Dave Matthews – ‘Live at Folsom Field, Boulder Colorado’
November 14, 2002
Another year, another live Dave Matthews Band album.
Their latest offering, “Live at Folsom Field, Boulder Colorado,” is a far cry from a good DMB show. The show, recorded on July 7, 2001, has a lack of jamming – something that sets DMB apart from other bands out there. With all but one song clocking in at under 10 minutes, you get an idea how little jamming was going on here.
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The first set opens with one of the worst DMB songs ever, “Don’t Drink the Water.” Why the band thought this overplayed radio hit would make a good show opener we may never know.
“So Right,” “What you Are” and two of the band’s mega hits, “Everyday” and “I Did It” comprise almost half of the first set, but all four songs fail to deliver the upbeat DMB live style.
Undoubtedly, the highlight of the first set is a performance of “Bartender,” a tune off the band’s latest, and possibly their best, album “Busted Stuff.” The second set is full of radio singles. Both “The Space Between” and the song that made them who they are, “What Would You Say” clocked in at less than 5 minutes. Where’s the fun in that?
For the encore, the band played two fan favorites, “Two Step” and “Ants Marching,” however, the band should have gone out on a high note and ended with the excellent version of “Two Step.”
While all band members seem to be in their prime for this show, especially drummer Carter Beauford with his tight, precision drumming. The problem with the show is that the band did a couple of things wrong.
First, they tried to cram as many songs into the show as they could. Second, it seemed like they just wanted to fit in as many radio hits as they could. In the end, almost half of the show has been heard in some form on the radio already.