DMB at Alpine

To me, what makes for a great concert has more to do with anticipation than any other factor. I’ve seen great concerts that are high on the spectacle (U2 and Aerosmith come to mind) and I’ve seen some great concerts with almost no spectacle (well, almost all the concerts I go to fit this category). A great opener is important, but it can’t carry the rest of the show. This is probably why opening acts with one or two hit songs will generally save those songs until the end of their set.

Back in 2003 I saw a DMB show in San Diego that just started off with some amazing performances and shocking resurrections of songs that hadn’t been heard in years. I was enthralled … and then … it just sort of … Well, I barely remember the second half of the show and as a result I remember that show not as a great concert but as the show where Spoon came back. That’s about it, which is a shame because the first hour or so was astonishing.

Contrast that with the two shows (DMB again) at Alpine a few weeks ago. These shows started strong, really strong … and then just kept getting better. It was uncanny.

Night one started with #41. And – really – after #41 you can forgive me for wondering if there was anywhere to go but down. The early part of the set featured strong performances of new songs like Louisiana Bayou and Dreamgirl, the stunning and chill-enducing American baby Intro segue into Say Goodbye and an all-out fun cover of Time of the Season. Just the first half of the first show was worth the trip, I had decided. And then we were treated later to Lover Lay Down, Bartender, a Rapunzel to close the set, and a Lie In Our Graves that was so good Josh told me, “If only Tony and Diana could have been here, how could they not get it after that song?” Add a sweet Best of What’s Around and powerful What You Are encore and I was concerned that there was no way Sunday’s show could measure up. Except that, by the end of Sunday, I could barely even remember what had seemed to make Saturday so great.

Everyday is a perfect opener at a place so big and full of crazy, hardcore fans. The first half of the set had a 2 old songs, 2 new songs pattern going. Things really took off with a roaring Dancing Nancies that, just like in the old days, went smoothly right into Warehouse. #34, which was not on the setlist but was thrown in for fun, broke the pattern and really turned a strong but not spectacular show into something breathless. Jimi Thing was great, as always. Then You Never Know, which was probably as good as any single performance of a song I have seen them play. Crush was beautiful. There was the oh so cruel tease of #40, only to be followed by a stirring Out of My Hands and What Would You Say, which pretty much everyone expected would close the set. But no. By this point, things felt tense. That sounds ridiculous but the crowd felt that way. What would they play next? They didn’t leave the stage yet! People were high fiving and smiling at strangers. And still they had so many options left – Ants Marching, Watchtower, Tripping Billies, Two Step. I know I wasn’t expecting it, though, when Dave stepped up and started (not just teasing) to play #40 again. An entire verse, a chorus, even some backing help from the band. I was stunned, speechless. Nothing else mattered for that song was so beautiful. Then they roared into Too Much and left the stage. Josh was dying to hear two Step close the show and his hope infected me and those around us, as well. That he got his wish made for the perfect way to finish. Walking out, all we could think of was how good Two Step was – it barely even registered how amazing the entire weekend had been.

This is what I loved about last year’s tour, as well. When a band is playhing really well and having a great time, you just can’t wait to know what will happen next – and when they are consistently better than you can believe, it’s really special. So it was in San Francisco last year (though I would argue the Everyday – Too much encore was a lost cause after what had come before). So it was at Alpine. All of which is to say, I really can’t wait for Red Rocks.