Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden, NJ
Tuesday, June 26th

 

        After taking a break from last summer, their first in two decades, the Dave Matthews Band rolled into Camden in full force. Kicking off their tour at the end of May and ending in September, DMB is making sure that anyone who felt that they missed out on last summer’s Dave Matthews Caravan in only four stops across the USA gets the chance to see them again this year.
        Opening up the show was Brandi Carlile, an American alternative country and folk rock singer-songwriter. She has released several albums and her opening 45-minute set consisted of songs off those albums and her most recent Bear Creek album released on June 1st.
        After a 45-minute break, Dave Matthews and the band hit the stage with thousands of lighters and cell phones in the air, and the smoke began to rise, as is common at DMB shows. They delivered a two-hour, 45-minute set of tunes that kept the audience on their feet and dancing all night long. They opened with "Every Day", "Eh Hee", and "Seek Up", giving us photo's a very long three-song 35-minute shoot. It always amazes me at a DMB show that when Dave strikes just the first chord of the next song on his guitar, how deafening the crowd noise gets; dedicated Philly fans I'm sure. As Matthews changes the set list every show, tonight’s was a widely mixed set as they went into "Seven", "Where Are You Going", "Minarets", "Pantala Naga Pampa", "Rapunzel", "The Space Between", "Stay or Leave", "Don't Drink The Water"  and "Mercy", which is expected to be on their upcoming album, set to be released this fall.
        Scattered though out the show were various solos and jams from all the band members, most notably for me drummer Carter Beauford (Joe Mama with a hell of a tan) as he is just one of the best drummers I've ever seen. Ask Joe Mama next time you see him. To close out their first set they played "Spaceman", "Cornbread", "Crush", "When the World Ends", "Typical Situation" and "Grey Street".
        After their much needed break, they returned to the stage and capped off the night with another new one from the upcoming album Gaucho and Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower".
        The DMB has played most venues in our area but if they come back in the fall in support of their new album, I would recommend anyone seeing these guys live. Plus at $70.00 a ticket compared to Roger Waters’ $258.00 seat, I'd say that’s a great price at today’s concert rates and for a nearly three-hour show, even better. Hey Kathy and Tom, will I see you guys at Citizens Bank Park for Roger Waters?
­­– Gary Crouthamel, Concert Photojournalist