James A.
Every year I go to this show at Nissan thinking that there's no way that they'll play better than they did last year... Once again I was wrong. The band seemed to be in the best shape in years and they played their hearts out. It was a nice surprise to hear songs like Bartender and Typical Situation and they played them well as usual. I keep praying for Lie In Our Graves... maybe next year.

Terrance P.
Maybe it was my vantage point-or lack thereof due to the pouring rain for the first 6 songs, that made this show stand apart from the many shows that I've witnessed at Nissan. I felt that with the weather that the setlist would have been altered a little to accomodate those of us who braved the lawn. I wasn't too thrilled with the setlist-I'm not opposed to mellow-just not during inclement weather. I made the mistake and peeked at Hershey's setlist the night before and noticed that they got the energetic and danceable set. This show started off great with WWYS, then slid right into mellowville. It was hard to hear if the sing along was effective on Everyday due to the sounds of pelting rain. The lighting was unique and quite mesmorizing at times. CS sounded like Smooth Rider to me. So Right is So Wrong-I just don't like that song or its accompanying cd. Dave's buzz wore off around Bartender, and that's when this show began. Great version as well as a good JR and GS. DN- a-tied-for-1st-favorite song was great, however I could feel the crowd wanting Warehouse to follow-wait they couldn't do that two nights in a row! Crash always lands at Nissan. KTK is my fav of the newbies that have surfaced this year- kinda DIDO-ish. The encore was great, but needed one more. Everyone else got three songs(with the exception of hershey and that stupid little curfew problem), so why didn't we? From Pig to Stay the energy was brewing, I just knew Ants, Billies, or Watchtower would follow. Instead it was time to wade through the soup that formed between the lawn and the pavillion and head back unsatisfied. It just seemed as if they were saving the energy for C'ville(because VA Beach's set looked no better). Dave even mentioned for us to come with them if 'we needed a ride'. Nissan usually gets a top notch show, just not on this night. I, as always am extremely greatful to be amongst such diehard fans of an amazing set of musicians, and will lend my support for as long as they tour. From the energy of the Sublime cd playing before the show, and the revved up crowd, the boys kinda let the air out of Nissan with this show. Even Dave seemed to be rather spent and didn't dance much. I know C'ville will be killer and I can't wait to see those shows. Maybe it'll scratch the itch left from this one. Besides, you can't go wrong with RR in attendance!

Mark
And the rain fell. A lot of rain. But I was covered, so I didn't care! haha. The crowd was pretty quiet, however, there was a girl in my row who got up and walked out two times per song. The only thing I could guess was that she had two seats, and had to entertain two groups of people...which is gay because it's a concert, not the social event of the season. But anyway, here's my review...

What Would You Say - Quick energy to start a show Everyday - For some reason, it was really hard to hear. So Right - I love this song, and it was great to finally hear it. Hunger for the Great Light - Great little tune that needs to have a rockin bass solo. Cant Stop - Works well as a jam into Crush...but alas, no Crush Grace Is Gone - Not one of my favorites, but hey, they can't all be winners Louisiana Bayou - Outstanding as always! Quite the highlight of the night. Steady as We Go - Standard, but the GF loves it. Bartender - Intense song, adds an electricity to the air. Joy Ride - Welcome back...thought you left us! Grey Street - BRING THAT BEAT (the third verse) BACK TO ME AGAIN! Dancing Nancies - Awesome as always Crash - I would love this song if it went the way of Old Yeller. Kill the King - Cool new song, still in infancy stage Typical Situation - This was the other highlight. I love how this song has grown over the years. The bridge is way too cool for words. The Idea of You - On key singing from Dave, as opposed to the first time played. Cool song. Rapunzel - Great way to end a set. Encore: Pig - Standard, but good. Stay - Standard, but good. In other words, the encore wasn't a mindblowing one like two years prior.

Very mellow show, the rain always seems to do that. It was in no way bad, just mellow.

Tim M.
I love DMB concerts - waiting for the day to arrive is like a 5-year old waiting for Christmas morning. Last night was definately worth the wait. The day began promptly at 3 pm with some great tailgating. Kabobs, bong burgers, chicken, sausages and corn were on the menu. After an hour or two our modest tailgate turned into a full out party with numbers crawling up near 40 people. Thankfully the weather cooperated and waited to storm until after we were in the venue. The concert itself was terrific. The band started off a bit slowly with a standard WWYS and Everyday, but ripped into So Right to shake things up. That's the only tune from the Everyday album that I had never heard live, so needless to say I was in heaven. The tempo of the show seemed to be up and down, as the band alernated slower songs with uptempo ones, but the crowd stayed up the whole night. It was a very enthusiastic crowd - one of the best I've seen at Nissan. Highlights included Bayou, Nancies, and a very emotional Bartender that seemed to last forever. It easily rivaled the Bartender of the 2004 Nissan show. I loved the new tunes - Idea of You and Kill the King - two great songs that have lots of potential to be standard crowd-pleasers. It was nice to hear a relatively unconventional encore of Pig and Stay - both tunes with feel-good happy messages - it was the perfect way to end the already feel-good happy day. This is just another reason I love this band, and will always love this band. You leave feeling good about yourself, and feeling like you can go out and make a positive change in the world. It's not just about the music, but also about the DMB community. We all come from different walks of life, different backgrounds, and different parts of the country, but we all come together to share in this one special event that unites us all. For an entire evening we can forget about our troubles and worries and know that the people around us, at least for the next few hours, will be family. Many thanks to all the people last night who helped make the evening so much fun, and of course, thanks to the Dave Matthews Band for an amazing show, and for being such a positive influence in my life. Whether I'm at a concert or not, I can always count on the music of DMB to lift my spirits and relax my soul. That's what good music does.

Patrick P.
This was my twenty sixth Dave Matthews concert to date, (three more stops before the summer is over). I don’t say that as a boastful fact, I know some who have been to over 40, 50, even 100 shows. I say it as a context of the experience I have come to appreciate DMB shows. After a quarter century of shows, the majority of which were spent in the Northeast- I finally get to experience some shows in DMB’s home state of Virginia. Of course the true show to see will be the concert in his hometown of Charlottesville later this summer. But arriving in Bristow, VA to see the band at the Nissan Pavilion would represent a new chapter in my concert-going career.

The show had all the right elements of a great concert- beginning with the opener, What Would You Say. It had all the right ingredients of an opener: familiarity and intense energy. The band started the night off on the right note with WWYS- but could they keep up the established pace? The band did with Everyday and So Right. Everyday (#36) is always exciting to watch, the song is a true hybrid of Dave’s older tunes and newer lyrics. Dave continues to please allowing the crowd to join in with the #36 lyrics, signing backup to them. So Right has only made one other appearance this summer, and was a treat to see again. Hunger for the Great Light, Can’t Stop, Grace is Gone, Lousiana Bayou, and Steady as We Go was a string of slower works that allowed the band to display their newer pieces. Personally I have come to expect slow runs like this in DMB’s more current tours- but I’m not exactly a fan of it.

Bartender infused energy back into the show with the powerful emotional performance Dave and the band always brings to this piece. Dancing Nancies has come from a reemergence a few tours ago to become a regular concert staple again. Always a fan favorite, and Dave Matthews Band doesn’t disappoint with grooving improvised solos from each member of the band. The song is like a mixing bowl where each member contributes his own piece. Out of the newer songs performed later in the set, I partially liked Idea of You, I think this will be a song that will go far if it ends up on a new album. Pantala Naga Pampa -> Rapunzel was a strong choice to end the set, having all the ingredients as the opener. The encore included two fan favorites with Pig and Stay (Wasting Time). Pig which, is a regular within the regular set, hasn’t been slotted as an encore since June 2003. Overall the show proved to be yet another enjoyable experience for Dave fans in Virginia.

Pete
To start this was my frist show in over 6 years. I've only ever seen it with just the boys and no guests, so this was a bit of a different experience for me with Butch and Rashawn out there with 'em.

Overriding feelings: The whole set just seemed slower than what I remember them being. I'm not sure if it's part of the "Butch Effect" that I hear about, but everything seemed about a half beat slower than what I remember.

I was hoping for Two Step or Warehouse with the rain and everything to just blow the roof off Nissan. The crowd seemed to be looking for it too, but it seemed like it was going to be a slow show from the start. Butch needs to be questioned on his choice of synth sounds. The organ music just grates sometimes. Boyd has become THE ENERGY for the Band. He took over three or four songs and kept the crowd in it (from where I was sitting in 305). Probably don't have them all notated. There were also spots where he walked around the stage and did impromptu duets with other bandmates, so they probably won't stand out on the recordings, but I really think he kept the energy up.

That said, it was a very fast 2 hours and 35 minutes (unofficial time by me) for the show and I had a blast even if it was a little slower than I remember. I guess with a mini break after this show, it was the best I could expect.

WWYS - Average energy from what I remember. Nothing spectacular.

Everyday - Turned into a full blown #36 at the end and I loved every minute of it.

So Right - First time I'd heard it live. Didn't really impress me. Seemed slower than the studio though.

Dave Speak - I think it was around here that he said they were starting slow and gettin' slower. I really had no clue how true this was.

Hunger for the Great Light - Interesting song live. I think it's better live than on SU.

Can't Stop - Felt more like a skat/jam than a song.

Grace is Gone - Very nice version. Second time I heard it. I liked the way they're playing it now better than in 2000.

Louisiana Bayou - Boyd PWNED this song, and pretty much the entire night. He seemed to keep the energy up for the entire band and the crowd. LOVED this live version a lot more than the studio, and mostly for Boyd's energy.

Can't Stop - Felt more like a verbal jam than a song, or one of those interludes on BTCS.

Steady as We Go - Didn't stick out very much... felt unfinished.

Bartender - Good version. Dave dedicated this to the troops at Walter Reed Medical that they'd met. Being prior military (the 6 year gap in shows) and having friends who saw more than a little action the idea of the song and washing away sins(and possibly bad memories of things seen/done) made a lot of sense. Jumped up a couple more rungs on the songs I like list. Got a long solo treatment from Leroi on the penny whistle which was nice.

Joy Ride - Really wanted to see this live and I got my wish. Again, a little slower than I thought it would be but still good.

Grey Street - One of my girlfriend's favorite songs and played very well tonight. Third time seeing it and it gets better each time.

Dancing Nancies - Top 5 song for me. Helped me to get some direction in my life and while it wasn't rockin' it was still pretty good. Boyd took this over.

Crash - 3rd time I'd heard it. Still great lyrics, still tight after all these years. Teenyboppers or no, this is one of DMB's best songs.

Dave Speak - Mentioned they were going to play a few new songs.

Kill the King - I like it. Mass exodus from the upper left of the covered seating for this show. It's definitely a little different, but it's catchy. The show started picking up from here. Dave looked like he woke up or something. Butch did seem a bit oppressive though.

Typical Situation - Started out as a full band Sister! Thought that was going to be a treat but it morphed pretty smoothly into TS. I haven't checked, but they might be getting close to a full band version if they're teasing it.

The Idea of You - My favorite out of the new stuff I've heard. The recording I've got from 6.2.06 sounds rough compared to what I heard at the show. Dave really loves it. Aside from KtK it was the first song he really let loose on the vocals, and that got me into it.

PnP->Rapunzel - Awesome version. I'd seen it as the opener for my first show and was excited to see it again. It's like Dave woke up on vocals and went balls to the wall from Kill the King on. These last 3 songs were back up to "normal" speed from what I remember and just seemed to rock. I even saw Dave do some full on dancing with the guitar like I remember from when I started going to shows.

Encore: Pig - Seeing this one got me pumped. Loved the rain references and it would have just made the place go crazy in my section if it was in the front of the setlist.

Stay - My girlfriend's favorite song. I heard it at my first show and thought it was good, and it's gotten better.

Kelly T.
If there is one characterization you can make about Dave Matthews Band, it is that it can bring the crowd together by eliciting the same emotions from all different individuals. If you can feel the music and the lyrics, or more importantly, the passion that went into creating both, you know exactly what I'm talking about. That being said, let's get started with the review.

WWYS was a great intro- something that all fans old-and-new could sing their hearts out to- really got everyone pumping. For those of us on the lawn, we needed a warmer-upper while the torrential downpour let the "tears splash all over you". :)

Everyday was awesome- my last show was admittedly four years ago at Fleet Center, where they didn't do a lot of jamming. Everyday set the stage as they jammed at the end and really mixed it up.

Grace is Gone was so beautiful as always- I think I saw a few grown men cry at that song- and this was when the rain just stopped. I think I almost cried myself… *sigh*

Bartender was incredible- just incredible. Best rendition I’ve ever heard. The trumpet addition is beautiful- really added a nice jazzy flavor to the songs.

While tailgating, I met a nice couple from NC (Wilmington) who I asked what they thought about the new style of the band (most would agree that around Some Devil, or maybe as early as Everyday, the style sort of changed), and they described it as Dave "growing". I can't think of a better way to express it. He is still unique, just different than before, and you still won't hear anything like it. Still as creative as ever. That being said, the new songs that I didn’t really recognize, Kill the King and Idea of You were so musically creative- a great reflection of how Dave has grown.

And now to the highlight of my night, TYPICAL SITUATION!! OH my - I feel like I could've died happy at any point during this performance. So much jamming, so much heart and soul poured into that song... and EVERYONE was singing along. I couldn't be happier. PNP and Rapunzel were a great way to finish us off - making everyone just so happy. The Pig encore was awesome- I've never heard Pig live... but there was so much emotion in it. And thousands of people yelling "let the love come pouring in...wash out this tired NOTIOOOOON...." really sent chills down my spine.

Ok, so that being said- Sure… another great show, as always! But the difference I see is this: I feel like the band is really mature now- Dave's voice sounds so full again and I really feel the enthusiasm of the band again. Over the past 10 years, I have never seen more than one show per tour, but I really must say- this is the first time I've felt a real urge to pack up and try to catch a few more… if only to continue reliving the creativity of the music and the beauty of thousands of people mutually understanding that we are all being touched in ways we can't explain in words.

Jimmy L.
First, let me paint the setting. The skies were dark and grey. Rain was coming down at an angle. We are talking about raisenette sized drops bombarding us from above. It was cold too, the wind was swirling. Everyone was huddled in little groups trying to stay warm. And then...

The music started. It was raining hard, but the music brought people out to dance and sing. Its as though the sound waves carried energy to keep us warm, to keep us moving, and belting.

Three key moments of the night:

So Right - I love this song. I think it is going to crack my top 5 all time. It just may. I know alot of people like Space Between, but I think this is the flagship song of Everyday. People really got excited about this one. Everyone was dancing, and really, it was pouring.

Dancing Nancies - my boy Kel(see above) was wearing a nancies shirt, and he was like, Hes going to play THIS. As he pointed to the back of his shirt. As soon as the music started, we all went crazy.

Typical Situation - This song was awesome. I think song really shows what a great singer Dave is, and everyone knows all of the words, so we can all sing along.

All in all an amazing show.