Dave G.
This was the first show i had ever gone to without any of my buddies and this show was AWESOME, the crowd was into dave the whole night, Starting off with "The Stone" IN-TO "When the World Ends". It was also the first time i had ever heard him play "Two Step" live in person, and i was beyond belief. Also adding "Granny", "Tripping Billies", "What Would You Say", and "Ending with the whole crowd singing "Everyday" really blew up that little six Flags, Dave is AWESOME

Derek S.
So first off the day was all bad and rainy in the morning, but just as Dave and the band were about to come on stage, the sun came out and the rain stopped. From then on it was just one big party. Starting with The Stone which was ridiculous and no one expected it (first time he's played it in 2005) and it really got the show starting. Then When the World Ends which gave the show another kick start. Crash, some typical '05 stuff with Carter just rockin the house all night. He will be remembered by tonight's crowd even more than Dave with his electrifying performance. Just as the crowd was quieting at the end of Steady as We Go, Dave made his famous "thank you" at the end of the song, but then said how the next song hadn't been played here for almost 10 years. The song he meant was Two Step and I thought the crowd was about to erupt when they started playing it. THe song was done perfectly (probably one of the best songs all night along with The Stone and Granny). The cheering continued until the encore when out came Tripping Billies and then Everyday to end it. What a night and what sweet seats I had (about 2 sections back, right in the center looking straight at the band). Totally awesome and will never be forgotten.

Great opening act and a great show. The best one I've been to so far!

Stephen
What can I say I was disapointed. Sorry guys Darien Lake is just not SPAC so simliar to the second night at SPAC its not funny. Stone was a cool opener. The best song of the night by far was Louisiana Bayou. the boys rocked that tune tonight. Crash was a great song. Two step eh... when dave said that they were going to play something that they hadnt played in "about ten years" my mind was racing with what it could be was actually disapointed that it was two step. Tripping Billies was rocking I think they should have closed with it but... oh well. In general not as fun or as nice as SPAC. The crowd was disapointing no one sang along execpt for the new stand up songs which is crazy and more people than not were just standing there looking pissed, your at a DMB concert have some fun. Not the best show but its always worth seeing them.

Andrew
What a great show. We were not sure if the rain would hold off , but the clouds broke for dave. Opening with The Stone was definitly a treat, a break from the years of Dont Drink the Water. Over all the show was the best I have every seen, even with my small count of 5. Say Goodbye is one of my favorite songs and was jamed out perfectly. Also, for the first time in five years, they played a twenty minute two step, butch was awsome. See you next year.

Matt
Darian Lake was my first Dave concert. And for my first one i must say it was the best concert i have ever been to! They put on such a great show. The song set list was amazing! Opening with "The Stone" was an awesome thing. The only thing that could have made the concert any better would have been to hear "41" and "Crush". But all in all it was a great show. Cant wait for next year to go again!

Stefanie
I went to this show, it was my second Dave show at Darien and by far my favorite. I was so pissed about the rain, but walking in the mud made up for everything!!! All Dave fans are great. Opening with "The Stone" and then going right into "When the world ends" was probably the second most exciting event of the concert, the first being TWO STEP! Godd! Hasnt played the song at Darien in 10 years and we get to hear it! The encore was amazing as well. The whole crowd singing to the band was surreal. The concert gets 5 stars in my book.

Emily
I came from Toronto to see Dave at Darien Lake. I'm quite dissapointed that he wasn't able to schedule a tour date in Toronto, but anyways I thought Darien Lake's concert was an incredible show. Opening with The Stone was amazing, and I really enjoyed hearing his new songs live. Lousianna Bayou and Hunger for the Great Light were soooo good. I was also thrilled when he played Two Step and jammed for so long, and hearing Say Goodbye was amazing. I was praying that he would play that song. I personally enjoyed the encore, Tripping Billies is such an energetic song, and he hasn't played it much on this tour, so hearing that was fun, and I thought Everyday was a nice song to end with. I don't know if anyone else noticed this, but during Tripping Billies it seemed like Dave forgot some of the words and ended up scatting in their place.. maybe cause he hasn't played it in so long...oh Dave.. so funny :) So overall.. AMAZING SHOW.. I'm depressed it's over, but looking forward to the next hundred!! Props to Dave and the band!!

Janis
This show was the most disappointing DMB show I've ever attended. I love the band, but they just seemed to be off at this show. They didn't seem to be into it at all. It felt like they were on auto-pilot. They took a long between songs and took way too long to come out for an encore. They played the same song, 'Tripping Billies', as they did last year for the encore ... only last year they played it with more spirit (even though there was only one song in the encore last year ... which left many of the attendees feeling ripped of a bit).

Except for the REALLY high & drunk ones in attendance, I noticed that while 'Out Of My Hands', 'Hunger For The Great Light' and 'Steady As We Go' were on, many people either sat down (looking totally bored) or took off to the over-crowed & unsanitary washrooms or the over-priced concession stand ... not really into the music. During these songs, the crowd did start cheering ... but it was only for the fire-dancer backdrop that lit up on stage. This was pretty cool!

The opening act, Ray Lamontange, is a fantastic artist. Too bad he sounded horrible at this venue. Perhaps it wasn't turned up loud enough or perhaps it was due to the fact that most of the attendees, of the ones that were actually able to drag themselves away form the parking lot beer-fest, many had no interest in even trying to listen to him. Those that wanted to hear/see him were mostly out of luck because of all the commotion going on by the attendees with other agendas (e.g. I saw a group engaging in a burping contest and others playing a hide & go seek/musical chairs kind of game with the security crew. Many DMB fans don't seem to care about the support act at the shows. That's really too bad, as DMB has ties with some really amazing acts. Even Dave came out at the start of Ray's act in an attempt to encourage the fans to listen, but he had about as much enthusiasm doing that as he had all night ... little to none.

Well, what can I say ... not such a great show. I guess no one can be 'ON' all the time. I hope the band catches up on their rest or whatever they need to get back the spirit that I love so much about them; it would be a shame for everyone to see them like this for the rest of the tour. They have the potential and I hope they get back whatever it is that they lost before this show that made them seem somewhat like zombies. Actually, Carter seemed to be having some fun ... this made me think all was not lost. Maybe he can encourage the others to get their act together.

Highlight of the show - 'Two Step'! Although Boyd wasn't his regular smiley self. I was also happy they chose to play 'Say Good-bye', 'Granny' and 'The Stone".

Maybe I'm just getting old & I can't believe I'm saying this but ... I don't think I'll be attending another show for a very long time.

Emily
The show was amazing!Opening with The Stone was unexpected but I can't complain at all. When the World Ends was a great touch and made me think that it was gunna be a mellow night but I was proved wrong. Louisiana Bayou was great and a lot better live..the boys loved it. When the first few cords of Crash started, I didn't know what to do with myself. It was outrageous and adding dixie chicken made it that much better. Dave really got into the American Baby Intro and made it very enjoyable. I was kinda disappointed that he didn't go right into American Baby but we got that later. The crowd loved What Would You Say even though for half the night you couldn't even tell that there was a crowd there. Say Goodbye was a nice touch and has to be one of my favorite songs live. There aren't any words to describe Two Step. The crowd got so into it for the almost 20 minute song. Couldn't have asked for a better encore. Tripping Billies was better than last year and Everyday topped the night off in the best way possible. Dave and Boyd fed off the crowd and it just meant for a great song. All in all the best show I've been to but the crowd was the worse one yet. Awesome job boys!

Elana
I am never disappointed by a DMB show and I do not complain about every detail like so many other people. It was an awesome show with awesome songs performed by an awesome, genious band. LB and SG were highlights for me as well as HFTGL and TS. Did anyone else notice Leroi leave for the TS jam? Haha I thought it was pretty comical, and he made a great re-entrance to play a few notes close to the end. The only disappointment was the fact that I was the only person singing every word to every song and having the time of my life, who goes to a DMB concert to just stand and go to the bathroom every ten minutes? The crowd (around me atleast) was extremely disappointing. I'm very upset their not coming to Toronto because that would add another great show to my list. Kudos to the boys for one fucking hell of a night!

Ellie
This show was amazing! Of the eight shows I've been to, this one was by far the best. The entire setlist rocked, with every song better than the last. Opening with The Stone was such a treat. Out of all the songs from the new CD, I wanted to hear Louisiana Bayou most. It was better than I’d hoped! After Dave said they were going to play a song that they hadn’t played in Buffalo in about 10 years, I knew it was Two Step and I was pumped. The crowd was totally electrifying in the beginning of the song and got more into it for the entire 20 minutes as the boys completely rocked out. The encore, amazing! We did hear Tripping Billies last year, but it’s a great song and this year’s version was better! Everyday rocked!

The crowd sang the “honey honey” part and the guys played off of us. All in all, it was a great show. Some previous reviews complained about the crowd, but I guess it mattered what section you were in and the people around you. My section was awesome. Everyone was singing along to every song and was totally into it. Good job guys! Can’t wait til next year!

Carrie
This DMB show was great, but not the best that I have seen. I loath one of their first radio hits WWYS, but TB and Granny made up for it. I was dissapointed that no older songs from Remember 2 things were played, but what can you do- they perform these songs so rarely. And, if I see one more 20-minute 2 step jam, I am going to scream. Maybe they haven't played it in 10 years at Darien, but I have seen it at least 6 times out of the 15 or so dave shows that I have been to. The crowd around me in the reserved seating rocked like crazy people, which was amazing, but what the hell is up with the crowd on the lawn not paying attention and standing around as if they are somewhere they don't want to be?

Kate
Outta all darien shows this was pretty effin good.. and the crowd was HUGE but thats ok just shows all the people WHO LOVE DAVE... i saw dave a spac also.. so i was ready for some more to end july off right.. I liked how he started off with the stone and LOVED THAT HE PLAYED SAY GOODBYE... come on who doesn;t love that song.. and you have to admit Hearing hunger for the great light LIVE again is wondeful. THE lights were crazy the boys were jammin like always and cant wait till the next show...

Matt K.
There were some definite highlights in this one! Say Goodbye is a great song, only made more special by how rarely it gets played these days. All of the new songs are really great live - the reason I made the trek to the venue was to hear the new stuff. I think they are still trying to make something out of Dreamgirl. That song was actually ok until the go-nowhere jam. Way too repetitive for Dreamgirl near the end. Pretty much everything else of the new album was quite good. The encore was pretty weak. Yes, it was fun to see Dave screwing up in both Tripping Billies AND Everday, but the songs do not develop real well. Two Step at least sounds a little different each time they play it - I could hear Two Step at every show and be happy as hell. Great Two Step!! The real lowlight was the crowd. I have never seen such a tame Darien crowd. Maybe it was the rain. Anyways, cheers to one of the best touring bands out there! I always feel like I get a great experience and tonight was another wonderful time. Just missing a bit of energy in places, especially from the crowd.

Jen J.
Darien was on OK show. If anyone was at SPAC on the 2nd night this year, than you know that nothing can compare. The Stone was a great opener and it was great to hear Granny and Tripping Billies again. As with some others, I expected Recently, Halloween, The Last Stop, or something along those lines when he gave the whole "We haven't played this here in ten years." I was jumping up and down like a little girl until it started. Granted, Two Step isn't a horrible song, but I have heard it waaayyy too much. I was hoping for some tour debut's, however, every song has been played somewhere this year. Nothing rare, but overall a decent show.

The bathroom situation was incredibly bad! They need more set up or something. If you haven't seen the guys at SPAC, please go next year and nothing will ever compare. It's almost like the Gorge of the east (note I said "almost" because NOTHING can compare to The Gorge!)

Shauny B.
I have to go out on a limb and say that out of the 25 shows that I have been to, this one was probably the most disappointing show that I've been to. I can't completely blame the band or the setlist for that matter, but the crowd in the lawn and the overcrowdedness.

To start things off, the people in the lawn were incredibly rude and way too drunk/high. I have never been pushed around so much in my life as I was last night and that's after 5 years of being in the (what I once called enjoyable) lawn at both Darien and SPAC. It kind of ruined my mood. To add to that, the energy of the crowd was very disappointing in the lawn as well, but onto the set that didn't help that energy. I've gone to Darien every year for the past 5 years they've played there and DMB has amazed me every year with pulling out songs such as 41, Last Stop, Dreaming Tree, Good Good Time, PFWYG, and Lover Lay Down. With THE STONE and WTWE opening up this year, I had such high expectations to hear the now played #34 or even #40.

Instead, the set was mediocre and maybe just because I've been to 20+ shows AND Darien was after an amazing 2 nights at SPAC, I overexpected. LOUISIANA BAYOU was amazing and I would love to hear a jammed out encore version of this someday. CRASH...eh...it pleased the crowd cause everyone knew the lyrics. The AMERICAN BABY INTRO --> DREAMGIRL was pretty sweet and YMDT is one of my favorite Stand Up songs. WWYS is good, but not something I look forward to hearing. SAY GOODBYE is always pleasant. GRANNY, in my opinion, stole the show. AMERICAN BABY sounded awesome, but the rest of the show was iffy. OOMH is too mellow to be in constant rotation. HFTGL is a good song to hear live, and SAWG is alright. Enough with the 20 minute TWO STEP though. Dave said he hasn't played it at Darien in 9 years, but I've heard it at almost every other venue numerous times and within that 20 minutes, we could've easily heard 2 more songs or even a 41 or 34. The encore...yea, lyrics got screwed up in both songs plus TRIPPING BILLIES encored last year and I don't think that EVERYDAY should've closed the set.

Like I stated, this is the first show that I've left disappointed from and I hate to be THAT person to complain, but oh well. I had an amazing night overall and I keep my hopes high for next year!

Ben T.
This was my 14th Dave show since I started going in 1998. Anyone who follows Dave know that when he puts out an album before a tour he tends to play a lot of songs from that album. But at Darien, I think it was just too much. American Baby was good, Hunger for the Great Light was good, some others were good, but mostly I felt he was jamming the new album down our throats, and I HATE THAT.

Best song of the night by far was Tripping Billies. Anyone who says differently wasn't paying attention. And just because he played Granny doesn't mean it rocked. It was the shorter version. I've heard the band rock out to Granny much better than on Wednesday.

Darien is a terrible venue. But that being said, I thought the crowd was really into Dave. And it did seem (at least from where I was sitting inside) that Dave was into the crowd. Most people from around upstate New York will tell you how Dave hates coming to Darien.

I agree with the person who said "enough of the 20 minute Two Steps." The song rocked, but was wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy toooooooooooooooooooooo looooooooooooooong.

Also, one song from BTCS album and two songs from the Everyday album. What's up with that?

Crash was great. Billies was great.

Once again, Dave disappoints me with a setlist, but overall, the show was enjoyable. Not my best, not my worst. Somewhere in between.

Brian
Ok Show. First, the highlights. The opening was great, stone rocked, crash is always sweet too. Granny and Say Goodbye towards the end were both awesome, and 2 step is always something to see. Billies and Everyday was a decent closer, I'm not sure why they didn't switch the order to end with Billies. The bad; they went on two strings of 3 or 4 Stand Up songs that took away some of the energy, at least for me. I thought the concert was on the short side, and the band didn't seem to have a high energy level at times. Now, bashing the venue! Darien Lake is TERRIBLE, they do not have enough room on the lawn for the amount of tickets they sell, and we all suffered through hours of waiting in the parking lot. I'm a 20 year old college student who drank a 12 pack of labatts on the 3 hour drive there (we were running late...little time for tailgating.) That being said, I felt like I was one of the older and more sober out on the lawn. From now on, I think I'll stick to SPAC in the summer, and try to get down to Hershey instead of Darien. However much you complain about a show, the band still rocks and there is no place I'd rather be on a Wednesday night!

Jessica
All I can say is that this was one of the best nights of my life. I have been to 10 DMB shows over the past 6 years, but had never had the wonderful experience of hearing my favorite song...The Stone. My husband surprised me with 10th row, center seats...unbelievable, so unbelievable. And then...the band opened with The Stone. I was so overwhelmed the entire evening. The band was "on" and it was so great to see their interaction between songs...it's amazing how much the experience is enriched when you can actually see the band the entire time and don't have to rely on the screens. Two Step, Say Goodbye, Tripping Billies, Granny were all amazing...you know, every song that echoed through our ears on that beautiful evening was amazing...My husband is the sweetest, sweetest man.

Shane B.
Last night my sister Sarah treated Cheryl and I to a performance by the Dave Matthews Band at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center near Buffalo. It was the ninth DMB performance for myself and the first for both Cheryl and Sarah. And even though I have seen Dave Matthews play many times before, I didn’t quite know what to expect from them as this was my time since 1997.

After attending performances for over a span of ten years, both acoustically and with his full ensemble, in stadiums, arenas and bars, I’m happy to report that the Dave Matthews Band still has it. In fact, they may sound better now than they ever have!

The evening kicked off with a fantastic set by Ray LaMontagne, who has quickly made his presence known on my music radar with this performance as well as the few mp3s that I’ve downloaded from his website. His voice reminds me a little bit of a young Joe Cocker (sort of); raspy with a ton of depth and energy. He was quiet and unassuming as he took the stage and worked through material many in attendance seemed familiar with. With his acoustic guitar accompanied by only an upright bass and drum kit, the venue seemed a bit cavernous for his style. However the power and conviction of his performance compensated nicely and overall I was impressed by his offering.

Shortly thereafter the Dave Matthews Band took the stage to tremendous applause. It even seemed to catch Dave and the other members by surprise to receive such an ovation prior to even playing a single note. The applause continued at such intensity that when they did begin to play the open notes to "The Stone" it seemed nearly indistinguishable.

Starting with "The Stone" was somewhat surprising to me but I was happy that they opened with some material that I had yet to hear them perform live. I stopped going to shows before the release of "Before These Crowded Streets" and it’s been so long now that I haven’t heard the band play nearly half their catalog live.

The intense ending to "The Stone" and the eruption of cheers at the beginning of "When the World Ends" set the tone from the crowd for the rest of the night. Of all the DMB shows I’ve attended this crowd had more energy and excitement with every note than I’ve ever witnessed. The band seemed to feed off this energy too as they rolled into a downright nasty "Louisiana Bayou."

Eventually they settled down into a gorgeous version of "Crash" before absolutely tearing the roof off with an amazing "American Baby Intro". This was by far my favorite moment of the night. I was absolutely blown away that their strongest, most beautifully arranged song of the evening was nothing more than an extended interlude. They jammed it for nearly ten heart-pounding minutes and made me wonder on several occasions why I ever stopped going to their shows in the first place.

(Oh yeah, that’s right, the drunken teenagers. Thank you for throwing up on my clothes and seat you moron!)

To recap this concert song by song would probably be only entertaining for myself, so I’ll spare the reader such boredom. I was very pleased with the song selections which covered a broad range of their material from over the years while brining new life to many of the songs from "Stand Up" that I’m still familiarizing myself with. Other highlights included a spotlight on Carter Beauford’s brilliant drumwork on "Say Goodbye," and a performance of one of my all time favorite Dave Matthews Band songs "Granny."

After an exciting rendition of "Two Step" (complete with an "American Baby Intro" vocal tease) the band exited the stage to the sound of nearly ten minutes of thunderous applause which was literally ear piercing at times. Upon returning for an encore they closed their set with "Tripping Billies" and a really fun version of "Everyday" where the crowd started singing "#36" over the intro and the band eventually transitioned into the song by the end.

I can actually still feel the energy of that night as I think about it. Yep, the Dave Matthews Band still has it.

Steve
When has Dave ever opened with the Stone?!?! amazing. That song and two step are rare songs to hear, let alone both of them in one night. Granny is a great song live. The crowd, including myself, were insane even before dave played one note. Right after the stone the crowd went nuts right into when the world ends which was awesome. Louisiana Bayou sounded great and is one of the best songs off stand up. Crash is a classic. American baby sounded great also. Dreamgirl is one of my fav. songs off the new album, although they have been playing it non stop at each concert. What Would You Say is one of my all time favorite dave songs, it was great hearing it live. Say Goodbye is a beautiful song and steady as we go sounded awesome also.

After the band exited, the crowd was roaring non stop till trippin billies which intensified the crowd even more. That song is sick. The crowd started singing #36 during everyday and actualy sounded sweet. The band eventualy transitioned into, it was awesome. Warehouse is probably the best song u can hear live so hopefuly next year. The night was amazing, from the set to the band to the crowd. Also the rumor about dave not liking to play at Darien is false. Maybe he doesnt like the location as much as others, but he doesn't decide well im gona play a bad set and play bad because of that. The crowd still loved him and was into him and that deff got the band going. Like i said who the hell cares where u are, you're still seeing dave and partying with your friends, you can't ask for more.

Megan A.
First off we had AMAZING seats(not seats, but where we were standing), we were like, ALMOST right up against the fence, and we were right in the middle too so we could see EVERYTHING!!!!!!!! We got there at like 5-ish and the opener didnt come on till like, 7:30. Dave actually came on earlier than we thought, at like, 8:20-ish. It was sooooo cool!

Their setlist was perfect!! The stand up songs really sounded awesome live, Steiner was disapointed cause she didnt know ne of the stand up songs and they didnt play Crush. They still played crash, FUCKING GRANNY!!!, great light, louisiana bayou(which sounded unbelieveable!!), out of my hands, TWO STEP (whch he only played cause all of us in the lawn were chanting for it), steady as we go, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY, when the world ends, american baby, trippin billies, and everyday for the finale(which was AMAZING!!) I recorded some of the concert on my phone, but like, all you can hear is ppl singing along w/ dave. During everyday, EVERYONE in the audience was singing along, it was BREATHTAKING!! Dave even started echoing us!!!

The show couldn't have been any better, or more PERFECT!! I'm speechless, (literally too cause of screaming so much). I loved watching Dave dance too. I love the way the band can just do their own things and still sound OUTSTANDING! They are just soo good that even if the did mess up it would sound great!

We met some sweet people in the lawn too, people who just appreciate dmb so much, its amazing the type of bond u can form w/ someone just cause you like the same band.

We were right next to the mosh pit too, the people next to us kept tryin to put up all these people, like crowd surfing...It was sweeeeeet! There were also your fair share of pot smokers, I didnt see much of it, I just smelled it. I really dont know what it smells like tho, but Steiner and my mom did. Steiner said she saw some chick w/ a bong too.

"Honey, Honey, Come and dance with me"