Dave Matthews Band, Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, Wisconsin

Alpine Valley Music Theatre is an amphitheater built among the ski slopes of a resort in East Troy, Wisconsin. The green steep hills, with the resort’s chairlifts in the backdrop, make for a beautiful view. We were situated on the venue’s steep lawn. Though I didn’t think it a requirement, we ended up being pretty close to the front of the lawn. It was crowded but manageable; I had plenty to room to wiggle. My first show at the iconic venue would finally put me into double digits for Dave Matthews Band concerts, a full 17 years after my first show.

I’m always surprised by the number of young people each summer at Dave shows. Some appeared to only be in attendance as an excuse to get drunk but many more were very excited, knew all their songs, and were hoping to hear their favorites. Sometimes the youths were a bit annoying, and though I generally prefer the lawn for DMB shows, I started to think that it might be a nice change of pace to secure some pavilion seats for my next show to be surrounded by people who are a bit more serious about the show. We had a decent view of the stage and good sound. As per their standard, Dave Matthews Band used simple lighting and stagecraft. Though their tours are on par with U2 in terms of revenue, they're not nearly as produced.

Since the death of LeRoi Moore in 2008, Dave Matthews Band has consisted of Dave Matthews (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Boyd Tinsley (violin), Stefan Lessard (bass), Carter Beauford (drums), Tim Reynolds (lead guitar), Jeff Coffin (saxophone), and Rashawn Ross (trumpet). Dave started the show with a handful of solo songs to be joined by the full band shortly thereafter, though the first set remaining entirely acoustic. The show was enjoyable though at times I wished people around me would have stayed a bit quieter, especially during songs like "One Sweet World" and "Typical Situation." It was actually my first time seeing the latter song. Now the only song that I want to hear that still eludes me is “Halloween” (which the band would end up playing the follow
ing evening; obviously I should have attended both nights).

The electric set brought a lot more energy. It was also a few songs longer and contained more extended jams. The band took a brief break towards the end of the main set. Stefan remained on onstage for a solo, and I wasn't sure if that mean that this was the encore break or not. While I was hoping his solo would lead into "All Along the Watchtower," as often happens with Stefan's late set solos, "Crush" ended up closing the show. Another brief break was followed by two more full songs.

Acoustic Set:
Little Red Bird
Rye Whiskey [Tex Ritter cover]
Stay or Leave
One Sweet World
Spaceman
Cornbread
Where Are You Going
So Damn Lucky
The Song That Jane Likes
Typical Situation
Electric Set:
Pig
Big Eyed Fish
Lie in Our Graves
Be Yourself
Dancing Nancies
Warehouse
Virginia in the Rain
Granny
Kill the Preacher [tease]
Why I Am
Captain
Lying in the Hands of God
Drive In, Drive Out
Crush
Encore:
The Best of What's Around
Ants Marching