Michelle D.
The Boston concert was truly an AWESOME show! Especially last night's perfromance of "Seek Up" which should definitely be on a live album! One of my favorite highlights of the show had to be Dave jamming to Ants Marching while wearing LARGE costume sunglasses and a Santa hat... it was an encore NOT to be missed and a TERRIFIC finale to a WONDERFUL 2005 tour! My husband, Tracey, and I can't wait until next summer to witness the DMB magic again! :) Happy Holidays!!

Stephanie D.
This was about my 18th show and Dave and the band never cease to amaze me. The venue was sold out, not a seat was empty. The guys came out rocking with Rapunzel and kept it going throughout the show. Dave took a step back during a few song and let Boyd get loose. The jam band is back. Boyd was phenomonal exploding to Seek Up and Nancies. Recently was great to hear as always. They really mixed up the set evenly between albums. Christmas song was 1st encore and Dave came back to the stage to find an extra large pair of sunglasses and a Santa hat which he wore during the entire last song Ant's Marching. What a site I guess Dave was feeling goofy last night I left laughing! Dave always leaves me wanting more. Love the band love the shows can't wait for new stuff from the guys!!

Pat L.
The show at the GAAAADEN was my 9th Dave Mathews Show and i must say i was very pleased how the night went down... I am one of the long time DMB fans who accually like the new album, when he played the American Baby Intro the place was electric, it was great... Also the group that i was with at the time and I were pumped to hear Pig live because i havent herd it live... and all the live performances of Repunzl i have coulnt come close to the one they played this night.... Lastly i nearly lost it when he played Ants Marching with a santa hat and those hugh sunglasses to conclude the show... all in all a great night!!!

Evan M.
HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!!!!! This was definately one of the BEST DMB shows I have been to. First off, PNP--> Rapunzel opener!!! what a way to kick things off. It was cool to see Rashawn join the band from the start. This was definately a Boyd night too. The band was full of energy, but I think that Boyd had too much caffine before the show! My only complaint on the night was Old Dirt Hill, and here's why. The song kicks ass on the Red Rocks CD's, and it definately didn't in Boston. 1. Carter's Vocals are not loud enough. 2.They played it too slow; I have noticed that when it is faster, it stays a little bit tighter. I dont know exactly what it is, but it just seems like something is missing live in that song. 3. Carters drum patch with the snare/claps needs to be re sequenced. The Snare sounds really MIDI, and the claps are overpowered by the bad MIDI snare sound. I think that carter should just put the claps on the trigger and hit is beautiful snare. Other than that, the night was SICK. Hunger for the great light is quickly becoming one of my live Favorites. Where are you going was a really nice treat. I love that song, plus I was watching MR. Deeds right before the concert, so it was kind of a coinsidence. The last highlight i would like to share was the Ringling Brothers Version of Ants Marching. Dave is a crazy cat. I would have been fine with the santa hat, but once those GIANT glasses were on, I couldn't take him seriously... AND I LIKE THAT. It's nice to see a band that is usually so professional as far as ignoring screaming and chants for songs, slip into a little less mature mood. Dave's daughters have a great Father, and they say if you smile you live longer. Those Girls are going to live forever looking back on the final show of 2005. DMB has always, currently, and will always rock!!!!

Billy
May not look like the best setlist and unfortunately there were no surprises but I have to say last nights performance was strong and had a little of everything, including:

Great Jams – Rapunzel solid opener; the revamped Recently ending over the last few tours is great… love what they are doing with some of the classics. The endings to most of the new songs including Everybody Wake Up and Stand Up are impressive. Nancies and Stay never disappoint and sound as good as ever.

Miscues – Did Seek up sound screwed up or was it just the impact of the green all around me. Seemed like Dave jumped the second verse and Boyd came in too early. Boyd definitely took control after that jamming with everyone. And Butch and Carter ended it on a high note. It just seemed off during the middle part. I may have just be out of it and I’ll wait for a copy to listen again.

Tension – Did anyone else notice that Boyd seemed to get all pissed off towards the end of Old Dirt Hill. It seemed like he was pouting in the back and not partaking in the sing-a-long at the end. The rest of the band seemed to get a kick out of it. He seemed to put it behind him and went wild on Bayou and Ants, but I swear there was something going on. Again could have been my imagination.

Great Ending – Christmas song was expected and good to hear. Would have liked them to go into 40 a little more. Ants was a great ending with Dave’s performing in crowd provided hat and glasses.

Crowd was ok. All in all a solid but predictable show. Even though they tend to play the same songs all the time, they always sound great and I’ll be back next time at… Fenway??

Ben W.
Thursday nights show was simply awsome. It was my 2nd show and only one word can describe it WOW. There was such great energy in the arena throughout the whole show. I enjoyed hearing some of my favorites..Crash, Nancies, Seek Up ect, but i also enjoyed hearing some songs off Stand Up.

Those songs sound so much better live. Stay was a perfect closing song. The crowd was so pumped. The encore was also amazing. Someone threw a Santa hat up on stage. Along with this was a pair of big goofy sunglasses. I was hoping Dave would put them on for the Christmas song, which was the best I have ever heard it. I was not left dissapointed though. Dave threw BOTH on for his last song, Ants. He even let us sing "No words exchanged, No time to exchange." It was simply amazing. The boys really seemed to be full of energy for their last show in 2005. I can't wait to see them this summer...

Lindsay
The DMB always rocks the stage with precision and dignity. I especially enjoyed when dave took the Santa hat and giant sunglasses that people had thrown onstage and wore them closing the show with Ants. We saw the girl who wore the glassess to the show walking in outside the Garden-she was psyched!! Anyway, amazing version of Seek Up, Pig, and of course Christmas song. I was disappointed that Mike Doughty didn't join them on stage as I had heard he did on monday night in NH. As always you gotta love the Dave, the Boyd, the Carter, the Stefan, the Leroi, and the Butch, and of course the lovely trumpet player that joined them onstage!!

Chris
wow....when did the jam band come back to town. starting off with rapunzel always brings some energy to the crowd followed by a good hunger for the great light and a pretty standard crash. being my 31st dave show u can only hear so many new versions of crash. right into a good recently, no funny intros or anything but still a good version. but the highlight had to be the 25 minute seek up. i felt like i was back in foxboro in 99 when he would open with seek up there. it was awesome. the jam out just kept going. right into pig. something you dont hear everyday. nancies was killer and would hvae been the highlight had there not been a rediculous seek up. if nancies had gone into warehouse i think the roof would have blown off the gaaaaaaaaaadddden. bayou was sick as it has been since i heard it on summer tour. the band just sips that song up. the only boring part was an oddly placed where are you going. a solid stay to end the set though. christmas song is always nice this time of year. i was hoping for last stop to end it since this was the last stop but ants always rocks esp when dave put on a silly santa hat and some giant yellow shades. awesome show that re-affirmed me that my jam band is back.

Locked
OK.. so this wasn't the amazing winter tour closing setlist we had hoped for / predicted... but performnace wise this was a pure gem!. Dave was very gabby, appreciative of the crowd...made very effort to look at everyone in the 360 of the entire arena. Boyd was very energetic throughout.

Pantala Naga Pampa ...> Rapunzel *= the end jam was manic, seemed the band would self-implode!

Hunger For The Great Light * = amazing white lights to accompany the chorus!

Crash Into Me = perfect , just perfect

Recently * = great ending jam again..

Grey Street * = Dave teased Carter at the end of this one mimicking his fast end drun roll after nailing this song (again!) Seek Up (waaay too long,lost crowd momentum cool lights though)

Pig (great vocals, tight thru out..) American Baby Intro * (simply stole the show with dave's satanic wails)

Dancing Nancies * ("could i have been lost somehwere in Boston"!!! that will make my winter compliation CD for sure! Boyd'as solo ruled on this as ususal)

Old Dirt Hill *(could have skipped this one- cool crowd sing along at the end though)

Louisiana Bayou * (funky funky funky!)

Stand Up * (see ODH comments)

Where Are You Going (normally not a big fan but this was a masterpice in its delivery by everyone in the band)

Stay * (no.. please Go! why they like this song is beyond me?) Encore: Christmas Song (heart wrencingly good) Ants Marching (most imporant thing on this song is how good dave's vocals will be...especially on the THEY ALL DO IT THE SAAAAME part. Dave was in great vocal form)

Can't wait to hear the boot, sound in the Garden was crisp and clean.

Saw Naylor, Brown and lots of other tapers set ups.

Overall the show was an 8 out of 10.

Ryan
PNP -> Rapunzel - Great opener which really got the crowd going. Didnt think they'd play it since they closed with it the night before, but not complaining at all. HFGL - Not bad, didnt bother me that it was only 3:30 minutes long Crash - Classic Crash Recently - This is when the show just took off. The jam at the end was tight and it was great seeing this song for the first time. Everybody Wake Up- A lot of people used this one to go to the bathroom, but I enjoyed it. Sounds almost completely different than what is on the cd but that's because the cd version is so layered. Still good. Grey St. - Great energy and got people really going in the isles. Seek Up - 25 minutes! This song just blew up the entire Garden. Boyd went crazy and it was one of the highlights of the night. Pig - Didnt think they could just top what they did, but Pig definitly gave it a run. Intro - Best song off of Stand Up. The jam for this was incredible and Dave screaming "she said" is scary its so good. Nancies - "Could I have been lost somewhere in Boston" - best Nancies I've ever heard ODH- Bathroom break Bayou - Sounds better and better each time they play it Stand Up - Not bad but could have lived without it WAYG - no thanks Stay - Brought the crowd back into it. Great to hear this song after it was absent all summer Encore: Christmas Song - knew it was coming but still great to hear Ants - The Last Stop chants didnt have much of an impact but it was still classic Ants and Dave looked redic with the Santa hat and giant sunglasses on. Overall it was a awesome show, just the latter part of the set with ODH, Stand Up, and WAYG killed some of the insane energy that came from Seek Up, Pig, Intro, and Nancies

Mike J.
This show was iiiiight. If they excluded old dirt hill after nancies, it would have probably made up for a lot. C'mon last show of the tour...warehouse please.

Where are you going didnt fit in at all.

The show was an 8 out of 10. If they played linus and lucy easily a ten.Was expecting a surprise but didnt get any, but overall it was a good but not great show. Grey street is the ill na na. I love that song one of my top 3 of all time, always a good thing to hear it. I like Ross hes a good guy, maybe he should do some exercise during the break tho so he can actually move while hes on stage.

I told myself after 25 shows this is it, so it was a good show to go out on..

Joe
This was about my 20th DMB show, first one one in a couple years. The guy can flat out perform! What an awesome show. He jams out Recently as tight as the day they recorded it on RTT in '91(?) and then comes back with all that new stuff laced with heavy energy. Then he throws out the Christmas Song and caps the tour off w/ Ants, with Dave donning a Santa hat and goofy sunglasses for the finale. What a spirit! What a performer! You listen to his lyrics re: the temporary nature of life, seize the day, love (in Pig) and then you listen to the Christmas Song. This guy has it all figured out! What a spirit! And what a band behind him!

Worried L.
I've listened to these guys since 6th grade. I've now been to over 30 shows around the country and to be completely honest, I'm pretty disappointed with the current progress. It's no longer about the music, but big bucks. They've become just an EVERDAY band - beautifully intricate music turned generic. Please change your setlists Dave for your listeners, or people like myself won't see 10 shows a tour!!!!! You're losing true fans and long time Dave supporters so try and keep it real!!!!!!

Dlenz
The show was great (as they all are) but it wasn't the outstanding setlist I was expecting. Rashawn Ross was a nice addition as this is the first time I've seen him and I was definitely impressed.....this guy can wail!

pantala/repunzel......great opener. HFTGL....the live version is quickly growing on me. Crash is always a good song to hear and the band never disappoints in playing it. Recently was good......i was maybe hoping for a little more davespeak here but oh well. Everybody Wake up was okay....not a huge fan of this song.

Finally things got going with grey street, seek up, pig and nancies. These 4 are some of my DMB favorites and all were played extremely well.....seek up was a bit sloppy in places but all-in-all it kept me rockin'. I was really really really hoping for Warehouse following a killer Dancing Nancies but to no avail......bummer! And to kill it even more they went with old dirt hill.....to much of a pace change....they should have kept it going.

Bayou and Stand up are pretty good songs......i like what the band has done with these two, especially when Robert Randolph is around.

where are you going is a beautiful song but it sucks live....plane and simple. if you're stoned.....forget it, you are gonna pass out.

Stay is always a well played up beat song that I like to catch and jam out too.

The encore was too predictable, song-wise. Christmas song and Ants were both awesome but I think everyone knew what was coming. I was hoping for Tripping Billies, #41, Drive in drive out, song that jane likes (yeah right!) or even watchtower.....but i didnt get any of them. However Dave didn't disappoint when he got crazy and put on these huge goofy-ass yellow glasses and danced on the stage like he was 5 years old......i was hysterical.

Patrick P.
Opener:

Pantala Naga Pampa is a natural choice for an opener- as it is the opener for the Before These Crowded Streets album. The song tipped off the crowd to Rapunzel which followed. Both are done well by Dave and company. Rashawn Ross adds another dimension to the piece with his trumpet.

Set:

Good emphasis on more recent work however set lacks in variety compared to previous shows. Most songs repeated from last two tour stops. Seek up was a monster performance, clocking in at over 24 minutes. Dancing Nancies had a great intro with Dave’s scat. Recently and Everybody Wake Up were the rare gems on the tour, while songs like Hunger For the Great Light made an appearance on every stop of the tour, including this one.

Closer:

Stay (Wasting Time) accomplished everything a closer should do, pumping up the crowd and ending the set on a positive note.

Encore:

There was a small #40 tease that the crowd heard before breaking out into Christmas Song. A perfect song for the holidays. The band’s performance of Ants Marching got everyone out of their seats to close up the night.

Andrew F.
This was a pretty good show. The energy of the band didn't match MSG, which i didn't expect considering how pumped everyone was for that weekend. However, the setlist was really solid. Dave has really brought a lot of life to AB Intro and Nancies blew the roof off the place. The hat and sunglasses that Dave put on during the final song of the year really showed that this band is still having a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to a new studio album next summer and another great tour!