Dave Matthews Band Week

Alright...I was originally planning for this week to be a Dave Matthews Band special week, due to the fact that they played a Live concert on Fuse on Monday, their new album was released Tuesday, they played Jimmy Fallon tonight, and on Friday their playing the Today Show before starting their tour Friday and Saturday night down the road in Hartford. HOWEVER...due to my new place not being hooked up with internet yet, and ongoing birthday festivities (i.e. - drinking, eating, drinking), things just weren't looking good. So let's take a look at the checklist:

DAVE MATTHEWS BAND WEEK CHECKLIST

1. Watch the live concert on Fuse - FAILED

I did not get to see the live concert on Fuse on Monday due to not having cable at my house until this morning, but it is available on Hulu and I will get there eventually. If you would like to watch the 3 hour show...here it is.

2. Buy the new album - FAILED

One, I'm saving money for Bonnaroo next week (!) so I gotta micro manage my money here. Gas is expensive AGAIN (wtf Obama?!).

3. Watch Dave on Jimmy Fallon - COMPLETED

Alrighty then...I CAN talk about this one. I wasn't happy that I had to sit through some of Jimmy Fallon's show to get this far. I find him to be a wanna-be Adam Sandler who created one of the worst movies of all time (see: "Fever Pitch") and who is totally un-deserving of a late night show...what have you done lately? Anyway...after his laughless monologue (thank God the master, Conan, is back!) , a decent interview with Kenny "Fucking" Powers (Danny McBride), and some interview with a NatGeo show host (they both hung from the ceiling, which was innovative, but not good for TV)...Dave Matthews finally took the stage with the NEW (see below) band.

SIDENOTE: For those of you who don't know...long time woodwind/brass player for Dave Matthews Band, LeRoi Moore, died last August following a tragic ATV accident. LeRoi was one of the founding members of the band who wrote and arranged a lot of the songs with Dave. He was a brilliant mind who arranged some of the coolest saxophone parts I've heard in modern music. Despite this talented musician tragically dying at age 46...this years Grammy Awards left him out of the montage of musicians lost in the last year. They claimed there wasn't enough time for everyone. Well that's just Hollywood jargin for saying he wasn't important enough...which is total bullshit...and that's all I have to say about that. Since his passing, Dave has hired along a brass player and another saxophonist to help fill the void. It takes 2 men to fill the void left by LeRoi...R.I.P buddy...you're already missed.

DMB played two songs off of their brand new album, "Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King". The band took the stage with all the normal members of the band...PLUS the man...Timmy Reynolds (who will be touring with them all summer). The first song that they played was their first single of the album entitled, "Funny the Way It Is". I had heard this song on the radio before and honestly I'm not too impressed, but I've never been wowed by their first singles off previous albums ("I Did It", "American Baby", "Where Are You Going"...all not the best songs on their respective albums). Therefore I am passing on this song...I've heard it 4 or 5 times and it's not growing on me at all.

The second song they played (which is cool that Jimmy allowed that, but obviously its one of his favorite bands) was "Why I Am". I was impressed with this song. I find it to be a fusion of old DMB with new DMB. It mixes the jammy composition and instrumental solos of old Dave, with some new elements...particularly the electric guitar of Tim Reynolds. Tim is a fantastic guitarist and it's amazing how just his slight guitar fills in the background make Dave's music sound different...even a little bit harder. The song has a catchy chorus as well, and the weirdos dancing on the balcony in the background seemed like they enjoyed it...which means it has fan appeal as well.

All in all I'd say it was a pretty decent performance, but then again Dave usually doesn't let ya down when he's live. He's always been a great frontman and his band is as good as ever (especially Carter Beauford...still one of the best live drummers I've ever seen). I will definitely listen to the album now because of their performance of "Why I Am". However, I hope it doesn't dissappoint me like 2005's "Stand Up". I won't say that Dave is a sell-out by any means...I just enjoy his early works a lot better. Now check out this sweet photo of him with Julia Roberts which I found quite amusing yet uncomfortable...for both of them...

Moving on...

4. Watch Dave Matthews Band on the Today Show on 6/5 TBD

Not too excited for this one...they'll probably play the same set they did on Jimmy Fallon, but I'll DVR it for the hell of it.

5. See Dave Matthews Band play in Hartford on 6/5 and 6/6 - FAILED

Not gonna happen...he played the first weekend in June last year too and it pissed me off. As long as I'm goin to Roo...no way I can go see him unless he's playing later in the summer. Maybe next year. Have fun Kyle...apparently when he played at Fenway he played 7 songs off the new album the first night and 6 songs the second night. Let me know how it goes.