For Dave Matthews Band fans, summer means one thing – it’s time for the DMB Summer Tour! With the exception of the summer of 2017, Dave Matthews Band has toured the country all summer since their inception.
As you know if you follow my blog, my husband and I are big Dave Matthews Band fans. In a typical summer, we see at least a half dozen shows all across the country. This year we even traveled to Europe and saw nine DMB shows there. You can read all about our DMB European Tour here:
My DMB Europe Tour!
The BB&T Pavilion in Camden, NJ is our “home” venue, and Dave Matthews Band always plays a 2-night stand there. This year was no exception, with the 2 shows being on a Friday and Saturday night in mid-June.
Dave Matthews Band fans heading into the Friday night show.
My husband and I are also part of a group we call Tailgate Caravan, that puts on a big tailgate party before the N2 show. The party brings a couple hundred DMB fans together to “eat, drink and be merry”, all while raising money for charity.
Keep reading to find out how I kicked off my 2019 Dave Matthews Band Summer Tour and how we helped a group of fans #PartyWithAPurpose before the show!
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ABOUT THE BAND
Dave Matthews Band was formed in Charlottesville, VA in 1991. After gaining popularity with college students at UVA, the band became a household name in the mid to late nineties. They soon became one of the best known “jam bands” around, and their summer concert tour became a staple to DMB “family” around the country.
You can read more about the band in an article I did about the kick off to last summer’s tour here:
My DMB 2018 Summer Tour! Leg One – Bristow and Camden!
THE TAILGATE
For a lot of Dave Matthews Band fans, the concert experience is about more than just the music. It’s also about the friends that you see before, during and after the show. In the DMB community, fans even have a name – DMB Family. So, tailgating or gathering together before the show is always a big part of our DMB summer tour.
TAILGATE CARAVAN – THE BEGINNINGS
For as long as we have been going to DMB shows in Camden, we’ve been tailgating with our friends. Every year the tailgate would grow a little more, as more and more friends showed up.
In 2013, we found ourselves with quite a big group that came to tailgate with us. Some of the people in the group offered to give us some money to help pay for the food that we brought and made. At the end of the day, we realized we didn’t need all the money collected to cover our costs, so we decided to donate it to a local food bank. And that’s how Tailgate Caravan was born.
TAILGATE CARAVAN TODAY – #PARTYWITHAPURPOSE
Today, Tailgate Caravan has organically grown into a pretty big thing! We have our own website and social media. We throw 4 or 5 tailgates every summer at different venues. And, we raise thousands of dollars for charity every year.
The Camden N2 tailgate was the first of this summer tour. We had over 300 people attend. There was food, drinks, live music, raffles and even a selfie wall. We even had a reporter from the Philadelphia Inquirer come to cover the party.
A new addition to this year’s tailgate was the TGC selfie wall!
Kevin’s world famous fresh cut french fries are always a big hit at the tailgates!
But the most important thing is we raised thousands of dollars for our charities – the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Bucks County, PA and Feeding America. On top of that, I think the overall consensus of everyone that attended was that they had a great time!
THE SHOW
The Camden shows were the first Dave Matthews Band played after a couple week break. In addition, the Friday night show was broadcast live on the Dave Matthews Band channel on SiriusXM, as part of their Friday Night concert series. So, the band was on fire!
The crowd on both nights in Camden was high energy, as was the band!
CAMDEN N1 – JUNE 14TH
A lot of Dave Matthews Band fans like to call the opener. Personally, I expected that the band would kick off the show with “That Girl Is You”. It was a common opener during the Europe tour, and it’s one of the songs off their new album – Come Tomorrow.
I don’t think anyone expected the band to open with “Pig”. The song is rarely played in general, and “chased” by a lot of fans. For it to be the opener was a complete surprise to most.
The set also featured my husband’s personal favorite combo – “Big Eyed Fish” into “Bartender”, or “Fishtender” as he likes to call it.
Both the band and the crowd had a lot of energy. The set list was a more “high energy” set list with upbeat songs like “Stay (Wasting Time)”, “Grey Street”, and “Everyday”. The set also featured several songs you don’t hear a lot including “Recently” and “Digging A Ditch”.
Dave Matthews Band had great energy on N1!
Most interesting to me, was Dave Matthews Band didn’t play one cover during the show. The band has a stable of covers that they typically pull from – “Time of the Season”, “Sledgehammer”, or “Burnin’ Down the House” are a few that regularly make the set list. Even the perennial closer “Watchtower” is a cover (even though many fans consider it to be a Dave Matthews Band song at this point).
Dave Matthews and his band always put on a great show!
By the time the encore came, the crowd was full of anticipation. What would they play to cap off such a great night? Well, you don’t get much better than a “Two Step” into “Ants Marching”. Wow! What a show!
Set List (click on any link to purchase the song directly on Amazon): Pig, Do You Remember, Stay (Wasting Time), Big Eyed Fish, Bartender, So Much To Say, Anyone Seen The Bridge, Too Much, Dancing Nancies, Samurai Cop (Oh Joy Begin), Grey Street, Here On Out, Don’t Drink The Water, Recently, Everyday, She, Digging A Ditch, Funny The Way It Is, Pantala Naga Pampa, Rapunzel Encore: Two Step, Ants Marching
CAMDEN N2 – JUNE 15TH
So, the big question was – “How in the world can N2 top N1?” The other big question was – “Why is Dave wearing a plaid shirt?” (Dave Matthews Band fans will understand).
Dave was wearing a plaid shirt on N2, which was a departure from his standard plain black or gray.
The show started off in the best way possible for me. I got a “Granny” opener, which is one of my top 3 Dave Matthews Band songs.
It was going to be hard to top N1. Could they do it on N2?
The show also featured some fan favorites that don’t get played very often, including “The Stone” and “Sugar Will”. In fact, “Sugar Will” is so rare that I’m pretty sure the majority of people sitting around me – even people appeared to be pretty big fans – weren’t sure what it was.
The highlight of the show for me and many others was when Dave brought Philly native Amos Lee on stage to join in on the vocals for “The Maker”. It’s a beautiful song on its own, and Lee’s vocals added another level to it on stage.
The N2 show wrapped up with “Jimi Thing” into a “Fly Like An Eagle” outro and then “Shake Me Like A Monkey”. Based on the set lists from N1 and N2, I was hoping for an exceptional encore on N2 – maybe a “Halloween”. Instead we got “Tripping Billies” and “All Along The Watchtower”. While both are high energy songs and a great way to end a show, “Watchtower” is way overplayed as an encore in my opinion.
The boys always give it their all every show. I can’t wait for Riverbend in a couple weeks!
Set List (click on any link to purchase the song directly on Amazon): Granny, Satellite, Louisiana Bayou, #27, The Stone, Crush, That Girl Is You, What Would You Say, Again and Again, Sugar Will, Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel cover), The Maker (Daniel Lanois cover with Amos Lee), Why I Am, Can’t Stop, You & Me, Jimi Thing, Fly Like An Eagle (Steve Miller Band cover), Shake Me Like a Monkey Encore: Tripping Billies, All Along The Watchtower (Bob Dylan cover)
So, that’s a wrap until my next Dave Matthews Band shows in July. I’ll be at Riverbend, SPAC, Jones Beach and Bristow. We’ll also be doing more Tailgate Caravan events at all 4 venues. See you on the road!
Click here to see where Dave Matthews Band will be this summer.
Are you a fan of Dave Matthews Band? Hitting any shows this summer? Let us know where you will be. Please comment below or e-mail me at tips2livebywriter@gmail.com.
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