Night 2 of the DMB bender up in Hartford was a beautiful Saturday with the sun shining and a nice summer breeze. On this night I rode up with my good buddy Matty Cesca, my bandmate Steve-o, and Matt's younger brother and his friend. The ride up was a great mix of pounding brew dogs and shooting the shit while listening to some good tunes. When we arrived at the dirt lot we set up a nice tailgate with a grill, a cooler full of man sodas, and some blaring music. It was a perfect day to be outside and for a solid 4 hours we drank and talked with a number of people, both friends and strangers alike. It was awesome to run into some girls from high school we hadn't seen in a long time in addition to making some new friends along the way. On this night me and Steve-o were seated towards the back of the pavilion, and we snuck in our boy Matty to highten the awesomeness. The legendary 3-man Vic House crew at a DMB concert was a guaranteed recipe for a good time. On to the show...
While we knew N1 was a tough act to follow, we still expected big things based on the past N2 shows in Hartford. We were late to our seats due to a log jam at the entrance and we walked in half way through the opener, Funny The Way It Is. The song is the band's new single and is a catchy, radio friendly tune that has broad appeal to both hardcore and casual fans alike. It worked well as an opener, setting a good laid back mood. Next up was one of my favorite cuts from Dave's solo album Some Devil, the mournful Stay Or Leave. This was a pleasant surprise and it was played spot on. The crowd was into the first two songs, but Ants Marching at number 3 got everybody off their asses and dancing. This version was smoking and immediately got everybody into the show. They followed it up by debuting Lying In The Hands of God from the new album, Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King. This song features great LeRoi sax on the album which was duplicated very well by Jeff Coffin on this performance. Then came the Carpe Diem rarity Pig from BTCS. This was a great chance for Boyd to shine and boy did he ever. His wonderful fiddle lines danced through this often overlooked tune and made it a highlight of the show. Spaceman and Why I Am, repeats from Night 1 came next and kept the energy level high.
My all time favorite DMB song, #41, followed and was the showstopper of the main set. Clocking in at almost 17 minutes, the song showed off everything that is great about this band. From the unique intro with beautiful sax and violin, to the amazing lyrics and vocal delivery the song was pitch perfect. What really took it to the next level however was the jam that followed the composed section of the song. Coffin soloed over a ridiculous groove by Carter and their interplay was astounding. It was as if they were both trying to outdo each other while working in tandem to create something truly special. To cap it all off Tim Reynolds took a typically amazing solo before the end of the song that put it into the category of being one of the best versions I've ever heard. After a strong Alligator Pie repeat, I was treated to my first Jimi Thing, another long, loose, and jammy performance. The soloing was top notch and the crowd was singing amazingly loud during the verses of the song. Dave even threw in a little Sexy MF outro by Prince as the song was winding down. Beautiful versions of So Damn Lucky and Squirm followed and a late set cover of the Talking Heads classic Burning Down the House kept the energy level high. The live debut of You & Me was very well received and it should be a crowd pleaser for years to come. This segued into the set closer of Two Step, which absolutely blew my mind. Two Step has never been better than it is right now, and that is truly saying something. The amazing lyrics lends well to the show ending position, and the music on this song is pure bliss. Timmy soloed at lighting speed before Carter tore the roof off the place with an amazing drum solo. I've never heard this song so jammed out, while remaining so punchy and focused. By the end, I needed a change of pants. It was that good.
The encore to this show put it over the top and gave it the honors of show of the weekend. It was a total screamfest with the new Pearl Jam-esque rocker Time Bomb seguing directly into their brilliant rendition of All Along the Watchtower. Dave screamed his head off through both songs and the energy in the room was palpable. Watchtower featured the solo from Stairway to Heaven by Tim and ended the night on an amazing high note. You could feel the crowd still buzzing about what they had just seen as we were leaving the theater. The band truly owned the room on this night and capped off yet another memorable weekend at the Meadows. This was possibly the best of 7 shows that I have seen DMB perform. Hopefully next year will continue the trend of great music and even better times.
June 6, 2009 Comcast Theater, Hartford CT
Setlist
Funny The Way It Is
Stay Or Leave
Anyone Seen the Bridge ->
Too Much (Fake) ->
Ants Marching
Lying In the Hands of God
Pig
Spaceman
Why I Am
#41
Alligator Pie
Jimi Thing
So Damn Lucky
Squrim
Burning Down The House
You & Me ->
Two Step
Encore:
Time Bomb ->
All Along The Watchtower
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