Dave Matthews Band Review

Remember when "special guests" only showed up at concerts in big cities like New York and L.A.?

Last night at PNC Arena when Dave Matthews Band rolled into town for the first time in three years, we were treated to a special guest - jazz legend Branford Marsalis.

Marsalis played hearty solos on "What Would You Say" and "#41" to the obvious glee and delight of the rest of the band, especially the horn section.  What you may not know is that Branford Marsalis, a Louisiana native, has chosen to call Durham home so it wasn't a long drive for him to PNC Arena.  He also teaches Jazz Studies at North Carolina Central University.  How'd you like to take that class?

The show was stellar, and the band was in terrific form for a set that lasted over three hours.  The Triangle clearly was ready for a DMB concert - after gracing the Walnut Creek stage every year until 2009, the band skipped us in 2010, took a year off from touring, and skipped us again this summer - so for a band that is constantly on the road, it seemed like an eternity.  But it was undoubtedly well worth the wait.

Foster
Radio 96.1

Setlist:

1. Eh Hee 
2. Broken Things 
3. Don't Drink the Water 
4. Proudest Monkey 
   (>>>)
5. Satellite 
6. Drive In, Drive Out 
7. Grey Street 
8. The Riff 
9. You & Me 
10. Belly Belly Nice 
11. Mercy 
12. If Only 
13. Seven 
14. What Would You Say 
    (with Branford Marsalis)
15. #41 
    (with Branford Marsalis)
16. Why I Am 
17. Drunken Soldier 
18. Jimi Thing 
19. Encore:
19. Christmas Song 
    (Dave, Carter, Tim)
20. Shake Me Like a Monkey 
    (>>>)
21. Ants Marching