Dave Matthews was happy to be back at his home away from home in the Bay Area — Shoreline Amphitheatre — a place he’s now played nearly 30 times in the last 30 years.
And the crowd — a large and rowdy Saturday night Shoreline audience — was certainly glad to have him back at the Mountain View venue, showering Matthews and company with ample applause and adoration throughout the evening.
It was just one of those nights — and Matthews, of course, has had about zillion of them — where the vibe between the crowd and the artist just felt so right, and in sync, almost as if there was nothing that really separated the two parties
That’s mostly a jam-band phenomenon, a product of the tightknit relationship that is built through seeing the same act over and over again and trusting that the trip — whatever it may well turn out to be — will be worth it.
That was certainly true on this night, as the Dave Matthews Band — vocalist-guitarist Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer Carter Beauford, lead guitarist Tim Reynolds, trumpeter Rashawn Ross, saxophonist Jeff Coffin and keyboardist Buddy Strong — most definitely had its A-game going on during pretty much the entirety of the 21-song offering.
Opening the show with a solid double shot from 2002’s “Busted Stuff” — “You Never Know” and the always-powerful “Bartender” — the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame act made it clear from the outset that it wasn’t going to be holding anything back.
Matthews, who bubbled with his patented combo of joy and goofiness when he addressed the crowd, was in fine vocal form as he continued to lead the group through a number of the band’s most popular concert offerings — including “Dancing Nancies,” “Proudest Monkey” and “Satellite” — during the first half of the set.
The early-evening highlight was an absolutely mammoth take on “Jimi Thing” (from the band’s multiplatinum-selling major label debut, 1994’s “Under the Table and Dreaming”), which was a jam-heavy production that included some mesmerizing exchanges, first between Reynolds and Strong and then Coffin and Ross.
The group immediately followed the epic “Jimi” with the rollercoaster ride of “Hunger for the Great Light,” a tune from 2005’s excellent “Stand Up” that morphs from back and forth from straight-up arena rocker to ethereal beauty.
This 7-piece version of DMB — which still features original members Matthews, Lessard and drum-king Beauford — is just loaded with firepower, far more so than the original five-piece that first staked its claim at international stardom in the mid-’90s.
So much of that has to do with Reynolds, a longtime Matthews collaborator, who officially became part of the band in 2008 and quickly squashed the common critique that DMB sorely lacked a true lead (electric) guitarist.
It’s also hard to deny the benefit that comes from having a horn section, even one that only has two members in it. Ross is a powerhouse, and Coffin, who came into the group after original sax man LeRoi Moore died in 2008, adds so much to the music.
Of course, one still occasionally misses the violin work of Boyd Tinsley, given how it so defined — and differentiated — the band’s sound for decades. Indeed, it was once nearly impossible to imagine DMB without Tinsley. Yet, the group has managed to survive and even thrive without the violinist, who left the fold in 2008 as sexual harassment allegations were swirling around him.
Another nice thing about this version of DMB is that it has a sense of humor, something it underscored once again as it rocked its way through a spot-on cover of the 1986 Cameo gem “Word Up!” It was sung by Ross, who somehow managed to remain near-motionless — and never come anywhere near to busting a move — as he handled this R&B/funk classic.
Seriously, I didn’t even know think was possible.
The group touched upon a couple of Matthews’ solo tunes, “Gravedigger” and “So Damn Lucky,” offering them up in reverse order of the way one will find them on the singer’s sole solo album, 2003’s “Some Devil.” The former, in particular, continues to be a stunning and harrowing beauty, transforming over the years into as close as a rock ‘n’ roll standard as anything in Matthews’ songbook. (Just ask the great Willie Nelson, who covered “Gravedigger” on his 2008 album “Moment of Forever.”)
Matthews and merry men brought the main set to a close in splendid fashion, delivering a powerful take on the gorgeous power ballad “Crash Into Me” that nicely set up the uproarious “Rapunzel” closer. The group then returned for an encore, putting a bow on top of what had been a richly memorable night of music.
Dave Matthews Band setlist:
1. “You Never Know”
2. “Bartender”
3. “Joyride”
4. “Dancing Nancies”
5. “Monsters”
6. “Spaceman”
7. “Jimi Thing”
8. “Hunger for the Great Light”
9. “Proudest Monkey”
10. “Satellite”
11. “Black and Blue Bird”
12. “Word Up!”
13. “The Dreaming Tree”
14. “Gravedigger”
15. “So Damn Lucky”
16. “Louisiana Bayou”
17. “Crash Into Me”
18. “Rapunzel”
Encore:
19. “Peace on Earth”
20. “Pantala Naga Pampa”
21. “Pig”
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