Carter
This was my 42nd Dave show. I thought that it was a set list full of crowd pleasers. Once in awhile, it is nice to hear though! I thought the AB intro was the highlight of the show, while seek up was a nice surprise. Whatever happened to the days of sitting next to true dave fans...I was caught next to 4 14 year old girls chanting to where are you going and i did it! Dave did look good tonight. Question: was he wearing white pants? And was he wearing a fire dancer shirt? It looked like he had a fire dancer on the upper right hand corner of his shirt!Also, I noticed that Boyd doesn't looked as ripped! Stefan seems to look a little bit older, more mature! See you in Detroit. Lets pray for Pig and some more cowbell!

Chris G.
Tonight's show was on the money and they certainly enjoyed playing at Assembly Hall. Dave called it a big bath tub. We had seats directly behind the stage and we had the most impressive view possible. They played such a great mix of old classics and new songs. Seek Up was excellent which led into a great Stand Up. They wrapped up the set with Stay (which was great to here) before kicking off the encore with an awesome Christmas Song. Nothing puts you in the holiday spirit like DMB! Great show!

Mike
The setlist had the makings of a great show. The 1-2-3 onslaught of favorites such as #41, GS, and Seek Up should have driven the crowd into a frenzy for the remainder of the night, but once butch started stand up, everybody around me seemed to sit down. I thought the evolution of the new songs throughout the year made the bridge between the classics an enjoyable one, and will be a pleasant addition to the future tour catalog.

Due to the crowd, a lot of the classics seemed to lose some of the edge than how they played them earlier in the year (too much). The best treat was the first appearance of Stay for the year (it only took until november). It was nice to see a scat appearance by Butch during Jimi Thing though, but Dave made sure to show the crowd who was the king of Dave Scat. Smooth Rider was highlight for me. I wish PIG would have made a fourth straight appearance, but the crowd did not deserve it. Overall, I enjoyed the show (as I do all Dave shows), but I think for future winter tours, Dave should reward chicago area venues with life (allstate/the UC). Not the best finish to the 2005 tour year for me, but it was still worth the four hour drive.

Dave
Haven't seen DMB in close to two years -- this show made it all worth the wait. The setlist had a nice mix of old and new. Carter was truly phenomenal. Had trouble hearing LeRoi but maybe it was just because of our location. The band played a version of Jimi Thing similar to that in Central Park (with Dave going off at the end, but of course without references to NYC). Christmas Song was beautiful, notwithstanding the frequent scream of "fans" who thought we would rather hear them over Dave's singing. I'll never understand that.

Matt C.
WOW! That's the feeling I had all night aat the show. The opening songs that started off the show caught me waaaay off guard!!!! I was certainly expecting Panta->Rapunzel. The setlist was a great one though, to say the least. Hats off to "Stay" this year....finally. I had the feeling that the band was having a lot of fun up there..It seems like they do a lot more of their jam sessions indoors. Maybe they enjoy the indoor venues a bit more? I had a blast though with a good friend of mine and my girlfriend; which "Crash" was a nice surprise! I was impressed with the acoustics, although, when he talked it was a little harder to hear. By the way, what ever happened to the days of "Grace Is Gone". I wanted to hear that and "Say Goodbye". Overall I gave it a 96%!!!! Safe travels to the crew and see y'all next summer!

Hunter
This was something like my 15th show, and it was anemic at best. WWYS was seriously lacking in energy, and #41, though a great song, was a big downer for the second song, being so slow and all. Grey Street would have been a great pick-me-up if I had not been able to hear my friend whisper next to me. Seek Up was the clear highlight of the night; it seemed when they played this song they started getting into it, rather than just going through the motions. This song is so much fun to hear live because it is one of the rare ones where they can creatively explore their improvisational limits throughout the tune, rather than simply playing the same riff over and over at the end of the song and then taking 10 minutes to fade it out. They did this with virtually every song after Seek Up, every "jam" slower and more lethargic than the previous one. The end of Jimi Thing has become a great time for a bathroom break because after the first 7 or so minutes, the song literally goes nowhere, staying on the same retarding riff for what seems like an eternity. The Stand Up songs are built for this kind of "jamming", and hence built to be downers, regardless of how energetic the song was in its basic form. The excpetion for this night was Hunger, which I find to be a very energetic, rough, and pretty song at the same time. After Seek Up, it was back to going through the motions; Stay was well-performed and Christmas Song was about as predictable as a crappy Leroi solo. All in all, the show was standard, but their new adopted style of "jamming", with one repeated riff and an always killer Carter solo, is really a show killer. Carter, though, is who still keeps things interesting. And Butch. He's overlooked.

Andy N.
This was my 11th show and although I'm sure this wasn't the worst performance by our beloved band, it definately was not the best. With that said, there were some highlights. Carter was in great form as usual. Butch was having alot of fun with his improv scat during his piano play. There just wasn't enough energy in the room to send the show flying. I really wasn't that impressed with the new songs. That's a little unfair, I just was hoping to hear louisiana bayou, hello again, and you might die trying. These are the new songs that have enough energy and tempo to get some of the more lame people attending to actually stand up and dance a little. The encore was phenominal. And did anyone else notice, but could have the overall volume been amplified a little?

Brad D.
I thought it was a pretty good show overall. The crowd didn't seem to be that into the show though, it seemed like it took people quite a while to get into the band. I did notice a lot of very young girls all around me, and i am pretty sure the people next to me had sex during crash into me

the highlight of the show for me was seeing Christmas Song, this is my first time hearing it live and its one of my favorite songs. Really would have liked to hear Grace is Gone, but i knew going into the last 4 shows it was a long shot.

Barb
I agree with some that this wasn't the best show for the band. However, there were great highlights. Being my 7th show of the year, I enjoyed hearing all the songs again. I have heard them all except for Stay and the Christmas Song, which were great surprises. It was difficult to hear at times and wished that the sound system would have been louder. I was at Assembly in 02 and the sound was completely different...and I guess so was the crowd. I feel as if they drowned out the concert. At least in my section where more than 1/2 of the people were sitting down for more than 75% of the concert. I thought it was a great setlist and each member jammed accordingly as if it was still a part of their summer tour. Understandably, the band cannot please everyone. Thanks for a wonderful year guys! See you next summer.

True
I hadn't been back to see DMB since '00 and this was the first time ever seeing them indoors. The level of energy at outdoor venues is definately "higher" and contributes to a more festive atmosphere. At the same time, I had great seats and was able to enjoy the actual music more than any other show I could recall. Overall, the fellas did a great job.

Katie
Well, sadly this is the last show of 05 for me and it turned out to be pretty good. I wished there was a different opener, I like the song, just wanted something bigger. So excited to hear #41 and Seek Up was one of the most amazing things I have heard. Still don't mind the new songs, they have a lot of energy sans Dreamgirl. AB Intro was so HOTT!and so was Hunger... Stefan wanted Dave to make it dirty and that he did and I love it!!! I LOVED the scats of Dave and Butch in Jimi Thing, I was going nuts!!!! Boyd blew me away with his many awesome solos. He was literally all over the place. I will always love the "Dave dances" I wish I could go up there with him!!! Lastly, X-mas song was too awesome. I love that song so much and was glad to hear it live. All in all it was a good show. I was dancing and singing along the whole time! I will never say that DMB would disappoint me, they always entertain me and give me the chills. No band has made me love them more and more with every concert and CD I attend/purchase. I will never get tired of their pure and awesome talent. God bless DMB and their fans!!!! See ya this summer!!!!!

Brandon
i have to say, a dave show is much more enjoyable for me without the drunks running around. i got to hear almost every word dave said without someone yelling jibberish in my ear. also, the venue was a lot smaller that i expected, which made it better. i was very pleased with the set and the energy level. i really enjoyed "seek up," the end jam was amazing. "41" was a nice suprise bright and early in the show. the "american baby intro" is very powerful and moving, dave was screaming his nuts off at the end. this was number seventeen for me and still no "say goodbye." i thought that at the end of "seek up" carter was doing something that sounded like it could blend into it, but no. all and all, great show and cheers to the band for still doing what has kept me coming back all these years: doing the best that they can do everytime that i see them. please dont stop. -brandon

Scott
This was the second time for me seeing the band this year and I must say, it was alot better than the performance at the Tweeter Center in June. The begining of the show blew me away. I haven't heard seek up in so long. It was great to hear more of their older songs. I thought for sure at the begining of the show that they would play mainly the older songs throughout the night, which they did and it brought back great memories from the old days. But they did still play some new stuff. But the overall energy of the crowd and the band didn't seem as exciting when playing songs from the Stand Up album. But it didn't matter because the performance by all the band members were great. Especially Carter's. He had some of the greatest drum solos I have ever heard from him in a while. His solos really showed that the overall band(i think) still enjoy playing their original hits. And the crowd's reaction to the older songs was great. Which goes to show that saying "if it ain't broke don't fix it" when playing the older hits. And that is why people seem to enjoy this band.

Overall i loved the show. It was great to hear Christmas song and Ants Marching for the encore. The last two times I have seen DMB, they have always ended their shows in Chicago with Along the Watchtower. So it was nice to hear these other great songs as well.

Matt
Come on, your new record came out in the summer and you had a tour just for it and played a million songs from it, enough is enough. Plus, change up the setlists, jeez a surprise would be nice! seeing I paid about 60 bucks. Even 10th row center tickets couldn't help. Could have been my last dmb show. I don't meen to be rude but Seriously people, have any of ever listened to good music? Not just good music but artists that put there all into it. DMB is just all about being seen and not listened to. How many time does dave do that squirley little feet stop and boyd do that ever painful dixie chicken solo! Come on, it may look cool for the first time, but when you listen to what they are playing while they are doing it, it makes it sound very pathetic. Open up your ears and not your bank acounts! Hope to see you at the new Back Street Boys tour, they will have better jams.

Don W.
This performance was an excellent mix of oldies and a few new guys. The American Baby intro was amazing. Seek up was also a suprise and Dave veteran pleasure. Christmas song was also a suprise but an excellent addition. Yeah the people around us were not into things at all and left early which was a huge joke and was not necessary at all for them to be there. Dave also had an excellent quote involving the arena looking like a giant bath tub and how he felt like a "whale with hands". The show overall was a very good show versus performances in the past I've seen as far as set lists go.

Iamqball79
A buddy of mine lucked into second row seats for the show. He's seen them 20 or so times, myself at 15, the closest either of us have been is 13th row at Blossom this past summer, so being so close really made an impact.

A little disappointed that this was my first show that I didn't hear a new song that I never heard before, but I guess that's to be expected after 15 shows.

The "Stand Up" songs have really added intensity since the summer, Smooth Rider and AB Intro the most. #41 was great, Christmas Song reminded me of 12-14-02 at Champaign. Seek Up good, loved Dreamgirl, Jimi Thing was the highlight for me. Butch was singing the same notes and rhythms that he was playing on the piano - pretty hard if you ever tried that, and very impressive. Stay was the shocker....came out of nowhere, and we were taking in the hotel just that night how it hadn't been played in forever.

One cool note.....there was a girl celebrating her 16th birthday with several fans and her parents in the front row. She and her parents were all jamming and singing along to all the songs. It made me think....I wouldn't have been caught dead listening to the same music my parents did when I was 16, but still kind of cool. She ended up getting a pick, Carter's stick, and what looked to be a piece of paper that said "Happy Birthday" on it signed by the whole band.