For my birthday back in March, J bought us tickets to the Dave Matthews Band show, which finally arrived last Wednesday night. Always terrific to get a taste of live DMB on a summer's night, and this show had some great moments. One problem: we didnt' arrive until just after 8:30, when they were well into their fantastic song "Crush". Oh well, we thought, we could hear most of it on our approach and there was a full show to come. Then I looked at the setlist. We missed the first two songs of the set completely! And good ones, too: "Warehouse" and "Granny". No idea why they started so early.

Luckily the majority of the show, which we did see, was outstanding. It was closer to the stage than I've been at the other three DMB shows I've been to, and the crowd was right into it. The venue was great too, kind of an oversized Plaza of Nations, if you're familiar with Vancouver venues. "Jimi Thing" was a big highlight, one of my top 3 Dave Matthews Moments ever, that's for sure. Dave did a scat solo that was off the hook, and there was a crowd singalong as well. Other song highlights: "Where Are You Going," "Too Much," "Everyday/#36," and three new songs that sounded great.

There's just too many great Dave Matthews songs to truly satisfy any fan in one set, I believe, and compared to the show I saw at the Gorge last summer this was a tad on the ordinary side. Still, a terrific birthday gift and a fun summer show.