautiful, and the music was great! Now for a short and sweet song by song review of the show. DDTW - High energy opener. Was hoping for the Last Stop, but this did the job. SMTS -> WWYS - Kept the energy flowing with these two classic numbers. The Anyone Seen the Bridge Jam was a lot longer than I've heard before. Rapunzel would have been better, but I was happy with this pair. GRANNY - Hello how are you doing today? Good to hear this oldie but goodie back in rotation. OSW - Not a big fan of Butch taking over Dave's duties on the instrumental intro, but overall the song was great. One of my favorites. RHYME & REASON - Talk about intense. For those of you I talked to before the show that said Dave's voice was shot last night at Antioch, I think he was cured tonight. Strong vocals on all of the songs. GREY STREET -Still missing my favorite verse, but Grey Street will always been one of top 5 songs. Energy in the pavilion was still off the hook at this point. CRUSH - It seems like DMB really likes to play this song in Atlanta. No complaints here. Nothing special, just a typical jamming Crush. WTWE - Thought we could escape the last stop with no appearances from Everyday, but my brother jinxed it when he mentioned that no Everyday songs had been played when Crush ended. Still not a big fan of this song. JIMI THING - Unbelievable is all I have to say. I've heard this song many times live, and it's not up there on my favorite's list, but the thing that keeps this song fresh is how the band seems to always come up with some brand new jams. Tonight's new jam was awesome. Wonderful funk beat from Carter during Leroi's solo, and then Dave's scat was one of the best moments I've witnessed at a DMB show. Great performance, bravo! STJL - I had a flashback from last summer at Hi Fi Buys during this song. If I remember correctly, DMB played these two songs back to back at that show as well. Still can't complain about an appearance from Dave's sister's favorite song. CRASH - Really didn't want to hear this, but it's not a bad song live. Crowd loved it. At this point I thought the band would play some more upbeat stuff, but CRY FREEDOM was next. 25 shows for me, but the first time I've heard this beautiful ballad. (Crosses another one off the list.) Highlight of the night for me, especially since the 9 foot tall guy in front of me sat down. ANTS MARCHING - I was hoping to hear this tonight. Spectacular performance by the band, kudos to the crowd for singing the vocals to "People in every direction" at the top of their lungs. I really thought this would end the set, but it was still early, so we got.....STAY - Always a fun song to end the set. Not a fan of the imported lovely ladies vocals, but the jam at the end more than made up for that. Crowd was dancing their asses off. (LAST STOP TEASE) - Damn you Dave! Crowd was chanting Last Stop, but you only strummed a few chords. Still hoping for Halloween in this spot if we weren't going to get Last Stop, but instead they played WAYG. I don't really like this song, and definitely didn't want to hear it in the encore. After seeing Typical, Too Much, The Maker, and other great songs in the first spot of the encore this summer, this was really disspointing. WATCHTOWER - would have preferred Last Stop, Halloween, or Tripping Billies, but Watchtower is always a great way to end a DMB show. The older crowd in front of me said that this version of the song was the best they've heard, and I couldn't agree more. So intense! Dave was doing some extra screaming at the end of the song where he sings "my money take, the thief he take" and that only got the crowd more excited. Was hoping this would continue on old school into Halloween, but again, my sign was of no help. Guess I was too far back (row 20). Overall, this was an awesome performance from the Dave Matthews Band. Yeah I would have liked a more varied setlist with less radio songs, but since this was my only show of the tour, I have to say that I am thoroughly satisfied with a spectacular performance by my favorite band. For those of you going to Central Park, have fun and be safe. I hope y'all get a great show! Wish I could be there. Oh, and how can I forget. Thank you Dave Matthews Band for a great summer tour. I hope next year's tour will be just as good or better than this one. God Bless!

C-Lane
Pretty good show. It seemed like, for the most part, they weren't saving for Central Park. During the OSW Intro, Dave stopped playing and let the band play their part. Butch tore it up!! He is so amazing. The intro seemed extra long. Jimi Thing was awesome, dave did an awesome scat at the end. He did the same thing during Stay, scatting and yelling. Jane and SMTS/ASTB were firsts for me. I love Roi on Jane it was a great jam. Dave teased Last Stop after hearing Chants for it but played WAYG instead. Watchtower was full of energy and a good way to close off the night.

John
An incendiary performance by the boys. Incredible show, beautiful night, great crowd. The setlist was awesome. Started off with DDTW and by the time that song was over Dave had sweated through his shirt. Great version of Granny. But....Crush followed by WTWE followed by a raucous rendition of Jimi Thing was quite a sandwich. The encore of WAYG followed by a incredible version of Watchtower was a fitting end. Stefan's bass solo intro to Watchtower was mind blowing. GREAT SHOW!!!

Jeffrey H.
What can I say, this was a very expected show. Everything about this show was typical. I haven't been to any shows in a while, and since the entire tour seemed to be overall better than the tours have been in the last couple years, I figured, "hey, why not", so I got tickets(me and the significant other). And well, to be honest, I enjoyed it, but I'd probably enjoy having my 110 bucks back too. There were no suprises in this show. During Jimi Thing, Dave started to do a little funky rap thing towards the end. At first I thought, "hey this is cool and spontaneous" but then I looked over at the guy next to me and he was singing right along with Dave's "impromptu" rap. For the simple first-time-concert Dave Matthews Band fan, this show was good(and even for a first show, it was not great), but for anyone who has a finer appreciation for the band, this show left something to be desired.

AggieJenn
after seeing Charlotte on the 16th, I knew that the bar was set high for Atlanta, but like a lot of people I had faith that it would be an awsome show. I hate to use the word let-down, because I still had a great time, the show had several hot spots, and I got to meet some awsome people.. but the setlist should have been better. Still, I'm looking forward to getting the show on disc. That Jimi Thing, and Watchtower (I don't care what they say) were both impressive. I hope everyone else had a good time!

Mike
I would like to start buy saying I am STILL, and always will be a DMB fan/supporter. Now haveing said that, tonights show was in one word...Disapointing. The energy was UNREAL, but the setlist was just NOT up to last stop calibur. The encore was lacking to say the least...I'm sorry, but Where are you going is just NOT an encore song. Watchtower was solid, but I was hopeing for others. There WAS a Last Stop, AND Halloween Tease. Be warned NY! I know DMB is not a juke box, and that there will sometimes be some shows that aren't great, but maybe I just got spoiled by that INCREDIBLE Charlotte show. or maybe it was the fact that this show was to hyped up, or maybe the addition of another show, made them change their set around, and not play stuff they may have before(I.E. Last stop)of my 6 shows this rates up as # 4 Lakewood'98 being 3,Phhillips 02 being 2, and Charlotte 03 being 1. Thanks for a great summer DMB! I will DEFINITLY see yall next summer!!

Greg A.
The end of the tour...how sad. What a great show to end the SCHEDGULED tour. This was my 80th live DMB concert so I was hoping for something special. I think Dave's reluctance to go "all out" was because of the New York, show which kind of gypped us all out of an all out show. DDTW was the opener that got the crowd pretty riled up. SMTS-->WWYS was done pretty well. Granny was a treat. Boyd went completely all out on his solos. He seemed to have been the most excited to take the spotlight. Stefan played a pretty cool solo riff going into his crush intro. Leori played so great solos. Jimi thing was AMAZING. During the part where the band usually jams Dave got up to the mic and started to scat like a crazy man. He went on acting out a little scene of scat...like an argument with parents all with gibberish...it was WILD and awesome. Cry freedom was pretty great to tone things down, then Ants was a little pick me up. Carter didn't do his rim shots so it kind of came out of the blue. Stay was a pretty good close, but nothing wicked special. After the usual 15 minutes of seat pounding and "we want Dave" chants they took the stage again. Everyone started chanting "Last Stop, Last Stop, Last Stop" so Dave played the first 20 notes of that to screw with our minds (seeing as how this was the last show of the tour we all felt we deserved last stop...cause we did) so he went into WAYG and then Stefan did his Watchtower into which was pretty well done as usual. They played that with a lot of energy, and Dave was screaming like a crazy man at the end...more than usual. All in all it was a pretty good show...no Last Stop, no Halloween, Two Step, #41--> Everyday, Bartender, and What you are were played the night before...seems like the set lists should have been flip flopped for the final tour, but once again....the New York show screwed us big time I think... but how can anyone complain about being at a DMB concert whether it's your 80th or your 1st? Great times though...I sat next to some great people who hopefully will get to meet Dave because he is chilling in Atlanta till the NY show....if only we were all so lucky. :-(

Jeff
The Last Stop took forever to get here and was over before we knew it, but it was a great show. True there was no Last Stop, Halloween, Two Step, or Warehouse, not to mention no guests, but it was still a pretty amazing show. I think we were all expecting at least one of the above things, but they boys managed to amaze me anyways. They had a lot of energy on stage which I always love to see. The set was very good - nice mix of slow and fast songs as well. DDTW opener was big time. Nice to know that according to Dave "God's not on your side." It was really intense. Dave's scat on 'Jimi Thing' was another memorable part of the show as was 'Cry Freedom' which was incredible. Show ended with great energy Ants --> Stay --> Watchtower (we'll just pretend that WAYG wasn't played in the encore.) Thanks to the guys, though, for playing their hearts out to all of us - the greatest fans for the greatest band. See y'all next year.

Brandon
First off I must say the Donavon Frankenreiter Band put on a pretty descent show. I wasn't too impressed until towards the end when the percussion man stepped up. He helped them out a lot and they were very humble and I like that. So on to the DMB. This was my 19th show and I drove 8 hours to see it being the last show of the tour and i was hoping that it would be amazing. It turned out pretty good, but not what I was hoping for. Opener...Don't Drink Water, never fails to please. Next So Much To Say into Anyone Seen the Bridge (I love the bridge) into What Would You Say. My first time seeing this combo and it was pretty damn good. Onto Granny which I'm always glad to hear. Then One Sweet World was pretty good, I've heard better versions, but never the less good. I was 10th row, left side, so I couldn't exactly see who he was motioning to, but Dave appeared to be jestering to his daughters I assume because he was doing some waiving and dancing for them that was commical. On to Rhyme and Reason which is good, but i've heard a lot. Grey Street, they skipped a verse and a half and was very short. Next was Crush which is always a pleaser, but I've seen this song more than any other live. When the World Ends, good but middle of the road and very common. Jimi Thing, Jimi Thing, Jimi Thing!! This was probably the best version I've ever heard. At the part where Dave usually plays a little solo he started skatting and it went on for many minutes. It was amazing! Song that Jane Likes came next and it was great, always happy to hear that. Crash Into Me came next, not what I was looking for with the momentum the way it was, but oh well. After that, one of the songs I haven't seen live yet, Cry Freedom. It lived up to my expectations and I got some good pictures with the spotlight on Dave. Ants Marching was next and what I thought was the closer but not so fast, they came out with Stay seconds after the end of Ants. Stay had high energy and was a very good closer. Butch was tearing up the high notes! So at this point descent show, not what I expected for tour closer, but I thought they'd impress with a fantastic encore...didn't happen. Everyone was chanting Last Stop and Dave and Stephan teased it but it was a no go. Instead, the last song most people, or at least myself wanted to hear....Where Are You Going, enough said. Then Stephan ripped it up on a solo intro to Watchtower and they put an amazing amount of effort into it. Good encore closer. So in all, very good show, but not what I expected at all for the tour closer. I noticed that carried 9 songs over into Atlanta that they had played the night before in Nashville. I don't know what that was about but oh well. Good Show!!!

Jen C.
My fifth DMB show. Four friends and I packed ourselves into my beat-up 1991 Honda Accord and tackled the five-hour drive from Florida. I was expecting big, and I got it. I have a new favorite concert. Only five songs were "new to me", but that didn't matter -- amazing energy from the band, top notch singing and playing, kick-ass setlist, and a nice crowd. DDTW is always great as an opener, SNTS-->ASTB-->WWYS was perhaps a little typical, but nevertheless super fun and a total crowd-pleaser. GRANNY, beautiful as always, the crowd was totally feeling the "Love! Baby!" OSW, another beautiful song, lovely lovely intro. R&R is definitely NOT one of my favorites, I kinda spaced out here. GREY STREET was a HUGE crowd-pleaser. During the second verse, some kid managed to climb to the roof of the amphitheater. Those of us in the lawn got a little striptease... good times, good times. CRUSH... now I love this song, especially the instrumental breakdown in the middle, but I've been to five shows now and they've played it at every single one. I was kinda thinking, "C'mon, give me some LIOG or MINARETS," but no such luck. Still a great tune though. WTWE, a crowd-pleasing, fun little ditty. JIMI THING, this was the first song that was new to me, and it was the best. Dave just fucking went off, scatting away. It was nice to hear a really jammed out songs, very nice to see LeRoi in the spotlight. STJL, new to me again, nice to hear finally. CRASH INTO ME with the Dixie Chicken outro, pretty sweet. CRY FREEDOM, very beautiful, the lawn turned into a sea of lights and everyone was quiet, concerned more with the song than anything else at that moment. ANTS, I totally thought this was the closer, a very energetic closer. STAY was a nice surprise, but to be honest I kinda missed the lovely ladies. Now to the encore: WAYG, crowd-pleaser, but I could really do without this song. There are a lot of songs that could've filled this spot better. WATCHTOWER, I've heard this many times and I was really hoping for some LAST STOP or TWO STEP, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. Still an excellent tune. Overall, an excellent show, proving again why DMB is one of the top touring bands in the country. Thanks, boys!

Matt
I made it from Gainesville (UF) to this show, only to arrive and be told my hotel was cancelled. Long story short, when you bitch to the right people, you wind up in the downtown Hyatt which was just renovated, in a $230/night room, only paying your original $75 bill for the hotel I booked a while ago. Being that, I was in a good mood, got to the venue around 5, went inside but unfortunately couldn't sneak in my video camera, had to go put it back in car, and next time I tried to go through, I didnt even get a patdown. So onto the show, opener was great, some of their songs sounded similar, but they had a real good beat, if you havent heard them, do check them out. DDTW: saw the red lights, knew it was coming, and i loved it, energy brought out the stoners in the lawn from their trances back into reality. something seemed like it might have had Dave a little mad, during the jamming he was yelling out something like "G_d is not on your side." Interesting. SMTS: very nice, and going into ASTB was exactly what i wanted, it was awesome, then into WWYS was nice, i was predicting PNP->Rapunzel, but wasnt disappointed. Granny: never my favorite song, but the end jam had me going. OSW: instrumental into was amazing, Dave started it off, but after about 30 secs, Butch took over and filled in for the acoustic part with Carter in the back, it sounded great, the ending was a little longer and had a sweet little finish. R&R: nice to hear, although I've heard it a bunch of times listening to all the recordings of the tour, i hadnt heard it live, and it had Dave going. Grey Street: saw the 12 string come out, knew it would be pleasant to hear. Crush: had a great jam, really flowed nicely. WTWE: honestly the only letdown for myself, the band played it well though. Jimi: awesome, one of the highlights, the jam was long and everyone was having their way on the solos including Dave. he was rambling along for a while about how he can't solo, crowd went crazy. STJL: sweet song, enough said. Crash: at first I was skeptical, but for the last 3 minutes of it, the band was going nuts, and Dixie Chicken won me over. Cry Freedom: really a great song, dont think it gets enough credit, Carter played along nicely. Ants: so much energy, the crowd had let down for a little bit but finally came back during this, and right into Stay was sweet, Butch sounded nice on the background vocals. Encore: WAYG, nice song, but i was really hoping for I'll back You up or a #40 tease (...or maybe a full Blue Water). then about 30 seconds or so later, i yell Watchtower at the top of my lungs (just like that guy did on the Red Rocks recording) and Stefan goes right into his solo and then into watchtower. it was the biggest thrill for me, although I know they didnt play it for me, it still made me feel special. maybe the best Watchtower ive heard to date besides the one with Popper & Trey. i loved the show, not the crowd so much. an old man in front of me on the lawn stood still the whole time, didnt move once. next to me 2 high school kids were freakin booty dancing. first really slow to cry freedom, then fast to ants marching, kind of disturbing. otherwise, thanks for a great closer, please bring a winter tour.

Brandon
Wow what a show. This was my 3rd show (old DMB Fan have all studio and live released albums plus some taper copies of both Saratoga NY shows from 02 but knew to concerts thanks to the rents) and probably the best one. Yes I too along with the rest of the crowd was hoping for Last Stop, Warehouse and possibly Halloween but hey your not always going to get what you want. Thought opening with DDTW was a good way to get crowd energized and the band kept that energy flowing. Good version of OSW and went absolutley crazy when he busted out Cry Freedom. Probably one of the best versions of Jimi Thing I have ever heard and his scat was freakin awesome. Could have done without WAYG in the encore and wished it was more than 2 songs long...damn ATL noise ordinance. Stefan's solo was amazing and Watchtower was the best I have ever heard it. The band left their hearts on that stage last night they played with all they had left I think. I do wish the set was longer but the damn NYC show screwed us I think because they probably had to travel on Sunday. Overall it was a good show one for the books and I cant't wait to see them again next year and hopefully get this show on CD somehow.

Anthony V.
The show tonight was full of classics. There were no real surprises, but it was most definitely a complete show. The highlight of the evening may have been a rockin' new jam during "jimi thing." The jam finished with a high-energy scat performance from Dave that lasted a good few minutes - it was Dave at his best - pouring every ounce of energy into the mic. Overall, it was a strong closer to the tour and the crowd was most definitely into it. To top the evening off - I got to meet the man himself. After the show, we slipped past the security guard and made our way to the "artist entrance" just behind the amphitheater. We sat and waited for a good hour when out walks Dave Matthews, holding a half-full glass of wine in his left hand - just about the coolest sight you'd ever see. I scatter to my feet and he greets me with a firm handshake. I was a bit awe struck and was at a loss for words but I can tell you this - The man was nothing but grateful and attentive. He asked me my name and personalized his autograph on my ticket stub. He wasn't rushed or anxious to get out, he was just cool and relaxed - just like you'd think he ought to be. Finally, after the moment that seemed like an hour he thanked me for coming, gave me a big smile and another handshake, and made his way on to the tour bus. It was quite surreal seeing the icon you've been listening to for years eye to eye. Pretty sweet eh?

Hunter D.
Donavon Frankenreiter Band was pretty good, but it started to sound the same after a while. Luckily there was a crazy percussion jam to keep this drum-head grinning. Dave even introduced them, and that was cool. Only my second DMB show, my first was 12/10/02 in Tampa. Had to settle for lawn tickets because there were 5 of us going, so no warehouse seating, but no complaints. We got there plenty early to get a good spot on the lawn. I must say this show blew the Tampa show from '02 out of the water as far as setlist and energy is concerned. The crowd was also great, even on the lawn. Only the occasional frat boys and cellphone girls, chit chatting about whatever. Don't understand why people would pay 50 bucks for a concert ticket to talk during the show about irrelevant garbage and not listen to the band, but whatever. At least the fans there were actually listening, not whining about what song they didn't get to hear. People gotta know that DMB is not a personal jukebox, and unless the song you're screaming is already on the setlist somewhere, you're not going to hear it. Anyways, on to the show. Only one song from Everyday (luckily WTWE and not something like If I Had it All or Angel). Everyday isn't AWFUL, it just doesn't translate well live. Started off with Dave strumming the first few chords of DDTW, and I knew the show would have great energy. Then SMTS into WWYS, with a great scatting "Anyone Seen the Bridge?" interlude longer than normal. Granny was great to hear; I was hoping they would play it. The first four songs of the show were all new for me, so things were looking up. Every song was great to hear. Some have better versions somewhere out there, but I went to enjoy the great music and not to criticize trivial things. The energy was great; this was definitely "the last stop". I too was hoping for that song, but it's not a big deal. Jimi Thing was INCREDIBLE, with a really long jam and Dave scatting, which had everyone laughing and cheering. Carter giving Dave a thumbs-up assured me once again that the people in this band feed off of one another and have incredible spontaneous chemistry. Could have done without WTWE, I guess, but it could be worse. Definitely could have done without WAYG, especially in an encore! I've heard this song about a million times now. Oh well, we got Watchtower, which is always a sure-fire way to end a show. TONS of intense energy there. Only weird thing was hearing Ants with no Carter snare intro. Still great live, but weird. Stay was also great, with Carter and Butch taking over the Lovely Ladies' parts. Got a kick out of that. All in all a great show, much better than my last. The band had much more energy this time and the show flowed much better. Was REALLY hoping for #41, but maybe next time. All in all, a fantastic show, with only 1 or 2 very minor complaints that don't really even matter.

Brad C.
So I was finally late to a show. I thought it'd never happen to me, but It did...anyway here's what I thought of what I did catch. After being totally ripped off for parking outside (20 bucks) and then getting pissed cause there was still parking inside me and my girl got to the concert in time to actually be inside for Granny, heading toward our seats. Pretty good so far, Not too disappointed in missing DDTW, SMTS-ASTB-WWYS since I've seen them all before. OSW with the intro, first time I got this one, very sweet live, Butch was having fun with the intro. R&R pretty standard and also a first for me, nothing too special though. GS, Crush, WTWE all pretty standard by my book. Now the Highlight of the show IMO, The JIMI, DAAAAAAAANG Dave went off on the end jam with scat I didn't know he had in him, I'm so glad to have seent this it's good to know he's still got it, and getting better still. TSTJL my 3rd time hearing this, always awesome, can't belive I've heard it that much though. Crash, I loved it, first time I heard it live, although I think Dave is loosing some of his falsetto voice cause he more or less screamed the ending part but it still works for the song, kinda nice to hear it a bit different than how I expected it. That also made my night cause it was one of the songs that my girl was looking foward too yet I wasn't optimistic about getting it cause I never had. Cry Freedom, and that I did. Only Christmas song and Cry Freedom have had the ability to make me do that, I think it's just more of a shock that I'm hearing something considered to be a huge rarity but then again, those are both pretty emotional songs. It was beautiful and theres nothing else to say about it. Ants was a bit sudden caught me way off guard and was a bit lacking in the energy department, not sure why. Stay, my first ever stay, and all I gotta say is what the HECK is going on with Butch and Carters voices! They sound like the ladies!! Dave did another killer scat outro and that was it for the set. Encore break was rather calm for the last show of the tour. The "LAST STOP" chant didn't start till they came back out, to which Dave promplty teased the chords, which meant all the drunks thought for some reason he was gonna play Halloween, meh, now I've had both of them teased grrrr. WAYG pretty standard, nice mellow encore opener made me think I might hear Last Stop since Rio would need to wail on that one and WAYG he doesn't do much on but no. Fonzi solo (pretty badass IMO) into Watchtower my 3rd of this, I think it was pretty good, but I was too disappointed in not getting Last stop to enjoy it. Over all a really good show, a good one for first timers like my girl since it had a good mix of Crash/UTTAD/BTCS. Glad to see the boys are back in Rare form this year, lets hope it stays this way and they blow the trees outta Central Park!

Grayson
First off I just want to say that was hands down the best show I have ever been to, let alone one of the better setlists I have seen Dave put together on this tour. I sat second row for the show, and it was worth every dime. Dave was extremely energetic for the entire show, and Carter and the rest of the boys were no exception. The highlights of the night were JIMI THING with a skat/rap at the end and a long jam, SMTS->WWYS was played with good energy, Song that Jane likes was amazing to hear, One sweet world with the intro was one of the slower points of the show, but played perfectly, and without a doubt ANTS and WATCHTOWER made the show towards the end. It was a phenomenal show, probably the best seats I will ever have, but it won't keep me from spending thousands more to see that shit every single time. All in all, a phenomenal show...Thanks