Review: Dave Matthews Band Goes To Work In Camden, NJ
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- There is no hurrying the Dave Matthews Band.
Not through winding ten-plus minute renditions of classics like "Seek Up" and "Dancing Nancies", and certainly not in the time between.
The pace was leisurely for Dave and company on stage Friday night at the BB&T Pavilion in Camden, NJ for night one of two in celebration of twenty-five years as a band. These performances should be their last here before they take a touring hiatus in 2017.
That hiatus will likely be to record new studio material, some of which was on display in Camden – including the live debut of the playful mid-tempo tune "Plastic Girl".
From within what looked like a hive of lights with a lid of video monitors, DMB ran through twenty tunes with precision – featuring several elongated "jams" with drummer Carter Beauford serving as the constant. However, the mischief and exuberance seemed confined between the bars this time out. Dave was rarely animated beyond a "thank you very much" to the Camden crowd and the band moved with little urgency between songs.
Musically everything was certainly on point, which each member taking turns in the virtuoso spotlight – the amazing fretwork of Tim Reynolds, Boyd Tinsley rocking a violin so hard at one point that you thought he might slice the bow through the frame, and even some piano playing from Dave himself on the new "Death On The High Seas" – but they had trouble matching the energy of the crowd. DMB came to work Friday night more than they came to host a celebration.
But it was a celebration. A celebration of twenty-five years and a devoted room (and lawn) of pilgrims that have made Dave a rite of summer. It's also a celebration of a crew that shows no signs of slowing. The landscape has gotten crowded over a quarter-century, and the way new material from Dave Matthews Band fits nicely beside beloved favorites is a great forecast for their future.
After the last notes of "Repunzel" rang out, the band went away for an extended encore break – enough to pee twice – but returned with the equally well aged "Pig". An extended bass solo from Stefan Lessard announced the closing shot from the band, a blazing rendition of Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower".
Dave Matthews Band returns to the BB&T Pavilion on Saturday night. Tickets are still available.
