My iPod does not have an "off" position

“You’ve never been to a concert unless you’ve seen one in the rain.” At least, that was what the 14-year concert-going veteran standing next to me at the Riverbend Music Center said as the Dave Matthews Band took the stage. At first, I wasn’t so sure I agreed - it was POURING and my jacket was soaked through. But as Dave and his band sang and played their way through what I’m pretty sure was the entire “Big Whiskey” album, I realized she was right. The warm rain seemed to match the blues/acoustic rock performance perfectly and it definitely didn’t cut down on the fun factor. Even when our feet started to stick in the mud, people were still jamming away.

It must have been fate that yesterday I was thinking about seeing musical talent in person, because this band has it in spades. Long sections of the performance were wordless jam sessions that displayed the skill of the musicians and had the crowd moving to the beat. One of the encore songs contained a nearly 5-minute long drum solo that was INCREDIBLE to see and, more than that, fun to watch. As the big screens focused on drummer Carter Beauford, you could see his huge grin and knew he was having a great time playing. I think that’s a key to any great performance - if the band looks like they’re having fun, the audience will too. And this audience was having a blast. People of all types turned out for this show - cowboys, hippies, frat boys, punks, even businessmen - and not one person I saw looked upset about the pelting rain. I think that’s because though the band’s members may not have lived all their lives in the United States, the music of the Dave Matthews Band is clasically American. It blends the blues-rock of the bayou with the fiddling sounds of country music and lyrics that just about everyone can relate to.

I left that show soaked to the bone but on a high from the great experience. If you get a chance to go to a Dave Matthews Band show, I highly recommend it. And if you can, see it in the rain.

With saxophones, the occasional banjo, Dave’s distinct voice and enunciation, and drumlines that are a mixture of rock, jazz, and marching beats, The Dave Matthews Band is like no other rock band in history. It’s the kind of music that you remember – the type you can pick out after hearing just a few bars. I believe DMB has already attained “classic” status and will be remembered as one of this era’s greatest groups, but that hasn’t stopped them from trying to outdo themselves.

The latest release from the veterans, “Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King”, has much to say. The band bid adieu to founding member and saxophonist LeRoi Moore when he passed away last August and they seem to have taken the sorrow and channeled it into making a record more epic than ever before. That is not to say that the tone of the album is sorrowful, as many of the songs have an upbeat tempo and vibe. A more appropriate description might be “contemplative”.

The album opens with a minute-long saxophone solo by Moore, which leads into the full-out rocking opening strains of “Shake Me Like a Monkey”. The wordless opening sounds much like the band is declaring “This one’s for you, LeRoi”.

The lyrics of “Funny the Way It Is”, the album’s initial single, are a comparison between happy and sad circumstances that seems to underscore the frailty of life, while “Dive In” examines the differences between the haves and the have-nots. My favorite lyrics come from the chorus of “Funny the Way It Is” -

Funny the way it is, if you think about it Somebody’s going hungry and someone else is eating out Funny the way it is, not right or wrong Somebody’s heart is broken and it becomes your favorite song

It wouldn’t be a rock album (or a Dave Matthews Band album, for that matter), without musings on the nature of love – and this album isn’t without those discussions. “Lying In the Hands of God”, “Spaceman”, and “You and Me” fit the bill. Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King’s catchy hooks, the obvious skill of the band’s members, and the lyrical commentary on life makes the album well worth a listen or three. If you haven’t experienced the music of the Dave Matthews Band before, there’s no time like the present to acquaint yourself.