REVIEW: Dave Matthews Band at John Paul Jones Arena

A perennial highlight of watching and listening to the Dave Matthews Band in concert is witnessing the joy the band oozes while performing.

      Even with the subtle sadness of missing member LeRoi Moore, who died from complications after an ATV accident last summer, this is a band that relishes playing live - illustrated by the silly grins and goofy faces among band members all night.

      That DMB is one of the tightest live outfits out there is testament not only to the awesome musicianship of drummer Carter Beauford, fiddler Boyd Tinsley and bassist Stefan Lessard, but also the quietly powerful presence of Matthews himself.

      Tonight at the first of two nights in their hometown of Charlottesville, the band, accompanied by Jeff Coffin and Rashawn Ross on brass and ace guitarist Tim Reynolds adding some electric boogaloo to its rootsy sound, pounded through a stellar set of more than two and a half hours. 

      Some seats still available for Saturday night’s performance, with Old Crow Medicine Show opening,  at http://www.johnpauljonesarena.com or the venue box office. 

      The opening “Rapunzel” with its staccato rhythm breaks, immediately had the nearly sold out crowd of 12,000-plus hooting and squealing in Matthews-driven ecstasy, even as a lone spotlight hovered near the area where Moore would usually perform.

      Tonight’s date was only the third of a lengthy tour that will see the band playing sheds throughout the summer. But the sultry groove during “When the World Ends” and the needling snare drum that punctuated “Ants Marching” sounded as taut and practiced as an outfit that has been on tour for months.

      As big of road hogs as DMB is, though, the now-officially-a-quartet has been holed up in studios recently, putting the final spit and polish on its next album, “Big Whiskey & the Groogrux King,”  the title an inter-band tribute to Moore.

      DMB performed several tunes from that upcoming June release, including the potent first single, “Funny the Way It Is,”  ]which features a killer bridge, and, last night, some nimble fiddle sawing from Tinsley.

      Matthews, casual as usual in jeans and a button-down shirt, remarked about Moore before playing the song, “Our very good friend could not be with us tonight, [but] he was very happy with the progress of the album as he left it,” and then, afterward, “It’s nice to be home.”

      The band has always excelled in its choices of cover tunes - last summer’s outing featured an exceptional version of Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” - and for now, it appears The Talking Heads’ “Burning Down the House” is the tribute du tour.

      Meatier than the original, DMB’s take on the ’80s classic is a perfect selection for Beauford’s nuanced percussion and Matthews’ growling vocals.

      Another highlight came when the new “Spaceman,” a mostly unmemorable song except for Matthew’s emotive wail of the line, “I love the way you move me,” morphed into a frenzied jam.

      As Matthews flailed around the stage in what almost resembled a hoe-down, banjo player Danny Barnes slammed out a solo that had even the most rhythmically disinclined stomping along.

      Encoring with a typically fierce rendition of “All Along the Watchtower,” filled with Reynolds’ screaming licks, DMB once again distinguished itself as the premiere live band currently working. 

Contact Melissa Ruggieri at (804) 649-6120 or . 