Ben S.
My first ever DMB show I had to make my way through the backwoods of SPAC to get into the venue. This show was just as painful but it was due to the ridiculous pileup of cars to get into the parking lot. Due to the rain then mud the parking lot was not ready to handle 1000s of cars to be parked there. This caused the most insane traffic I have ever witnessed in route to a concert. After almost 3 hours (that’s 3 too many!!!) we finally made it into Alpine Valley. We slid our way down the dark, crowded hill to the renewed safety of our seats. We missed the first few songs which is an unbearable result of the traffic. I’m guessing Don’t Drink the Water or One Sweet World was in there. We got there and heard bits of Jane, WWTE, and a new song. The new song sounded solid to me and very clean without too much percussion or even jamming. We settled in with Louisiana Bayou which was pounding with a great horn section. We were treated to some excellent versions of Crash (Dixie Chicken) and #41. #41 was one of the highlights as accompanied by another guitarist using a Stratocaster (no Timmy here). He was amazing; he let loose and just jammed with the song. It is cool to hear some serious rock guitar bring an already great tune to an elevated state of euphoria…just awesome. Boyd was all over the place too!! He still has the greatest effect on whether the song is good or great…he made several great tonight. Bartender brought the crowd to more of a murmur until the later parts of Dave belting out everything he had. There was some great soloing by Butch, Leroi, and a host of brass players…for a second it looked like a marching band up there. Some guy even had a tuba…what the hell happened to DMB? It’s still good though…it was a blast! Dancing Nancies and Warehouse were great picks to pull from some early stuff. Cari and I both loved the breakdown in Warehouse that sounded more Caribbean or Reggae than DMB! It was a nice change to a very old song. DMB was joined by the Roots singer/drummer for several songs. There were a couple new songs thrown in there; Devil… and a Louisiana Lick that resembles some of the Bayou. Both were harder hitting with distinct rhythm and force. Devil sounds primed for radio with its tight energy. The Roots drummer added some flair and dynamics but Carter can never be beaten. The new album will probably have elements of Stand Up but with more rounded compositions instead of overplayed riffs. They ended the set with Stay and this was cool too…we heard some voices for the ladies part but didn’t spot them anywhere…hmmm. Great energy and Dave let loose a bit too. The encore began with only Dave singing a heartfelt Sister on guitar. The response was even better than the early days of Grace Is Gone that was met with yawns and bathroom breaks. The band could push this song even farther but that may only come from the studio. Dreamgirl kept it going but still was not what the crowd was after…good song but kind of bland…hmmm. Cari’s wildcard song of the night was Tripping Billies and it was amazing to hear Dave, Boyd, and Carter go full throttle to the end!! She requested it and she got it for the last song of the night. As soon as the Nature intro started I told her this was it. No one else around us had any idea what it was. It’s nice to know that after several years and shows later that I still feel so connected to this band. Even for a moment beyond the traffic, drunks, and hype I am there to take part in this experience no matter how brief it may be. This is what keeps me coming back. They ended on a high note. Thanks again!

Ron C.
this was my approx. 25th show over the last decade, and i can proudly say that it was by far, the worst one to date. i was with a group of people that had both lawn and seats so we all hung out in the lawn. the band didnt take stage till 8:56, granted, they did play till almost 11:30, but i try to time my rest room breaks, so that threw me off.

anyways - the show may have been great, i would love to get a copy of the soundboard, but i will never know...thats because you could hardly hear anything. i am assuming that something was wrong with the speakers or something. regardless, the sound man should be fired. dancing nancies was practically inaudible.

again, they may have played good, but i will probably never now....thank god for night 2, which totally made up for the first night. night 2 was simply amazing!

Ryan W.
Alpine Alpine Alpine... its a great venue if you have reserved seats. the show was great and ill get to that. but the Chaos of getting into alpine was a total nightmare. do to rain and the band Rage against the Macnine playing there friday night it really made the conditions really sloppy. so the choice was made to open the gates 3 hours late. BAD BAD BAD idea. there are only a few ways to get into alpine, so traffic was backed up for hours. dave had no choice but to start late cuase the place was only 40% full at 8:00. he started at 9.

the show was solid. two step as a starter is always nice!!! the energy on you might die trying is killer. 27 is a great song. I hope everyone hears it soon. the jam on Bayou was insain with the roots on stage. just killer!!!! #41 was a treat with a DMB crew member playing a blistersing solo on a fender strat. corn bread rocks! great southern vibe. cant go worng with nancies!!! I hope DMB gets into the studio soon. They have great material GO FOR IT. For those of you who have not sceen the tour yet note that the stage set up / light show is amazing. multi screens and stunning visuals make it a all out atack on the sences. each year they just seem to just top themselves.

Justin B.
First, it was sloppy on account of some weather; it probably could have been worse, but it was slippery and muddy at Alpine. Fortunately, I had Amphitheater seats, so I likely hear better than the lawn, nonetheless that sound was not great (an experience that I've regrettably had more than one with DMB and on this occasion I can not understand considering the sound for The Roots was fine.) Bad soundman or deeper issue? Loving Wings was bar none the hardest to hear overall (disappointing.)

The band did play well! They played a show with a lot of "potential energy" behind each song which created some suspenseful moments and a somewhat mellow mood. I really appreciate Alpine because other places around the Midwest such as Kansas City, Des Moines, and even Minneapolis do not show nearly as much understanding about what I means to be a concertgoer as the Chicago/Milwaukee area here (I even used to enjoy shows at Soldier field too, but don’t know about Tinley park.) Bottom line people in those other venues seem to go to concerts expecting to sit back and be entertained; at Alpine crowd participation, even in a mellow show is second to none, and nobody leaves complaining that it was “really disappointing” they understand it was a treat (no set expectations here.) I like that.

Highlights… I hate to sound partial to the songs that have been around for a decade mor more now, but Two step was great to hear as an opener, Jane, 41 because of Joe Lawlor if nothing else, Nancies, and I love a show regardless if it begins with Two Step and ends with Tripping Billies as this one did. Eh Hee was great but would be out-of-this-world-sick on night two, and Sister is a beautiful song. The band has sounded different each summer; my take on it is Dave’s guitar parts are less percussive on the new material and even on the older songs. Like it or not, too bad, two nights at Alpine are always worth the admission.

Cheers all!

Kevin M.
What a night in Alpine Valley!! This was my first show at this venue and I have to say that I will definitely be back. The band opened with Two Step which was a song I have been dying to hear live and it was full of energy. The crowd was definitely into this as the opener.

I enjoyed Die Trying, the horns are especially entertaining during this song. Loving Wings was cool to hear live, and then Dave says "I have a sister, her name is Jane...." and i went nuts because I love TSTJL!! Follow that song with WTWE which is also one of my top 5 favorite songs and this night was beginning quite amazingly for me.

I enjoyed #27, but couldn't really understand the lyrics so I am eager to learn them. Bayou was good, and while I don't really like the song, the performance tonight was really good. Bartender was jammed out, but it didn't seem too long. Then the opening chords of Crash and my friends and I went nuts because we wanted to hear that one.

Then we hit the jackpot when Joe Lawlor came out and I heard the opening chords for #41, which is my favorite DMB song of all time. I had to stop myself from going crazy for a while so that I could soak this one in because it was truly a special performance.

Cornbread was good. Dancing Nancies was great, they jammed it out and this was also special because it is my wife's favorite song. We had just gotten married the weekend before so we both heard our favorite songs!!! Grey Stret and Warehouse were also songs that we had been wanting to hear. Stay ended the first set nicely. The encore was also good. I love Sister and I called both of mine during that song. My wife and I enjoyed Dreamgirl and Billies was an awesome way to end the night.

What an awesome show. Prior to the show my friends and I made a list of songs that we really wanted to hear and the band played like 10 of them. The energy all night was fantastic, wish i could have gone to the second night, but looking forward to Dallas on 9/22 and Alpine next year!!