Dave Matthews Band in Charlottesville

Watching Dave Matthews Band in Charlottesville. Check.

I never expected to see as many concerts when I came here in July last year. It's a small city and I had naively assumed that concerts happen only in the NYCs and the SFs of this country. The websites about Darden and the city kept talking about a thriving music scene but I wasn't sure how that translated to big name concerts. In the last sixteen months, though, I have been pleasantly surprised. 

Dave Matthews is huge here. It's home for him. This is where he started. People from around here have bullet points like 'Been to 47 Dave Matthews Band concerts' in their resume. No, I'm not kidding.

To me, the best concerts are the ones in which the artist doesn't just play studio versions of his songs. Concerts in which there is a lot of spontaneity and 'live versions' of songs. Concerts in which the singer lets the instrumentalists take the stage and go wild. And that's why, in terms of sheer quality of music, this Friday's show is right at the top.

The first surprise of the night was Joe Lawlor. I never expected a 5 minute guitar solo in a DMB concert. But that's exactly what he gave us. A scorching solo high on style and melody. JM, who was standing next to me said, 'That, right there is worth the 60 bucks'. I couldn't have agreed more.

The star of the show, undoubtedly, was Boyd Tinsley. He made the violin sing, he jumped around the stage, he got the crowd roaring in between his riffs and he did it all with a perpetual smile on his face. He was in a zone. 

Seven, Everyday, You & I, Spaceman - there were a few songs that I knew but it didn't matter if you could sing along or not. The saxophone, the trumpet, the violin, the bass guitar - for two hours they wowed us and  kept us swinging to the melodies.

Eagerly looking forward to the next DMB concert. I hope they come to Dallas! But for the time being, thank you Charlottesville.