Dave Matthews Band Delivers Old-School Trip at Blossom

Under overcast skies, Dave Matthews Band delivered another terrific summertime gem at Blossom last night. To my ears, the band outdid their 2014 show (despite last year’s awesome Bela Fleck sit-in) mostly via Jeff Coffin’s spellbinding brass and woodwind work and Tim Reynolds’ electric guitar madness. The band was on-point all night.

And the setlist, to be clear, was top-notch (see below). 

Several notable jams: The not-so-acoustic dance fest out of “Typical Situation,” the flute-driven dose of psychedelia in “The Dreaming Tree” and the true bliss ensconced in the outro to “Long Black Veil.” I was particularly excited to pick up “One Sweet World” and “Dancing Nancies,” these fairly introspective tunes that remind me profoundly of driving around in high school to the Live at Luther College sets.

There’s not much else to be said, really, of a Dave show in 2015. This is a highly talented group of musicians who have proved their mettle time and time again for the past 20-plus years. You’re either in or you’re not, but know this: It’s physiologically impossible not to have a great time at these shows. It’s summer defined in musical terms. 

“Gets better every year!” one woman said mid-dance sometime during the second set. “Gets better every year!”

Setlist:

I (Acoustic set)
Take Me to Tomorrow
Beach Ball
Butterfly
Old Dirt Hill (Bring That Beat Back)
Pay for What You Get
Two Step
Typical Situation
Raven
Tripping Billies

II (Electric set)
Granny
Save Me
Rooftop
The Dreaming Tree
One Sweet World
Dancing Nancies
Satellite
Crush
The Song That Jane Likes
Be Yourself
Long Black Veil
You & Me
Shake Me Like a Monkey

Encore
The Space Between
All Along the Watchtower

This article appears in Jul 8-14, 2015.