Click here to see the photos. (There are more than normal in this set since it was my  first time photographing DMB)

Dave Matthews Band played the Hershey Stadium located at Hershey park in Hershey, PA on 07-09-2010. The opening band was Grammy the award winning Zac Brown Band.  Dave Matthew Band have played Hershey 13 times since 1996 (once every year except 1997 and 2007) and as always, they played yet another great show in the wonderful chocolate town.

It must be summertime, Dave Matthews Band is hitting every market once again on their never ending streak of touring. Well, scratch that….. The touring juggernauts are taking next year off from touring for the first time in 20 years. Most bands do not last 20 years let alone constantly tour for that long.  That is a feat that few bands can claim and certainly not to the intensity of their schedule at which they toured.

I have seen the Dave Matthews Band countless of times over the years and have seen them nearly every year since my first time I ever saw them on 10-07-1996 in University Park, PA.  From their initial rise in fame to their eventual plateau, through sunburned and rainy concerts, through good albums and bad, and unfortunately through the loss of a band member I have returned to their shows year after year.  It will be odd not seeing them next year and hope they return to touring even stronger as a band than they are now.

Dave Matthews Band have been busting out great setlists this tour knowing that their fans are going to want something good to last them for another year.  The setlist for the night was very solid but had an odd trend of playing songs off Dave Matthews’ solo album.  They ended up playing a total of four songs from “Some Devil” which made it the first time more songs have been played from Some Devil than from any other album at a full band show.

One of the more humorous “Dave Speak” of the night was when Dave Matthews talked about how scaring people is his favorite thing to do in the world and that he will stalk someone for hours to scare the sh*t out of them……  On the day of the show, a popular  Dave Matthews Band online forum was reporting where the band was staying and when they had arrived, etc.  I am not sure if the band members or their crew read the forums or if they had a bad experience that day, but it seemed to be poking fun at “stalkers” in general or at least politely sending a message to those that follow their whereabouts.

With a vast catalog of songs and their appetite to make setlists vary each night, it is remarkable that the Dave Matthews Band are not known to have a lot of flubs during the concerts. This is a testament to their great musicianship and their ability to gel as a group night after night.  However, when Dave Matthews performed Some Devil solo he accidentally hit a wrong note in the beginning that made everyone cringe. He made an awkward face, stopped the show and said, “Let’s see if I can recover from that.”.

Without a doubt, the two greatest highlights for me were the nine and a half minute version of Warehouse and the Recently > Corn Bread > Recently (reprise) sandwhich which lasted for over fifteen minutes.  Both songs were scorchers and were enough to keep me happy until the next time the band decides to tour again.

The setlist for the night was as follows:

Everyday
Pig
Stay Or Leave
Big Eyed Fish >
Say Goodbye
Grey Street
Gravedigger
Lying In the Hands of God
Still Water
Don’t Drink the Water
You & Me >
Water Into Wine (Tease)
Recently >
Corn Bread>
Recently (reprise)
Eh Hee
Warehouse
Stay (Wasting Time)
Ants Marching

Encore
Some Devil (Dave Matthews performed solo)
So Damn Lucky >
Shake Me Like a Monkey

Click here to see the photos.

Zac Brown Band played the Hershey Stadium located at Hershey park in Hershey, PA on 07-09-2010.  They were the opening band for Dave Matthews Band this night.

While I am not an avid country music listener (see previous post on Brooks And Dunn), the Zac Brown Band plays from a more versatile pallet band than just country music (including a cover of Rage Against The Machine).  Their first song of the set, Toes, reminded me of a Jimmy Buffet song with its bouncy steel drum rhythm and laid back vocals/lyrics:  “I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand. Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand.  Life is good today.”.

The second song was their rendition of Neon, a John Mayer song, which was co-written by the guitarist, Clay Cook, in the Zac Brown Band.  Clay Cook was one of John Mayer’s co-writers early on in his career.

The radio hits (Toes and Chicken Fried) for the band went over really well for the crowd but the cover of Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing In The Name” took them by surprise and bowled them over.  From the first note, I knew what the song was and was sure they would not cover the whole song and much to my surprise, they did.  The did a faithful cover of the iconic and intense song, even complete with the barrage of expletives at the end of the song.  This show was just five days after Phish covered the song (July 4th in Alpharetta, GA) so I was taken back by the sudden popularity to cover the song by bands that are far from the RATM genre.

The setlist for the night was as follows:

Toes
Neon (Isn’t She Lovely intro/outro)
It’s Not OK
Free
Settle Me Down
Who Knows
America the Beautiful »
Chicken Fried
Colder Weather
Killing in the Name

Click here to see the photos.

Brooks And Dunn played the Giant Center arena in Hershey Park, PA on 06-17-2010 as part of their last tour together as a band.  The name of the tour is appropriately named “The Last Rodeo Tour” and promises to please fans of old and new.  The venue was packed…. I am not sure if it was a sold out show, but it had to be close if it was not.  Newer country star Gary Allen opened the show and warmed up the crowd with his current hits.

I was happy I decided to do something a little different than my norm by going to a country music concert.  While country music is not my first, second, or even third choice for music genre… I recognize that some music I like (bluegrass for example) has been derived from country music and I always appreciate great musicianship regardless of the genre.

Brooks and Dunn had a huge stage set up with a big catwalk jutting into the floor seats, a large cattle steer atop their lighting rig, a large screen projecting the show in the dead center of the stage, and amazing lights…. In short, it was a great setup and production that accents their music well and made for a great show that they should be happy going into retirement with.

While they started off with a newer hit, “Play Something Country”, Brooks And Dunn were happy to oblige the older fan base by playing them some older material, “We said we’ve played Hershey so many times, let’s pull out some old stuff. Even if we don’t even know it, they’ll know it better than we do.”

After a solo Brooks song, Brooks brought out the Calder Cup and the members of the Hershey Bears hockey team.  “He started off saying that he had no idea what it (the trophy) was and that they don’t have ice to play hockey down in Tennessee, but  he heard it was a “big deal”.  The crowd was electric at the appearance at the sight of the cup and even louder when they wanted to show appreciation for the team.

Dunn had a sore throat that night, it did not impede him much but he did have to follow a bunch of the next scheduled shows in order to get better.

The setlist for the night was as follows:
Play Something Country
Can’t Take The Honkey Tonk
Mama Don’t Get Dressed Up for Nothing
Cowgirls Don’t Cry
She’s Not the Cheatin’ Kind
Put A Girl In It
I’ll Never Forgive My Heart
You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone
Ain’t Nothing Bout You

Last Rodeo – Sitting Down
Lost And Found – Sitting Down

That’s What She Gets For Loving Me – Sitting Down
Getting Better
Next Broken Heart
How Long Gone
That Ain’t No Way to Go
Red Dirt Road
Believe  – Sitting Down

Hard Working Man
Neon Moon
Rock My World
Only In America
My Maria

Brand New Man
Boot Scootin’ Boogie