Jeff
Good night. It rained pretty heavily right before they came on, but that made it more fun. There was so much energy in this concert it was unbelievable. One Sweet World was a decent opener. Don't Drink the Water really got the crowd going, but I was dissapointed that Dave didn't do as much crazy vocal stuff at the end. Dancies Nancies was definitely a highlight of the night. Boyd's solo at the end of Nancies must have been at least 4 or 5 minutes long, but it never got boring, in fact, it was one of the most intense parts of the show. The new songs were mostly good. Dreamgirl was surprisingly nice and Hunger For the Great Light really rocked. I had heard that Steady As We Go was a crowd killer, but it turned out not to be. The song that was a crowd killer was Stolen Away on 55th and 3rd. Dave sat for this song and there wasn't a whole lot of energy to it. Die Trying was kind of long. It was nice to see them do some jamming, but that song is still developing. The best new song is definitely Louisiana Bayou. The jam at the end was amazingly intense, had everyone dancing. It's always nice to hear Bartender. The end jam was really long, but Butch had a nice solo; it started out major and then got bluesy as the energy picked up. Too Much is always an awesome set closer and you can never go wrong ending the encore with Ants Marching. It was really great to hear the intro jam to that song again because two years ago at SPAC they cut that part out. Ants was probably the best song of the show; everyone left happy. It was awesome night out in the rain. The setlist could've been stronger, but they're saving their top songs for night two. When it comes right down to it, there's no band that plays with more energy. Amazing night, can't wait for the second show.

Brian
I'd probably have to start this out by saying that this was not the best show I have seen but it was good enough to say 'decent'. Starting the show with One Sweet World ---------> Don't Drink The Water was awesome. Then off to a couple new songs, I kinda like the new cd but it's not very DMB concert material - call me old school but to me the most amazing shows are those with Say Goodbye and Lie in Our Graves. Don't get me wrong, I am not dissing Dave about the new cd, but i enjoy the older stuff much more. Anyway came back with a very nice version of Dancing Nancies and a tease of what we thought was going to be hear 34 in concert for the first time - eh not today. Ok, so then amazing version of Grey Street which is always a concert treat into the mellow Where are you Going? then some new stuff - You Might Die Trying - Stand Up- Stolen Away on 55th & 3rd - good song. Then it was back to the real DMB Bartender - awesome amazing sweet!!!!!!!! Crash was good. Louisiana Bayou and Steady as We Go - woulda rather like to hear Old Dirt Hill instead. Too Much - good but miss the bridge version. Finally the encore a little tease again DT - American Baby then yes my favorite ANTS MARCHING!!!! Very nice treat. Overall a decent show - after all it was at SPAC and all of Dave SPACS show are pretty good - he loves that place.

Sweet L.
It rained heavily but that only added to the excitement. Every boom of thunder pumped the audience up even more. One sweet world was a decent opener and Dave sounded awesome from the start. Dont drink the water made the audience go crazy and there was so much energy both on the lawn and in the pavilion. Dave put plenty of emphasis on his new material from Stand up, and among those songs Louisiana Bayou brought the most energy. Hunger was also a hit. Dancing nancies and grey street were also popular hits. Dave ended with too much before their encore and that was amazing. His encore was strong, with american baby which sounded a little different but still decent, and ants marching which was an awesome ender. The crowd was jumping from start to finish and I cant wait for tomorrows show.

Kat S.
Oh how I love SPAC shows! Once again - the band put on an amazing show filled with lots of energy. The crowd tongiht was HUNGRY to say the least! Strong opener with OSW->DDTW. Then good perfomances of some of the new songs which sound better live then on the disc (IMO). Nancies blew the crowd away followed by a long #34 tease. It looked as if Boyd was ready to go with it then then rest of the band stopped. Grey Street is always a crowd please and tongihts performance was on point! The middle of the show was relatively lack-luster- sucking the energy out of the crowd until LeRoi and Boyd opened and smoking version of Bartender which Butch ended with a show stopping piano solo which had the entire band pretty much standing around him in awe. Boyd had a HUGE smile on his face while watching Butch! The rest of the show brought the energy right back into it. Bit of a technical snag when the spotlights went out during Bayou and left the band kind of looking at each other wondering what was going on. The Dreaming Treee tease was killing me! Im dieing to hear that song live again! Maybe tongiht!! Over all- another great performance by the band who once again left everything they have on stage! The best part of the night - when Dave said to the crowd "Thank Ya'all for letting us have fun up here." I think most of us wanted to reply back - no Dave- thank you for letting us have fun! Number 43 was a great time- cant wait for number 45 tongiht!

Jay V.
After an eight hour drive from Canada, it was definitely worth the trip. The show was awesome as always. The weather had been threatening all day and just before DMB got up on the stage it started pouring. Dave strapped on his guitar and looked up at the sky with one eyebrow raised as if to say "This is gonna be one helluva night!" Loved the opener, OSW followed by DDTW. Got the crowd right into the show. Dreamgirl mellowed everyone out but right back into it with Hunger for the Great Light-cool lighting effects too. Then Nancies, Boyd turned it up with his solo as he squared off with several of the band members. Grey Street and WAYG crowd pleasers-everyone singing along. You Might Die Trying, Carter stepped up for this one. Loved Bartender and Crash but the biggest surprise of the night for me was Louisiana Bayou! This song is awesome live!! The band really jams out on this one and the crowd lit right up for it. Too Much, powerful close to the show with Dave throwin some scat in there. Encore - was hoping for Two Step as well as others around me, calling out for it but American Baby followed Ants left everyone feeling satisfied. I always leave DMB shows in awe, purely because of the level of talent of each one of these guys. Simply just amazing!!!

Kirk
so we (my friend and i) drove like....450 miles to see this show....and what a show it was. we were standing in line about 15 minutes before the gates opened and some guys were looking at these clouds coming in from the west. they baisically said that they were ass kicking clouds that were going to stomp on us. so the gates opened and the people working the gates were yelling at people to get in and to hurry up. right as we got through the gates it started to pour.......hard. we ran to our seats (pavilion) and sat down absloutely drenched with water. so, we're sitting there for a while.....and its still raining. then dave walks out. he looks out to the lawn and says "it seems that we have a little evidence of percipitation" (crowd goes wild). but yeah....galactic....great opening band. pretty sweet. so then its time for the band to come on. spac goes dark.....kinda still raining....sparadic thunder...band comes on....crowd goes nuts and then thunder and lightning comes down like crazy....pretty sweet effect. made the night that much crazier. but yeah concert was amazing. most def. like the new songs live...american baby, stolen away....beautiful. looking foward to this upcoming weekend in mansfield!!

Sean
As I departed for Saratoga from Vermont I was treated to near perfect weather and the thought of enjoying my first DMB show since 1995! A long time without watching them live...but with kids and a job it is tough finding time. From 1991-1995 I spent my college and grad. years touring around as what was once known as an "Dave Head". Life has changed and all of a sudden the weather had too! Upon arriving at the entrance of SPAC I was treated to a fantastic thunder, lightning and rain storm. Being 32 years old and a little older than most who "hung" out on the lawn, I was cursing the fact that I did not purchase seats inside the theater. But the experience was AMAZING! Being the die hard DMB fan I am I was hoping for a few songs from each of their albums (I truely love every one of their albums...Remember Two Things just a little more than everything else). So opening up with One Sweet World gave me goose bumps. I certainly enjoyed Dancing Nancies and thought Boyd was pretty amazing and picked the sh#t out of the violin! Bartender was pretty freakin hot too, Dave was in a zone. Where Are You Going was great. Perhaps the highlight of the night was listening to Steady As We Go, and I am pretty certain Butch Taylor should be band member #6!!!. It was pretty much a fantastic concert all around. The rain, the 6 hours of driving, the 3 dudes I drove back to their campsite, and the amped up crowd all made my first show in 10 years very memorable. From the first times I watched DMB in NC and SC, the shows in the bars of my home town of Saratoga Springs, the Providence "Lupo's" shows, Darmouth with Tim Reynolds...I have been treating my ears to Dave and the gang for a while and will continue for years to come! Thanks Dave...thanks Band...hopefully I can grace my ears once again, but sooner than 10 years!

Pierre
Hi Everybody! drove down from Montreal to see this show since us canadians won't have much of a chance to get a look at Dave and the boys this year. This was my 6th Dave show and my first at the SPAC. I have to say the venue is very pleasant even though the rain kinda spoiled it. However, I was lucky enough to have reserved seats procured through the warehouse. I guess I haven't been subscribed to the fan club for long enough to get decent seats though as I was in the balcony, 3rd row from last. Now this is not the best of the 6 DMB shows I've seen and was frankly a bit disappointed. Many of the renditions they played did not offer the traditional nuances or differences that set them apart from their studio versions. The sound was also sub par in the balcony because we did not seem to have many speakers aimed directly at us. Also, the speakers in the rafters did not seem operational, forcing to depend on the quality of what came from the speaker rows hung on each side of the stage. We could hear the drums really well, but Dave's voice was never loud enough. All in all, I got they feeling they were trying to keep themselves healthy as they were doing live 8 in philly the next day and another SPAC show the next evening. They tried some jams which didn't really pan out apart from Butch's piano solo in bartender. Leroi's Picolo outro also seemed a bit half hearted. Boyd was really into it with a couple of great solos but I didn't feel an overflow of energy from Dave or Carter but especially Leroi didn't seem in the zone at all. I guess it also didn't help that there was not big screen to get good close ups of the band which always helps to sell the emotion of the performance. All in all a decent show, but the boys can do way better. This is the first time that I felt like they were just basically earning their paychecks. Might be a combination of all the factors I just mentionned, but overall a bit disappointing.

Staf
Goosebumps after every song. And no, it wasn't the rain soaking through me after standing out there on the barricade for 5 hours. Amazing setlist, amazing energy, amazing Boyd...I was so-so on the new album until this weekend and after two solid nights with Dave and the boys, I love it. For anyone that is worried about the amount of new songs in the recent setlists, don't be. They are amazing live (Hunger for the Great Light & Out of my Hands) and the band seemed to be having an awesome time. Imagine being a band that can make a crowd of 20 000 forget they are in the middle of a thunder storm? Ya, it was that good.

OKAY
This was a great show, even though it poured out on the lawn. The rain made the show even better, with the thunder and lighting striking at perfect times during the concert. One sweet world was a great, unexpected opener. Don't drink the water sounded as good as i've ever heard it, and really got the crowd pumped. Dreamgirl sounded good, hunger was awesome, it really brought the energy up, and dancing nancies was amazing as always. Out on the lawn it is hard to hear the teases, but there was a #34 tease into grey street, one of the best songs of the night, sounding better then the version from the gorge, which in my opinion was the best version to compare it to. Where are you going really slowed things down, and sounded great. You might die trying sounded really good, one of the better songs off of "stand up." Stolen away sounded pretty good. Bartender sounded great, with dave and the boys jamming for close to 15 minutes. This went right into crash, a DMB classic, which was awesome. Louisiana bayou was the best song off the new album of the night, and really got the crowed going. Steady sounded good. TOo much was probably the best, and by far the most energy-driven song of the evening, before the encore anyways. As previously stated, it is hard to hear the teases on the lawn, but PLAY THE DREAMING TREE ALREADY!!!! American baby in the encore was set off by Boyd's incredible main riff, and was a great song that everyone, even new fans, knew. As a diehard DMB fan, when people tell me ants marching is one of their favorite songs, it makes me angry because there are so many songs that are better than it, but i ate my words during this version and found myself grooving to it. It really sounded great, and was probably one if not the best version i've heard of it. This show was great, with strong songs all the way through.

Chris M.
This was my first show of this summer out of 4 and my 20th overall. I was really pumped to hear the boys this summer. Something happened while making this new album and it really shows on stage. They were really pumped all night long. Great energy between the band and the great fans at SPAC. I wasn't sure what to expect but I was blown away. This was an absolutly amazing show. One Sweet World to start things out just sets the mood. Great song and right away I noticed the new lighting they have. Always enjoyed a good light show and this was the best I have ever seen. Don't Drink the Water keep the energy if not raising it up a few notches. Love the intro of Dreamgirl- great song. Hunger is going to be a live favorite for sure. What can I say about Dancing Nancies, with out question the highlight of the show. Boyd was going crazy, looks like he has been taking some dancing lessons from Dave because I have never seen him all over the stage like that before. He went and jammed out with all of the band and then the crowd. Amazing. #34 nice tease hope to see it show up in the next few weeks-hopefully by Randalls. Always loved Grey Street and it seemed like they really jammed it out at the end longer and harder than usually. WAYG cool song slowed it down for about 4 minutes before picking it back up with You Might Die Trying great jam at the end of this one(really what song doesn't have a great jam at the end). Stand Up was also awesome and will be around for a long long time. Loved the jam on this one too. Stolen Away-take a seat Dave you deserve it and will need a break before you jam out on Bartender. Love the jams in this song. From Boyd and Dave to Butch to Roi and then Carter ending the song whaling away on the drums. WOW! Crash definatly a crowd favorite and it keeped the crowds energy going until Louisiana Bayou which just blew the roof off the place. Sounds awesome with Dave on the electric guitar. This is my favorite song off Stand Up and it souds great. Boyd really jammed the hell out of this one. I thought that this was the set closer but Dave got the acoustic back and they played Steady As We Go. This is one of Dave's best written songs ever. As always, sounds great live. Too Much-I really like the change that has happened with this song. Great closer. Encore- When I heard the Dreaming Tree chords I knew it was just going to be a tease but hopefully not for much longer. American Baby is a cool song and sounds even better live. Love the end jam much much faster than the album. Then of course Ants Marching-end with a classic. Can't go wrong with that. This was definatly a Boyd night and shows that feature Boyd heavly in the songs always send me home smiling just the way he does when he busts into one of his infamous jams. This was a great show and I can't wait for Randall's Island to see what they have done with the new songs a month from now. Enjoy everyone!

Shauny B.
1st night...wet, but amazing! Phenomenal show put on by these 6 men, couldn't have asked for better (ok, maybe a song or 2, but still...). OSW as an opener was nice, but the intro jam needs to be brought back into rotation! OSW just sounds so plain without it! DDTW is awesome as always and gets everyone moving, DREAMGIRL is quite the pleaser proceeded by a great version of HFTGL! DANCING NANCIES...the first time that I've heard the live version since Vernon Downs in '98 left me speechless as the band just went nuts! I wished they just played #34, but again...maybe at Darien? GREY STREET sounded great, WAYG is getting kind of old...played way too much! The new stuff is sounding great though YMDT is my all time favorite song from Stand Up and it sounded sweet! Even STAND UP sounded good, kind of repetitive though...STOLEN AWAY was nice, but why'd Dave sit down for it? BARTENDER was great! Butch's keyboard solo left me breathless as did Leroi's solo. You can't go wrong with a little CRASH INTO ME. LOUISIANA BAYOU is turning into a new fan favorite that'll be on the setlists for years to come. SAWG is alright and TOO MUCH is just a great song! They really need to stop teasing songs like DREAMING TREE and #34 and just play them...but the teases are cool. Especially followed by AMERICAN BABY and ANTS MARCHING. Great show tonight, lots of energy and a great set. I think everyone left satisfied from this first night and knew the 2nd day had to be as good if not better! Despite the storm, I believe everyone who was on the lawn had an amazing time because they obviously didn't let a little (err...a lot) water kill their time! GREAT SHOW BOYS!