Dave G.
Show was jammin! The Dave and Tim set was off the hook...they were chill yet still full of lots of excitement...Typical was great to hear...haven't heard it in a long time.... The Some Devil set was sweet too...It was a break from the norm and very relaxing...He played with a lot of energy tonight! Loved Gravedigger, Stay or Leave, Save Me, So Damn Lucky Dodo, Some Devil....also nice mix in at the end of Sweet Up and Down and Everyday.....Lastly his cover of "American Tune" was electric...really jammin! This was my 18th show, and its diversity and electricity puts in right up there in my top 10!

Andy C.
Just got back from MSG and man was it awesome. I've been to about 30 DMB shows and this is definitely in the top 5, if not the best. The D&T set was great, I was very happy with the songs they selested. Bartender, LIOG, Typical, Satellite, Where are You going? and Nancies. The vibe was so much more upbeat than for D&T than at RCMH. It seemed at RCMH most of the crowd was on edge hoping that a couple of loud a-holes woldn''t ruin the show. Since everyone knew D&T would only do a few songs everyone was much more relaxed and cool. Some good Davespeak during D&T: Dave thought the rest of his "friends" were caught in traffic but he and Tim could hold down the fort until they arrived. And before WAYG? Dave mentioned that the song was about NYC. Awesome! Tim is just sick, even though there were not many extended jams during the D&T set, Tim just lit it up. That dude can play! DODO to start off the "Friends" band set. Great jam at the end. Great way to start it off. Won't go through every song, but the whole "Friends" set was killer. The end of the "Friends" set and the encores are an instant classic- Hey Bulldog - lots of energy and a great tune. Grey Blue Eyes- pretty good. Spanish Moon- I'm a big Little Feat fan and Spanish Moon with Trey on lead vocals was a treat. Save Me- Not a bad performance. BUT THEN HE BIG GUNS GET WHIPPED OUT- Sweet Up and Down!- 1st time since summer of 2000 and probably my favorite of the Lillywhite Session songs. Great electric version of this to finish the set. Slightly refined since the 2000 version but the crowd loved it and appreciated the treat. Great way to end the set! ENCORES- Everyday (Dave & Trey) -Awesome version. Nice and mellow until Trey got into the crowd singing "Honey, Honey" and put his hand on Dave's guitar and stopped him from playing on. He made Dave sit back and enjoy the crowd singing to them. Spontaneous and Classic! This flowed into Bathtub Gin- the Phishheads let there presence be known with the humming at the end- went on for a few minutes- pretty cool deal. Dave and Trey got into it and danced around like maniacs at the end with the crowd going sick. Then FOOL IN THE RAIN (a led zeppelin cover) as the final encore. What a great finale! With the whole band back on stage, the band ripped through this Led Zep classic and you could tell Dave was loving it! They even included the part where they blow the whistle. Such a fun time! Dave dancing around like a maniac agian at the end and he put on a Santa hat as he walked off stage leaving the crowd in awe. One of the best times ever! Instant classic!

Adam
Man Alive. Every time I think Dave Matthews can't top his previous NY performances, he comes roaring back into town with a bang. Want to quickly note an outstanding Dave and Tim performance to kick off the show, complete with outrageous Tim solos and Dave's patented emotional outbursts, and punctuated with serious LIOG and Typical Situation renditions as well as a surprise! #40. I want to fly right past a jammed out Dodo, all the fantastic covers (including American Tune, wow, sung in honor of Trey's wife, and Hey Bullfrog. damn) and perfect SDL and Save Me, a who-knew Sweet Up and Down (rocked!) and go right into the encore. I'm not sure what dave and trey were doing backstage before it started, but they turned in such an encore, it can't possibly be imagined simply by listening to the show on a bootleg. Sitting on their stools with their acoustic guitars, they start playing Dave's Everyday, accompanied by the crowd chanting the "Hani, Hani" part. You could already see Trey enjoying the give and take that Dave has with his fans. As they move through the song, you could sense the crowd was just waiting for the chance to really launch into our part, and when we got our moment, we made it count. As loud Hani Hani as I've ever heard. So much so that trey whispers something to Dave, and all of a sudden they stop playing cold, and allow themselves to enjoy the crowd's enthusiasm. After more than a few times through, Trey turns his guitar over, lowers his mic a bit, and begins to tap out, bongo style, on the back of his guitar. Needless to see, this thrilled us. And by now, the crowd is REALLY loud. Well, no doubt this got them really going for the next song, as they played it right into Trey's Bathtub Gin. If it wasn't interesting enough by then, it got completely out of hand at this point. After a full rendition, the crowd joined in the deep do dip, etc. part, and Trey and Dave got a kick out of that. Encouraging the crowd to continue, which we did at full strength, they slowly got up, but their guitars down, moved their chairs away, picked their guitars back up, and danced around the whole stage! Dave in particular was on a funked-out crazy-dance program, legs and arms flailing. What a magnificent communal experience, for Dave fans, Trey fans, and all fans of a good time. This lasted well north of five minutes, and lasted through the rest of the band coming back out. I'm not sure anyone will be able to explain how crazy that was to know that we were causing these guys, who have given us countless good times, but more recently, 3 hours of a good time, a reason to be excited enough to dance like crazy fools around stage! And when they came out, then we rocked. Dave threw on a scarf that had landed on stage (by the end he was also wearing a santa hat, 2nd year in a row for that) and rocked to Fool in the Rain. All in all, this was what you dream about when you think Dave and Tim and Trey together on stage.

Justin F.
wow...a show that began very subdued blew the roof off by the end of the show (11:28 pm they finally left the stage!!!). bartender was a cool opener and even better when followed by graves. typical and #40 where sweet as well. two stanzas of #40 were done this time around. show was standard dave an dfriends until a rocking version of Hey Bulldog got the crowd moving. spanish moon, save me, and SWEET UP AND DOWN!!! i was VERY surprised and pleased beyond belief to hear this one come back after a 4 year hiatus! the encore began with trey and dave sitting with their acoustic guitars, playing everyday with the crowd joining with "come and dance with me". at the end of the song, the crowd overpowered trey and dave, leading them to stop playing and let the crowd go. after several minutes of this, dave and trey led into phish's Bathtub Gin (personal favorite of mine) with the crowd leading the humming tune in the middle. dave and trey ate this up, dancing along with the crowd singing. then the band snuck back out while the crowd continued and led into led zep's Fool In The Rain, a wonderful way to cap off a great stretch of music. everyone had a fun time tonight (except the 17 year old teeny bopper that puked from too much champagne onto my friends shoes). all in all, a great musical night...one that probably won't be surpassed until the next time i see dmb or phish!!!

Todd S.
All I can say is oh my lord, first time at madison square garden and what an experience, the show was amazing, the crowd was excellent. there was so much energy and to end the show with fool in the rain was incredible. I almost didnt go to this show and wow would i have missed out, all i can say is thank you thank you dave and friends for one hell of a time. It was the best christmas present that i could of ever gave to myself. -Todd, PA

Incognito (.
well- let me start off by saying no matter how many doubts you have about dave and friends or what they were going to play-- you can always rely on an amazing show at this venue--MSG rocked so much . everytime i come here dave puts out nothing but the best. 3 things to say about this concert. 1. dave played #40..... my most favorite song ever and it was the sweetest to hear it live thank you sooooo sosososo much.made my fucking night 2. the new dave album is sick and after hearing it live -im going to listen to it every day (the songs were jammed on so well by the "friends". brady blade impressed me so much) 3. if it wasnt for #40 that made my night-the encore was sick!. after the crowd sang the intro and outro to everyday and the outro to bathtub..... the band broke out LZ's fool in the rain.......... WOWWWWWW was it great....... ill be jammin to it in my head all night long ..... well good night till next time....... ily fm, di, and of course ajj (bubblemint)

Erich B.
Theres not much to say about tonight. From the opening notes of #40 to the closing notes of Fool In The Rain, it was something not really describable by words. The jams were definatly different tonight, seeming to go on longer and more intense than the last show I saw. As great as the show was up until the end of the bands set, no one was prepared for Sweet Up And Down. The song was just as good as i remembered it, exponentialy better by sheer virtue of the surprise and the guitar driven-ness of it. The encore was hysterical. the crowd keeps singing Hani Hani right into the start of Bathtub Gin, and then the crowd sings that Bathtub Gin thingy until Fool In The Rain starts. The group was so into it that you couldnt help but feel that they were at a level that, as just spectators, you couldnt understand. This was up there with 3/29/03 and 5/26/99 as one of the best shows Ive been to, and Im not just saying that cause I just got back. Oh, and hi again Cheryl, nice to run into a familiar face, no matter how new the familiarity is.

Chad
Being somewhat of a DMB veteran with 50+ shows under my belt, this was something absolutely extraordinary. What a special show, and it appears as though this is the happiest I've ever seen Dave play. Something good is at work here. The new songs are taking shape and most of the covers are fantastic. The highlights -- Dave+Tim Bartender opener and Dave+Trey Everyday/Bathtub Gin encore. Quite possibly, as good as it gets?

Ryan
Wow what a show. Words really fail to describe how I felt after this show. It was my first trip to the garden and it certainly won't be my last. Seeing Dave and Tim acoustic for the first time was worth the price of admission alone. Tim just blew me away with the things he can do with a guitar. It was great to hear all the songs especially #40. I figured it would just be a tease but when he continued I was floored. Now on to the SD part of the show. The energy was insane. I've never seen Dave dance so much in 16 shows. Dodo was a nice jam. I was looking forward to Solsbury Hill and wasn't dissappointed. I really liked the intro to Stay or Leave and I'm sure it'll only get better. The energy during Hey Bulldog was indescribable. I was expecting Save Me to be the closer as I'm sure most were. Then they blew the roof off with SUAD. I was kind of expecting something special but not of this magnitude. The encore was great with just Dave and Trey. Fool in the Rain was a great way to close out the show. These guys looked like they were having a blast and I hope that turns into another tour somewhere down the line.

Eric A.
Wow, this was an incredible show. First of all, Emmylou Harris was a lot of fun. Luckily, its really easy to go lower in MSG, so I went really close for the opener, but had to retreat when Dave and Tim came on. They were really awesome. Tim was really on. #40 was awesome to hear...a really weird mini version, with maybe the first verse and then a pause and then the ending. Dodo was incredible. It was really the only Some Devil song that totally blew me away(in comparison to the album version). Save Me was a lot better..and So Damn Lucky was awesome as I expected. But the covers...ahh the covers were awesome. Especially Hey Bulldog and that last Led Zepplin tune. Dave was dancing around like crazy, really feeding off of Trey's energy. Sweet Up and Down was amazing...though I didn't even realize what it was...I thought it was a cover. Dave and Trey were incredible together. Everyday was awesome with a long crowd honey honey, and then just the crowd singing honey honey in the end. They were waiting for everyone to stop but it was so loud. They had to start the next song after about 30 seconds of crowd singing. Then the crowd sang the end of that song, as the band came on..creating a segue sort of. Overall, it was an awesome show. They didn't get the garden shaking like DMB did, but still quite an amazing evening. The band sounded great and was really tight. Dave seemed a bit looser, probably cause of Trey. Covers were awesome. My one complaint is putting Grey Blue Eyes right after Bulldog...they finally had the crowd going, and then they didn't keep up the energy. But the ending totatlly made up for any problems I had with the show. Unlike a DMB show, I had no expectations for this, which made it all the better. I could just sit back, and enjoy the music.

Matt
This show was amazing! I didn't know what to expect with the Some Devil band but I wasn't let down. The setlist was great, and I really loved the LIOG by Dave and Tim. The highlight of the show was the encore...Dave was feeding off the crowd's energy and it was the most energetic show I've seen by him. Emmylou Harris was a great opener. Hope the rest of you guys enjoy the rest of the tour.

Jared W.
One word, amazing.... This was my 10th Dave Matthews show, and quite possibly my favorite of the 10... Having 6th row might have something to do with it. What made this show the best for me was watching the amount of fun that Dave was having on stage... He was dancing like I have never seen him ever seen him dance before... Kicking his knees up, flailing his arms around, showing off his little beer gut, it was insane... The show also seemed very personalized... I have seen DMB a few times when everything seemed so planned out, and the band was just going through the motions. Last night it seem like the guys didn't want to leave.. Highlights for me, typical situation, #40, and of course SUAD... What made SUAD so good is that it looked as if the band had no idea they were going to play it, and Dave just taught it to them up on stage in front of everyone.... He also taught trey how to play everyday right on stage.. Words really can't express this show.. I will stop with the details cause I am sure that others will give them as well.. It was just so refreshing to go to a Dave Matthews show and hear all new material... It was worth the 12 hour round trip in shit weather no doubt..

Sheryl
All i have to say is WOW!!! With each show i see, i swear is the best show i've ever seen but this show was absolutely UNbeleivable! Highlights: Solsbury Hill, Dodo, Stay or Leave, Dave belting his heart out in Some Devil, Trey's face- i dont think he ever closed his mouth except while he was singing a song...perfect night to be on whatever he was on!, Dave's drunk-man dance, Sweet Up and Down- whatever happened to that song? definitely should play it more often, and the absolute without a doubt most perfect ending to the show, my favorite song in the world...FOOL IN THE RAIN!!!! If you weren't there, well that really sux for you. ;)

Jimmy
Wow!!!! What a show! My fourth and by far the most energy ive ever expierienced. First off, MSG was an awesome venue with some aweosme fans. Dave and tim came out and wow! Bartender, cool opener, got the crowd excited. Then lie in our graves... tim went crazy! Satelite was nice, cool intro, typical situation was amazing then #40!!!, so excited to here this! Where are u going was cool, then nancies! Awesome intro, tim went crazy to end the song! Then the "friends" came on. Dodo was a surprisingly good opener, crowd loved it. They played every song on some devil except for baby, too high, and an another thing...Gravedigger, Some Devil(dave solo), and save me were the highlights of the some devil stuff. THey also played a bunch of covers which were pretty cool and mixed things up. Hey Bulldog had the most energy of all of them, dave was dancin around w/ so much energy the crowd loved it. Then to close out the set...Sweet up and Down!!!!! COuldnt believe it when they started to play it, the crowd went nuts. Then onto the encore...Dave and trey come out, start to stum everyday, the crwod starts to chant hunny, hunny. They play everyday, then the 36 chant starts up again. Dave and trey stop playin, and let the crowd sing by themselves, absolutley unreal! Then bathtub gin! awesome song...crowd was soo into it, dave danced around like a chicken. Then someone throws a scarf on stage, dave puts it on and starts to play fool in the rain. Aweosme closer, dave and trey dancin all over the stage! AMAZING...All in all, the most fun ive had at a dave concert! Awesome davespeak, the best dancing and most energy ive ever seen dave have, and an aweosme setlist! Of course nothing will ever be as good as a DMB who but this was pretty damn close.

James
Wow! I have never seen this kind of energy from Dave. He was a total goofball on stage and it was great to see (craziest leg dances to date!). It was a remarkably refereshing experince from the past couple of years with the dmb. I hope he uses this experience to open up with the band. The energy from the crowd last night was unbelievably chill, especially during the encore performance of Everyday(with the Hani, Hani or uh i mean honey ,honey) and Bathtub Gin! Trey had his patented "fun" with the crowd and really seemed to help Dave break out of his shell. The personality Trey brought to the show hit the spot. However, the energy of the show didn't climax until Dave's friends rejoined Dave and Trey on stage and played the Zeppelin cover Fool in the Rain. Amazing is all I can say about it! I hope the same enthusiasm is brought to tomorrow's show. Peace to all!

Zach Z.
Without question this was the best Dave concert I have ever been to. As much as I love the band and as much as I loved Central Park and all the other concerts I've been to I have never experienced a concert like this. Dave and Tim very incredible as always. I wish that they would have played for a little longer but I am not complaining. When the rest of his friends came on after a very comical story about them in the intro of Dancing Nancies, I didn't know what to expect. What i recieved was something I will never forget. I loved the whole Some Devil CD but what really made the concert was the cover songs that they performed. Solsbury Hill, Hey Bulldog, Up on Cripple Creek, and An American Tale were all incredible. Oh Sister was really good even though Emylou Harris was using cheat sheets! The concert went on and on and on and I was loving every second of it. I didn't know what they were going to play for the encore because they had played almost everything in the set. Everyday may not be my favorite song but you can't beat "Honey Honey Come and Dance with me" in MSG. And then Trey's try at playing the bongos on the back of his guitar was pretty funny. Honestly one of my dreams in life was fulfilled tonight... To see Trey and Dave jam to a Phish song. Bathtub Gin was just incredible. I was in shock... I still can't find the words to describe it. Dave I love the scarf. If that wasn't enough Fool in The Rain was an excellent ending to a pleasently long night. Dave never disappoints and I still say the CD everyday will kill a concert but look only one Everyday song tonight! Hurray!

Jennifer C.
I would like to say sorry for anyone who did not get to attend the msg show, let's just say, "amazing encore." Dave was doing some crazy dances which made the whole show worth while. I loved their version of solsbury hill. Dave's solo of some devil was great, he hit almost all of the high notes. When they started playing "Hey Bulldog", I was blown away by their energy, I thought it was going to be the highlight of the show, but then came the encore...when they started playing "Fool in the rain" it just made me speechless! Great, one-of-a-kind show. The greatest part was that Dave looked so happy relaxed. The only bad part was the cover of "oh Sister", why did emmylou harris need the lyrics? (tacky)