 |
|
|
Dave Matthews Band
The Gorge
|
|
|
|
|
I once hated Dave Matthews Band.
Fact is I didn’t hate the band; I hated the hype. In high school, I’d hear other kids talk about DMB and how great they were. And here I was, some longhaired metal head who didn’t want to open my ears to anything else. Such closed mindedness cost me a lot of wasted time, time I could have spent enjoying great music.
Sure, Dave Matthews Band is enormously popular. Maybe some of that popularity is for the wrong reasons. Like a domino effect, popularity begets popularity. Like a snowball rolling down a steep hill, it grows and grows.
But that doesn’t mean it’s wrong to like a band just because they’re mainstream. It took me many ignorant years to realize that. Silly me, I let what other people think get in the way of my own enjoyment. They’re phenomenally talented musicians, all and they really seem to love what they do.
The Gorge was recorded over three nights in 2002 following the release of their latest studio album, Busted Stuff, in a place Dave Matthews refers to as “heaven’s amphitheatre”, carved in the high basalt cliffs overlooking the Pacific Northwest’s
Columbia River
gorge, a place that still shots and a bonus DVD cannot do justice. I wouldn’t mind getting out there sometime.
Here, we get a taste of DMB in their element: live, five-minute songs can turn into 10, 15 minute jams, where band and audience become one, feeding off each others energies, building and building upon each previous note, tasting the ecstasy all performers crave; indeed, what keeps them performing.
“Lie in our
Graves
”, the studio version, has a little breakdown of about two minutes. Live, it balloons out into nearly 15. That might seem a bit much but when you hear it, you will understand. There’s magic there. You know they are having the time of their lives on that stage and it is wonderful to hear.
You might notice a missed note here, a slight crack of Dave Matthews’ voice there, but it actually adds to it. They could have tweaked this up in the studio, like so many live albums are, don’t fool yourself into thinking they’re not, but they chose to give it to us straight, warts and all. I like that kind of honesty.
Strangely, though, each song is self-contained, with the crowd fading out after each tune, and then fading back in for the next. Usually, if songs are pulled from multiple performances, crowd noise is intermingled, giving the listener a sort of “like you’re almost there” experience. It’s a minor issue but I think I would have preferred it if they’d blended the songs together.
Once you’re done with the CDs, there’s also a bonus DVD of the performance, including probably my favorite DMB song of all time, “
Grey Street
”. Here, we not only hear the joy from band and audience, we get to see it as well. When Dave Matthews howls in the dark and twisted “Halloween” and when violinist Boyd Tinsley totally busts out at the end of “Dancing Nancies”, knocking his hat off in the process, your heart skips a beat. Not to repeat myself, but there is just so much palpable energy, so much emotion coming out of these musicians, which in turn goes out to the audience and then back again. It’s beautiful.
Which is not to say I found the DVD to be that great. Production wise, everything sounds good, everything looks great, there are little commentaries from the band, fans, the crew that are nice. My problem is with the cameraman. That stinking cameraman. He (or she, let’s be fair here) must have been hopped up on caffeine or something because he (or she) could not stop moving. The camera pans to the left, the camera pans to the right, it comes in, it goes out, it hardly takes a breath or stops for more than five seconds on one still image. Jeez. Dw. said it best when he said the DVD felt more like a promotional video than a real concert video. It’s a minor sore spot in an otherwise excellent package.
The fact is, if you want the true live experience, you’re going to have to see Dave Matthews Band live. That is to say, I’m going to have to see them live. I have come to realize their studio efforts, while very good, are only one piece of the picture. And their live recordings, like The Gorge, can only do them so much justice. Still, why not close your eyes and forget you're home? Ignore the fading in and out of the audience and visualize yourself there. Relax and enjoy. If a former musical ignoramus like myself can feel the vibe, almost anyone can.
Note: This review is for the 2CD, 1DVD set. A 6CD set, containing all three nights of the performance, is also available.
Release Date: June 29, 2004
Tracks: CD-15; DVD-13 - Time: CD1-61:13; CD2-51:24; DVD-N/A
Produced by: Hugh Surratt, Doug Biro, Fenton Williams, Jeff Richter
Format: CD & DVD
Website: www.davematthewsband.com
Track Listing:
CD 1:
Pantala Naga Pampa - Rapunzel / The Song That Jane Likes / Fool to Think / You Never Know / Granny / Gravedigger / Everyday--# 36 / Two Step.
CD 2:
Drive In, Drive Out / The Space Between / Kit Kat Jam / Lie in Our Graves / Proudest Monkey / Warehouse.
DVD:
Grey Street / Ants Marching / Inside the Gorge (Commentary) / Pig / Dancing Nancies / What Would You Say / Loving Wings - Where Are You Going? / Inside the Gorge (featuring Gravedigger) / Seek Up / Halloween / Tripping Billies / Inside the Gorge (Making the "Grace Is Gone" video) / Grace is Gone (music video).
Dave Matthews Band:
Dave Matthews - Vocals / Guitars
Carter Beauford - Drums / Vocals
Leroi Moore - Horns / Vocals
Boyd Tinsley - Violins / Vocals
Stefan Lessard - Bass
|
|
|
|
|
