When you think of politics in music, Dave Matthews Band probably isn’t the first act that comes to mind. Sure, the popular jam band has done more than its fair share of charity work, much of which has involved the group’s own BAMA Works Fund. And Dave himself has waded into liberal politics, most recently in support of former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. But before the release of the band’s latest album, Come Tomorrow, Matthews insisted that he wouldn’t get political on it.
Instead, the world got political around Dave, wittingly and otherwise. In August 2017, the city of Charlottesville, Virginia—from which DMB hails and which the band’s merchandise still proudly trumpets—became a flashpoint in American racial politics when violence erupted around a Unite The Right rally organized by white supremacists. This past May, the #MeToo Movement made its mark when Boyd Tinsley, DMB’s long-time violinist, was sued for alleged sexual misconduct and fired from the band.
That said, the Dave Matthews Band didn’t allow politics to interfere with the final show of its summer tour, at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. If anything, the group used its sweeping three-hour set to once again show the power of music to unite people of all races, colors, and creeds in artistic revelry.
The set was heavy on material from the new release from beginning to end. After opening with “One Sweet World,” Dave dove into Come Tomorrow with “That Girls Is You,” skipped to “Again and Again” and “When I’m Weary” a few tracks later, slipped in “She” as the penultimate track of the main set, and kicked off the encore with “Samurai Cop (Oh Joy Begin).”
That new material didn’t just blend well into the band’s repertoire, but also got special treatment for the occasion. Dave went back-to-back from the new album with “Here on Out” and “Come On Come On,” backed by an orchestral accompaniment whose setup required the usually straightforward Matthews to stall for time with his words. Along the way, Dave riffed on everything from why he’s not big on costume changes to why he and the band opted against expensive theatrics for the show.
The band busted out plenty of catalogue standards, from “One Sweet World” and “Don’t Drink the Water” to “Crash Into Me,” “What Would You Say,” “Jimi Thing,” “Everyday” and “Ants Marching.” 2009’s Big Whiskey & the GrooGrux King got lots of love, as well, with “Squirm,” “Shake Me Like a Monkey” and “Why I Am” earning featured spots on the bill.
It wouldn’t have been a bona fide Dave show without the usual assortment of covers—Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer,” Prince’s “Sexy M.F.” and a rendition of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” that included a stirring ode to Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven.”
Through every song old and new, original and covered, the diverse sellout crowd swayed and sang, wooed and cheered, shielded—however briefly—from the pressing issues of an unforgiving world by both the Bowl’s insular architecture and the sound bath that Dave sent washing over the audience from the stage.
The news cycle didn’t stop for this or any show on the Dave Matthews Band’s first summer tour since taking 2017 off. All anyone can hope is that the issues of the day won’t stop the group from starting a new streak in 2019—or, rather, that Dave will once again be there to break through the growing discord with his own joyful noise.
“When I’m Weary”
[Video: iSayCheezAJ]
“What Would You Say”
[Video: iSayCheezAJ]
“Jimi Thing” > “Sexy M.F.”
[Video: TJ Lauters]
“Everyday”
[Video: iSayCheezAJ]
Setlist: Dave Matthews Band | Hollywood Bowl | Los Angeles, CA | 9/10/2018
Set: One Sweet World, That Girl Is You, #41, Don’t Drink The Water, Again & Again, When I’m Weary (Dave & Mark Batson), Louisiana Bayou (w/ Mark Batson), Sledgehammer, Crash Into Me, What Would You Say, Here On Out (Dave w/ string section), Come On Come On (w/ string section), Squirm (w/ string section and additional horns), Jimi Thing (w/ additional horns) > Sexy M.F. (w/ additional horns), Shake Me Like A Monkey (w/ additional horns), Everyday, She, Ants Marching
Encore: Samurai Cop (Oh Joy Begin), Why I Am, All Along The Watchtower