The Daily Collegian

Issue date: 4/23/07 Section: Arts & Living

Media Credit: Christian Gomez/Collegian

Media Credit: Christian Gomez/Collegian

Although he's never been known as the shy type while on stage, Dave Matthews took extra advantage of the intimate setting Saturday night at the University of Massachusetts Amherst's Mullins Center to share his thoughts on a variety of topics with the crowd.

Matthews and guest, Tim Reynolds, played a mostly acoustic 26-song set to a packed Mullins. The entire venue was open despite the original belief that it was going to be split down the middle - similar to when it hosts theater performances. The show was an opportunity for fans to witness the wide array of talents both Matthews and Reynolds possess.

Recurring themes of Matthews' between-song stories included "dazzling" the crowd with guitar changes, his train ride from Boston and more somber topics such as the War in Iraq.

The pair touched on just about every studio album Matthews and his full-time band, Dave Matthews Band, has released while also featuring tracks from his 2003 solo release, "Some Devil."

They took the stage shortly after 8 p.m. as most of the crowd was still filing in and, with Matthews seated and Reynolds standing to his right, played "Bartender" as the opener. That came as little shock because the song was the opener in 12 of 14 shows they played on tour last month in Europe.

Before getting into his first story, Matthews promptly thanked the crowd for coming out, which is per usual at his shows. Then Matthews informed the crowd that he'd eaten Indian or Thai food for dinner, he couldn't remember which it was, and warned he'd probably burp throughout the concert.

He then played two songs back-to-back, "Dodo" and "Stay or Leave," from "Some Devil." The former is the disc's lead track while the latter is a fan-favorite and the crowd acknowledged it with loud cheers as Matthews played the opening chords.

Love is the theme of many DMB recordings with one of the most popular being Saturday's fourth song, "Crush." It was also the first time in the evening that Reynolds displayed his superb guitar playing. The end of "Crush" is usually a full-band jam, but Reynolds filled the space nicely with a solo using a guitar slide on his left hand to distort the guitar's sound by making it whine.

With the most audible shouting coming from the men in the stands ("We love you Dave," was a favorite), Matthews launched into his feelings on the "man voice." He said the "fellas" in attendance were just expressing their emotions and told the crowd, "Don't be mad at the fellas," which was met with roaring laughter.

He then explained the next song, "Old Dirt Hill (Bring Beat Back)" -the only song played off DMB's latest album, 2005's "Stand Up" - was about growing up and having to act older.

After playing a nice rendition of "Grace is Gone," the steady stream of "Some Devil" tracks continued with "So Damn Lucky" and "Gravedigger."

Being an interesting character anyway, Matthews was in rare form Saturday, explaining he wasn't himself because he had a fever, though he admittedly hadn't officially taken his temperature yet.

"I have a temperature, don't judge me," he said to widespread laughter just before "So Damn Lucky."

But the concert turned on a serious note before "Gravedigger" when Matthews shared something that was bothering him. It was a story about a wounded soldier in Iraq who was discharged from the military without a pension because it was discovered he had depression problems. Matthews then became visibly angry when some audience members began shouting during the somber story.

Matthews' mood seemed to change after the story, as he kept going back to it, but it was hard to tell if it was for the worse because he and Reynolds continued the stellar performance for another two hours.

Overall the set was very similar to the Friday night's affair in Boston, but one song did make a surprise appearance in Amherst. "The Stone" was only played one time during DMB's 2006 Summer Tour and, sensing the rarity of hearing it, the crowd erupted when Matthews and Reynolds began playing.

The next few songs included two from his solo release, "Lie in Our Graves" from DMB's most popular album, "Crash," and the unreleased "Sister." Matthews has said at previous shows that "Sister" is about his own sibling, Jane, because she helped him get over writer's block by telling him to just write some lyrics.

It's not the only song dedicated to Matthews' sister. DMB also has one track titled, "The Song that Jane Likes," simply because Jane likes the song.

Matthews then left the stage, giving way to an amazing Reynolds guitar solo entitled, "Stream." The crowd stood and cheered as Reynolds played for nearly 10 minutes with little time to breath. The noise was compounded when he broke in an interpolation of Led Zeppelin's classic, "Kashmir." At the end, Reynolds got down on both knees and bowed to deafening applause from the crowd.

Numerous times throughout the show, Matthews expressed the fact he was honored to share the stage with his good friend. Reynolds and Matthews have known each other since DMB's inception in the early '90s. Since the two haven't toured together since 1999, it was believed there was a falling out of sorts, but the recent Europe tour and this mini U.S. tour have effectively disbanded that notion.

After "Cornbread," the next two songs were met with tremendous approval from the audience and the discussions between featured funny ramblings courtesy of Matthews. Before playing Neil Young's "Down by the River," Matthews said he liked the song because it was "weird."

"It's a gangster song, but it's not, but it is," he said - the song is about a man who shoots his lover.

He then continued his recent trend of playing some cover songs mixed in with his own - seven covers were played by DMB during a two-night stop in Las Vegas in late March - with his version of "The Maker." Matthews described it as a "quiet song" and a "hymn."

The energy brought on by Reynolds' solo returned for the show's stretch run as the crowd really got into old favorites "Jimi Thing," "Don't Drink the Water," "#41" and "Dancing Nancies."

Again Matthews had the crowd in stitches with a story just before "Don't Drink the Water." He shared his views on farting in such public places as the gym. Matthews said it infuriated him when people farted during the rare occasions he works out. He then described his bulldog's flatulence as sounding like "a pack of lions."

Seeing as though "Don't Drink the Water" is a serious song about the taking over of Native American lands by the United States in the 19th century, Matthews said he needed to pause after telling the funny fart story. That proved easier said than done as someone across the arena informed the more than 8,000 in attendance that he just farted.

"If I can smell that all the way down here I will have nothing but admiration for you," Matthews joked.

After leaving the stage briefly, just Matthews returned for the start of the encore. Then for the only time all night he picked up an electric guitar and played a short quiet jam before performing the title track from "Some Devil."

Reynolds returned for "Little Thing," "Where Are You Going" and another old favorite, "Two Step."

The Mullins Center concourse was buzzing after the show with many people expressing nothing but amazement of the show's quality. For those who witnessed a Dave and Tim show for the first time Saturday night, it was definitely something they want to experience again in the future.

Jon Pelland can be reached at jpelland@student.umass.edu.

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