Dave Matthews Band - Raleigh

Wednesday night saw the first of two North Carolina concerts by the Dave Matthews Band. So naturally, being a member of their Warehouse fan club, I bought tickets to both shows before the general public. Wednesday in Raleigh and Friday in Charlotte.

After work was over and immediately on the way to Raleigh, first it was a stop at the Carolina Brewery & Grill in Pittsboro for a delicious barbeque chicken pizza and pints of Flagship IPA. Satiated and quenched, it was back in the Jeep to the [insert corporate sponsor name here] Amphiteatre at Walnut Creek.

Logging in at just a hair under 2 and a half hours, this show just rocked my socks off. It was bittersweet in that their longtime saxophone/horn player LeRoi Moore had passed away in an ATV accident, and this was my first show with him gone. And, because his shoes were so large to fill, it took TWO additional horn players to fit the bill and, I wouldn't say "replace" him, but rather to take his spot on the stage. Tim Reynolds was along to play electric guitar (even Dave busted out the electric for the new song Why I Am!), and there was no Butch Taylor sighting as there were no keyboards tonight.


From the raucous Bartender to the closing Two Step to the long encore of All Along the Watchtower melding into the heavy portions of Stairway to Heaven, this show was spectacular.

The set list:

Wednesday Apr 22 2009
Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek

Bartender
#27
Why I Am
Anyone Seen The Bridge [segue into...]
Too Much (Fake) [segue into...]
Ants Marching
You Might Die Trying
Spaceman
Corn Bread
Raven
Dancing Nancies [segue into...]
Warehouse
Funny The Way It Is
So Damn Lucky
#41
Grey Street
Two Step

__________________

Blue Water
All Along The Watchtower

Sweet.