When summer arrives, it could usually guarantee a few things: hot weather, endless grilling, and the Dave Matthews Band doing a cross-country tour. While the hot weather and grilling is going on all over the country, the Dave Matthews Band summer tour stopped by the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden, New Jersey on July 10, kicking off back-to-back performances at the legendary venue.
DMB has performed at the always-changing named venue around 50 times over the last 30 plus years, so fan expectations are a bit high when it comes to Camden. Taking the stage around 7:50pm, the band did not disappoint and came out of the gate firing on all cylinders with an energetic version of Led Zeppelin’s “Fool in the Rain” to kick off the evening. While the band has been performing the song semi-consistently on recent tours, using it to kick off the show is extremely rare and the both the band and near capacity crowd were clearly enjoying themselves. “You Might Die Trying” followed, with Matthews delivering some aggressive vocals while drummer Carter Beauford and bassist Stefan Lessard held down the groove.
Song titles that feature numbers have been a staple of the DMB catalogue and the first night in Camden saw appearances by both “#41” and “#27,” with “#41” getting one of the biggest pops of the evening. “Sweet,” a slower song from the album “Away From the World,” made its tour debut in Camden, complete with Matthews playing a ukulele. At almost 60 years old, Matthews’ voice has barely changed over the last nearly 40 years, and it was in fine form in Camden, notably on earlier numbers like “The Song That Jane Likes,” and “She,” which was also a tour debut and featured a fantastic keyboard solo from Buddy Strong.
Following a brief bass jam from Lessard, the familiar opening to “Crush” took center stage with Beauford adding his jazzy snare drumming to the intro. The way Lessard and Beauford feed off of each other is one of the best parts of any DMB show, and frankly makes the band sound the way it has for nearly four decades. Guitarist Tim Reynolds – a severely underrated guitarist who is mostly responsible for teaching Matthews how to play – took center stage on the fun “Louisiana Bayou,” before the band went softer with the one-two punch of “Proudest Monkey,” and “Satellite.” While the two song segue has been a constant on DMB tours for almost 20 years, Camden’s version of “Proudest Monkey” sticks out because of flubbed lyrics which had the band and Matthews cracking up on stage.
Easily the most taboo or adult-oriented song of the night followed with a driving version of “Cornbread,” complete with scat-style lyrics from Matthews. The spacey “Samurai Cop (Oh Joy Begin,)” meshed into the somber “Kill the Preacher,” before the band launched into “Why I Am,” a song written for late band member LeRoi Moore. DMB’s longtime horn section of Jeff Coffin and Rashawn Ross not only did a fine job in paying respect to their predecessor, but also provided just the right amount of brass throughout the evening. They don’t overdo it, nor or lazy on their instruments. They add the perfect amount needed to help maintain the band’s dynamic.
The horn section was featured prominently on “Drunken Soldier,” which also showcased some of Beauford’s best drumming of the night. Ending the main set on an energetic note, the band chose to dip back into earlier material in the form of “Stay (Wasting Time),” and a rollicking “Tripping Billies” that had everyone up and dancing. Coming back for the encore, Matthews took to the stage solo and talked about ICE agents and the deaths of numerous U.S. citizens before delivering a heartfelt version of the darker number, “All That I Wanted.” Joined by the rest of his band mates, DMB finished the night off with a thumping “Squirm,” which marked the song’s first time closing the night.
Almost 40 years into its career, the Dave Matthews Band is always redefining itself whether it be with new music or new musicians. But they still manage to stay true to the band’s original core sound which is why they continue to sell out nearly every venue they play each summer. And on the first night in Camden, it was clear to see that there is no chance of that changing any time soon.
SETLIST:
Fool in the Rain (Led Zeppelin cover)
You Might Die Trying
41
Sweet (Tour debut)
The Song That Jane Likes
Madman’s Eyes (Intro)
Minarets
27
She (Tour debut)
Crush
Louisiana Bayou
Proudest Monkey
Satellite
Cornbread
Samurai Cop (Oh Joy Begin)
Kill the Preacher
Why I Am
Drunken Soldier
Stay (Wasting Time)
Tripping Billies
Encore:
All That I Wanted (Dave Solo)
Squirm (First time closing and encore)
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