It’s that time of year once again. The time of year when the Dave Matthews Band makes its annual stop at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in southern Wisconsin.

This year’s two night event started on Saturday evening. Rains leading up to the show in the surrounding areas somehow missed the parking lot, to the delight of the 40,000 plus fans tailgaiting prior to the show.

Once the band graced the stage just after 8:20 p.m., the crowd at Alpine went crazy. As Dave strummed the opening chords to “Dancing Nancies,” those in attendance knew they were in for a ride throughout the weekend.

The band started the show with four of the oldest songs in their catelouge, with “Seek Up,” “Proudest Monkey” and the fan favorite “Satellite” finishing up the start to the show.

Newer tunes like “Cornbread” and “Eh Hee” struck well with the fans, with many singing right with Dave to songs yet to be released on a studio album.

“Spoon,” a song that the band had not played since 2003 was played with Jeff Coffin, a fill-in for the injured saxophone player LeRoi Moore, soloing beautifully at the end of the tune.

Other hightlights from the first night of music included the funky jam “Anyone Seen The Bridge” seguing into the opening notes of “Too Much” and then right into the dark-rooted “Halloween.”

The jam between guest electric guartist Tim Reynolds, on his first tour with the entire Dave Matthews Band since 1998 and Coffin brought down the house on “Crush.”

The band also went through Pink Floyd’s “Money” with near perfection and also tore through the Talking Heads’ “Burning Down The House.”

The night seemed like it would never end with the band finally exiting the stage close to 11:45 p.m., a well over three-hour performance.

Night 2 – 8/10/08

Walking back over the hill at Alpine Valley for the second concert in as many nights is just remarkable. Alpine is unlike many other venues, in the fact that to get to the pavilion, one must walk down the hill at the start of the show and up the very steep hill on your way back to the car.

The show started off with yet another bang, as the band busted into “Warehouse,” only the second time during this year’s tour they have played the fan favorite.

Dave kept the audience with him during the first few songs until “Old Dirt Hill (Bring That Beat Back),” in which many people left their seats to use the facilities or grab another drink.

Before “Crash Into Me,” Dave told a story about how he was riding his bicycle out in the parking lots prior to the show, disguised as a police officer. He said he found many people had a little too much for drink, with some probably not making inside for the show. He dedicated the song to them.

A rousing rendition of the Peter Gabriel tune “Sledgehammer” was one of the highlights of the remainder of the set.

Dave also played a song he wrote away from the band, “Stay or Leave,” and dedicated it to him and his wife’s anniversary. Tim Reynolds added a little bit of background guitar and drummer Carter Beauford showed his lighter side and added a few impressive touches to the song.

The crowd was not ready for the night to end though, as shown by the last song of the night. A Sly & The Family Stone cover, “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” ended the show but the crowd literally kept singing it until security started to kick fans out of the venue, a good 35 minutes following the band leaving the stage.

“We’ve never seen anything like this before. The band’s been off the stage for over 30 minutes, and the audience is still here….singing their hearts out,” the band’s road crew said on the DMB Web site.

The song selection, the energy, the band and the weather were all perfect for the lovely weekend in southern Wisconsin.