Gina R.
This is the first time I have been so inspired that I want to get my feelings out there for DMB & fans to hear. The St. Louis show was the best performance I have ever seen them do (& I am one of the early followers). I really believe Dave is at his prime. I was thinking that this band doesn't have to keep playing to pay their bills so I am so grateful they are still choosing to work & share their magic. I was at the concert thinking Dave can't even think about not playing-his music brings so many people together. You get a strong feeling you are part of something larger for sure.

Now, for the music-they jammed like crazy. I have never seen Carter smile so much. They were having a great time and it showed. The set was the best ever-flat screens that kicked the screens Riverport usually uses. These were brilliant! You could see everyone's expressions and close ups of everyone jamming. The trumpet addition was definitely an improvement over an already excellent venue. Then at the end Boyd hugged Dave which was touching & brought joy to your heart. Thanks for a fabulous evening DMB. It was one of the highlights of 2006 for my husband & I. Looking forward to DMB in 2007 but this one will definitely be tough to beat!

Mike E.
My first live show. I have been a fan for at least 5 years now, owning every CD but never being able to make it to UMB Bank show because of travel. I went with some other guys who have been 3-4 times there and they admit it was the best show they have seen there and I can tell why. Being a musician myself I have seen and been part of some pretty magical muscial moments but nothing compares to the sheer awesomeness of these guys. They really come to do one thing and that is to play MUSIC. The soloing was awesome, and I was pleasantly suprised, nay extremely excited to see Rashawn Ross come out. I had heard him on the Weekend on the Rocks CDs, especially the Weekend on the Rocks version of #41, and he really adds to the band. Not to say that solos from Leroi and Boyd weren't amazing. I'll make a run down of some of the highlights, just a few moments I'd like to point out:

Granny- Wow great opener. No one expected this and man it rocked. OSW- I don't listen to this alot but man it just felt good to hear. Everyone loved it. Raven- Oh man, I haven't listened to Busted Stuff in a while and this really really kicked. Lots of alternate lyrics I noted. PNP -> Rapunzel- I'm glad I got the chance to hear this live, a classic from BTCS. Smooth Rider- MY GOD. Dave threw on some dark RayBan sunglasses that someone threw on stage or something, I didnt see him put them on them all of a sudden hes wearing them, and man it fit. This song was tight, with some great solos. JTR- everyone was excited to hear this. The solos were amaazing and Carter was throwing some sweet kicks in behind Boyd while he got a littl enuts on the violin. Jimi Thing- HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT. I think everyone agress. It was more than 20 minutes long (20:41 to be nearly exact) and had everyone soloing including some Dave scat and Butch Taylor playing some organ/electric piano, which was really awesome. Rashawn Ross played some great stuff, including a rocking 2nd valve trill on a upper register note that seemed to last forever (he even took a short breath to continue it!!) People went nuts on this and rightly so, including the crow with "Stop-whats that sound..." which the band reacted to- SO COOL. Proudest Monkey went straight into Satellite- how cool is that? Pig was so amazing to hear, people were really wanting to hear it and Dave responded. Dave came out and did "Sister" as an encore- I had never heard this before and neither had anyone around me. It's not noted here as a Live Debeut so I guess it has been played before but I wouldn't know. cool to be a part of that. I thought WAYG was going to be it and it was good but not a closer. Then they come out with Louisiana Bayou which IS a closer. As good as Watchtower would have been if not better as Rashawn and Leroi really jammed at the end and Carter was on fire. Amazing way to end it.

No drum solos by Carter which was disappointing to me but it doesn't matter as his talent came through in those amazing moments at the top of the others' solos. I was really wanting #41 but Jimi Thing made that OK.

All in all the best musical experience I have ever been a part of. Hopefully I will be seeing Dave and the gang for years to come!

Peter F.
WOW!!! I must say...an entire fall, winter and spring is almost unbearable. They are BACK and back in a big way.

I'd never heard Granny as an opener before, but it was definitely well placed because it set the tone for the entire evening (afterward Dave said its always good to get that first song out of the way). Grey Street was energetic but pretty standard. A good OSW...but then...HOLY CRAP!!! I was hoping they'd bring out some good stuff...but I never expected to hear Raven. Very tight, very well done and Boyd was absolutely on fire. The show went on cruise control starting with Crash, but then Dave pulled some hilarious sunglasses out and went into a very strong version of Smooth Rider...the song kicked some serious butt and the glasses definitely hit the mark!! FINALLY after SR...what we've all been talking about...that was the first time I heard JTR...and I honestly hope they play it every night...it was absolutely amazing. Grace is Gone is an old favorite and didn't disappoint. Jimi Thing was absolutely outstanding...I didn't time it but it had to have been at leaast 14 minutes, the scat was awesome...and the song was definitely Rashawn's defining moment...he wailed...I'm getting used to the idea of him sitting in...and Jimi Thing defintely sold it. A couple more badly missed classics in Proudest Monkey and Satellite...I was really happy to hear them come back. Pig is my absolute favorite, so I was pretty pumped to hear Boyd open that up, however the opening was a little sloppy (sorry..only negative comment of the night...I promise). For the encore Dave came out and kind of explained Sister and where it came from...its a beautiful song and I look forward to hearing it a few more times this summer. WAYG came after...if I never hear that song again I think I'd die pretty happy, its a good song, but radio just ran it into the ground for me. They closed with a brilliant Louisiana Bayou (its still better with RR).

Drove there and back from Indy in the same night...but I must admit...it was worth however many hours of sleep I missed (rolled into town just in time to be 10 minutes late for work). It was an incredible way to open the summer and I think we have a great tour to look forward to.

DJ_B .
WOW! 3 years in a row the STL has been the opening show and not once have we been disapointed! This was the first DMB show (and first concert ever) my girlfriend had been to. Going in she was skeptical. Leaving she was happy.

Granny made for an incredible opener. Started the show off with perfect energy. Grey Street kept the energy going, although it was the short version. I was hoping to hear the long version. OSW was a suprise. Haven't heard this since I think '03. New opening jam/rift to kick the song off. Very cool.

Raven?! Where did this come from? Awesome rendition of Raven, totally unexpected. Crash made the night perfect. The one night I bring my girlfriend DMB plays a great version of Crash. Hunger was alright. It had as much energy as it did last year. PNP -> Rapunzel had a nice outro jam. Dave & Boyd went at it during the jam.

Steady...I like this song live. Butch started it off with a solo piano intro, and then you knew it was coming. Most people (including myself) thought it was a new song. During Smooth Rider, Dave puts on sunglasses that look like women's glasses, lol, but he looked cool as shit singing Smooth Rider with em on. JTR?! JTR!! JTR!!! If you get blessed to hear this song, watch the stage for the rain. Its incredible.

Grace was nice. Mellowed us out after JTR. Jimi Thing had a nice jam with Rashawn Ross. Proudest Monkey?! My God let the rare songs continue. I heard this being soundchecked before the show (along with a mysterious new song) so I had a feeling we would hear it. This into Satellite was perfect. It was like listening to the original live @ Red Rocks. Pig was sweet. Lots of strong energy. Everyday ended the set nice. Someone in the crowd had a Wisconsin licence plate that said "DMB 36" so that made the screen during the #36 outro.

During the encore, Dave came out by himself, talked about his sister and his heart going into her and her heart going into him, and started to play this new song about his sister. Made my eyes water. Where Are You Going was nice. Unexpected for an encore. Bayou - DAMN!!! Lets end the show with a jam I think was better then Red Rocks' jam. The show ended on such a positive note with everyone wanting more. If you were at this show, you know as well as I do you got one hell of a show!!! Thank you DMB!!!

Benjamin P.
Lets start with the basics. The stage this year is much simpler than it was last year. It was just four or five colorful banner hanging in the back. It was obvious that Dave was excited about the show, as he was much more talkative than I have seen him to be. Boyd's dreds are better than ever and he was wearing his usual skin tight t-shirt and leather pants, but was awesome musically. LeRoi was cool as ever, though he wasn't wearing an sunglasses. Steffan was laying down the bass as always, but stayed away from the foreground of the show, as he always does. Carter didn't do any soloing this show, but was enthusiastic and happy to be there. Butch was there on the keys, but more notable was Rashawn Ross' appearances on several songs. Together, they made a seven piece mega-band that would put on quite a show. Now let's get to the music.

Granny This was an unexpected opener. I don't think anyone would have predicted it, but the crowd got into it and it was a fun song to get the audience's blood flowing.

Grey Street This is a great song from Busted Stuff. Its exciting, but it was pretty regular. The only thing, which is what I have found to be pretty common on this song, is that Dave missed a verse. It's okay though, everybody loved this one.

One Sweet World I love this song. After Boyd did his thing, Rashawn really got to show what he could add to the band. He is a great trumpeter and I was really excited about the new sound that he brought to the band. The song was great, but by now the audience was getting ready for something big and exciting.

Raven What an awesome version of one of my favorite songd from Busted Stuff. Dave was all over the vocals on this one, even ad-libbing some new words. This was a great song that the crowd really got into.

Crash Fan favorite, dixie chicken, not much else to say. It was essentially the same as any other time that they have played it. Only here it was that they revealed the real set design for the show. The banners fell to reveal and great light show and three huge screens on which the video feed of the concert was played. The new set added alot to the show (especially since it helped me to see from my crappy lawn seats).

Hunger For The Great Light Wow, what an awesome song from Stand Up. I loved this when I heard it live last year, and I was espcially glad to hear it this year. It really shows Fonzie's ability to write music. Mixed with all of the sexual inuendo of the lyrics, how could it fail. I love this song and the band really rocks on it. Its one of my favoritel ive songs from that album.

Pantala Naga Pampa/Rapunzel This is one song that never fails to bring the crowd to their feet. The vibes that were mixing from the crowd to band made it a high point in the show. It really left the crowd ecstatic. Always a great song, but even better with Rashawn. Fantastic.

Steady As We Go After such a high from Rapunzel, what could they do but to bring us down with a great song like this. It began with a keys solo by Butch, and Dave softly snuck in with the lyrics. The band joins in and it ends subtly, but stated. Dave really puts his soul into performing this song live.

Smooth Rider This is my favorite song from Stand Up, and the live version of it was awesome. Between Rashawn and Butch, plus the shades that Dave put on, this song was crazy sweet. I loved how this song translated to live.

JTR This song was good to hear come out from the stage, though I somewhat expected it. Its a fun song, but nothing really special happened during it. I enjoyed it greatly, but I could tell that those who aren't Dave fanatics were getting restless, and that really took alot away from the song.

Grace Is Gone I love this song from Busted Stuff and LeRoi's alto really sang on this tune. The band empahsized each other lyrically and really played their hearts into this song.

Jimi Thing This song was by far the high-light of the show. The band treated it as if they were playing it for a group of people who knew nothing about the band. Boyd was the first to demonstrate his godliness on the violin. LeRoi came out on the Alto and really rocked. However, the best part of the song, at least in my opinion, was what Rashawn brought to it. With his trumpet solo, the band sounded really jazzy. I felt as though I was hearing them from a club in New Orleans. He really brought his best for this show. Butch played some organ and Dave scatted his way back to the front of the song. Overall, this extended version of Jimi Thing was the best I have heard it. It was fantastic.

Proudest Monkey This song was pretty regular, but its not one of my favorite songs, so you may want to refer to someone else's review for this one.

Satellite Again, a fan favorite. Nothing really spectacular about it, but the crowd really got into it, so it was fun.

Pig Shoot. I couldn't believe I was hearing this song. It's one of my favorites and I don't think I have ever heard it live. The band really came together and rocked out. It was a conglomerate effort that didn't disappoint. Simply amazing.

Everyday This is such a fun song. I can't help but think of Conan O'Brien when I hear it, though. All of the hugging, singing, and dancing that goes on in the lawn really makes this song unique. Boyd goes all out for this song, playing essentially with no background. It was a fun way to end the set that left the crowd with a warm feeling.

---Encore---

Sister What a beautiful song. It is really a great way for Dave to show his love and resprect for his late Sister. Before the song, he shared a bit of his emotion with the crowd, telling us how he felt and where the song came from. Its a lyrical piece that is a great way to focus the crowd for the rest of the encore. It is also a great peek into any solo album he may be thinking about.....

Where Are You Going I was disappointed to hear this song, because I thought it may be the last of the evening. Its a favorite among people who know Dave from the radio. Its fun, but, I think, a bit of a downer for an encore song.

Louisiana Bayou Luckily, WAYG wasn't the last. I wasn't sure about this song either, though. I wasn't familiar and was hoping to hear Last Stop or something like that. However, The band came together and really had fun closing their first concert of the tour. This song, to my surprise, rocks comparably to Watchtower, and I wasn't disappointed.

Overall, this was a superb concert. The band was energetic and it was good to hear a few songs that aren't too common for tour. This is high up on my list of best DMB i've seen, though I'm not sure if it beats Bonner Springs 8.16.04. Either way, this is going to be a great tour and I can't wait to see what else pops up. Maybe we'll see some Dreaming Tree or Last Stop.

Zach
The show was absolutely great in every. The setlist was awesome and everything about the show part of it was awesome. The only downside was that the group i was with had a good place on the lawn and we did not want to move, but there was a group of underage drinkers next to us that were very immature and quite annoying, I missed part of the show trying to keep them from running into and knocking over my girlfriend. Other than that, the show was awesome and because of that, I think i will see them in Antioch.

Larnie
this show was one of the most amazing experiences of my entire life. my friend stephanie and i road the train from LR,AR to STL to meet up with my friend sunny. it was so much more magical then we could have ever imagined. to start off with g-love was insanely amazing and then, to top it off dave and his boys put on an incredible performance. every song was right on and it all flowed so well...when satellite came on...i was just like...you've got to be fucking kidding me...i think i'm going to die from pure bliss. it was awesome...and then, of course that song sister...was amazing...and whatever he said right before it...about their hearts being in one another...i long to hear those words again! it was sooo superb...well done guys!