DMB returns to touring, Noblesville

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After taking a year off from touring, the Dave Matthews Band returned to Noblesville for two nights of energy packed music at Klipsch Music Center.

If you haven’t been to a Dave show, it’s not a rock concert. There aren’t any pyrotechnics, amazing light shows or the same setlist night after night, instead the band lets the music be the focus of the show. You could tell from the moment they stepped on stage Friday night that the members where glad to be back on the road.

Typically, when the band is working on a new album, it picks a handful of songs and “road tests” them with fans. Some make it on the album; some just become unrecorded songs you want to hear live again and again (i.e. “Joyride,” “Shotgun” or “No. 40”). DMB has been back in studio with former producer Steve Lillywhite but you wouldn’t have realized it from the setlists. In two nights, the band performed only three new songs – “Mercy” and “Gaucho” Friday and “If Only” on Saturday. In the past, you’d hear three a night so it was a little disappointing to not hear something live for the first time.

“Everyday” kicked off Friday’s show and two and a half hours later “Ants Marching” ended it. In between the set had its ups and downs – its hip shaking, foot tapping numbers (“Eh Hee,” “Funny the Way it Is” and “Don’t Drink the Water”), its mellow “quick run to the bathroom now” songs and the old reliable (“The Stone,” “Satellite,” “Proudest Monkey” and “Typical Situation”). Of the two nights, Friday included more of the romantic songs as “You and Me,” “Crush,” “So Right” and “So Damn Lucky” were played.

Opening act, Gary Clark, Jr., joined the band onstage for a cover of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower.” Usually the song closes the concert so it was a pleasant surprise to hear it halfway through the show. For those who arrived late, Clark showcased his guitar prowess on that song, making it a very memorable live performance.

Of the two nights, I preferred Saturday. It had one too many extended jam songs for my liking (“Seek Up,” “Dancing Nancies,” “Warehouse,” “Jimi Thing” and “Two Step”) but incorporated a nice blend of old and new songs. After starting with “Seven” and “Why I Am” from the band’s most recent album, it went old school with “Seek Up” and “The Song That Jane Likes.” The concert also included the always enjoyable “Pig,” “Corn Bread,” “Fool to Think,” “You Never Know” and “Shake Me Like A Monkey.”

My personal highlight of the concerts was hearing “Halloween” as the opening encore song Saturday. It is only the second time DMB has performed live at Deer Creek (the first being over a decade ago) and it was well worth the wait. Instead of ending, the band slide right into “Tripping Billies” and the frantic crowd went nuts for the group’s conclusion at Klipsch Music Center.


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