Why So Blu?

Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds – Las Vegas

Ahhh Vegas.  They really know how to throw a party out there.  Call it the entertainment capital of the world, the grown-ups’ playground, call it what you may, there’s no denying that those casinos know how to bring in an audience and have them leaving happy.  The folks at the Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino are no stranger to this, as this past week the famed establishment hosted the likes of none other than Dave Matthews and his guitarist-extraordinaire friend, Tim Reynolds.  The six-string dynamic duo performed three rousing acoustic shows at Planet Hollywood’s Theatre for the Performing Arts last week. 

I think it’s safe to say most of the readers out there know who Dave Matthews is.  But some may be curious as to who this Tim Reynolds fellow is.  Tim is a long-time friend of Dave Matthews and one of the most prodigious and modest guitarists around.  He doesn’t sing.  He doesn’t do a funky little dance.  He just plays his heart out with unparalleled creativity.  These two gentlemen are their own little touring powerhouse when they hit the road.

Taking place on December 10^th, 11^th and 12^th, Dave and Tim (fans are pretty much on a first-name basis with these guys) played to a packed house each night, somewhere in the realm of 7,000 giddy and exuberant fans.  For those not familiar with a Dave Matthews/Tim Reynolds acoustic show, the first thing to take note of is that this is not to be confused with Dave Matthews Band.  Yup, same Dave, but minus the band.  You’ll just find Dave, Tim, a couple guitars and maybe the occasional piano making their home on stage in this more subdued style of performance.  Dave will periodically chime in with a story or two in between tunes, reminiscent of the VH1 Storytellers format, which is always a bonus for fans as he may explain how a song came to be or just share an unrelated life experience.  Though he’s sometimes overly apologetic to the audience for his ramblings, it’s safe to say the crowd eats this stuff up.

Onto the shows!

December 10

The first realization of the evening was that these shows would be some of the first to feature acoustic versions of tunes from this year’s Dave Matthews Band album, Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King.  Now depending on who you talk to, quite a few fans in attendance said the Thursday night show was the best of the three.  I thought it ran a close second, but hey, they all rocked it out.  It certainly featured some firsts, such as the inaugural concert performance of Little Red Bird, a tune off of the four-song cd of the same title that was included in the deluxe version of the Big Whiskey album.  Preceding the song was Dave’s explanation on how he achieved the inspiration for this ballad.  There is a beauty to the evening as Dave Matthews’ delivery, though sometimes a verbal fumbling, captures the audience’s attention as 7,000 people sit starry-eyed, digesting his musically informative and occasionally humorous discussions. 

But before Little Red Bird flew into the evening’s setlist, the show started off with a favorite off the Some Devil album, So Damn Lucky.  The two then made their way to the begging lyrics of Stay or Leave, which was followed up by a very much anticipated Funny the Way It Is in all its acoustic glory…and it sounded brilliant.  The evening progressed with an undeniable flow of other tunes that seemed to reach the fans’ ears with technical perfection.  If either one of those guys made an error on stage, it certainly escaped my audible grasp. 

There was a very unique highlight of the evening which was courtesy of none other that Santa and Mrs. Claus.  Dave broke into an impromptu a capella rendition of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.  Though he admittedly had difficulty with the middle of the song, it was an absolutely beautiful thing that can only be found in a show like this.  Before you knew, the audience chimed in while Santa and his Mrs. gingerly waved to the crowd around them.  If the Christmas spirit in the venue for that brief moment, then I don’t know what you would call it. 

Closing out the main setlist was a favorite from the mid-90’s; Dancing Nancies, a tune which Mr. Matthews seemed to lose sight of early on as he wrestled with the lyrics.  Whether he was purposely delaying the start of his singing (whilst the guitars played on) or he just couldn’t remember the words, it was somewhat awkward while we waited with baited breath for the lyrics to commence.  He made his recovery and closed out the song to a standing ovation.  The evening eventually came to a close with Time Bomb and a rendition of Two Step that, while toe-tapping and positively upbeat, just didn’t measure up to the energy of its Radio City counterpart.  Still, if those are my biggest negatives of the night, well, then that’s still just one damn good night of music. 

12/10/09 Setlist:

1. So Damn Lucky
2. Stay or Leave
3. Funny the Way It Is
4. Lying in the Hands of God
5. Bartender
6. Old Dirt Hill
7. Crush
8. Shake Me Like a Monkey
9. ~Tim Reynolds solo~
10. Little Red Bird
11. Alligator Pie
12. Eh Hee
13. Can’t Find My Way Home (Blind Faith cover)
14. Spaceman
15. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
16. Oh
17. The Maker (Daniel Lanois cover)
18. ~Tim Reynolds solo~
19. #41
20. Grave Digger
21. Dancing Nancies

Encore:

1. Time Bomb
2. Two Step

December 11

With one show in the books, it was on to night two.  How would the sequel fair?  Dave and  Tim opened with the haunting, mid-paced and increasingly rare song, The Stone.  Overall, it was a more toned down event than its predecessor, but did feature some impressive highlights such as the highly sexual and wickedly rhythmic Cornbread in addition to Dave taking the helm on piano while covering Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush.  The rarely played #27 and I’ll Back You Up were also welcomed additions to Friday’s list of tunes. 

Love him or hate him, you have to recognize Dave Matthews for his song writing ability.  The lyrics’ flow and ambiance to I’ll Back You Up run deep with affectionate overtones that struck a chord with many an audience member.  Perhaps this song was the catalyst for a fan’s marriage proposal during the evening’s performance.  Dave caught wind of the action and after one of his tunes asked the couple, “Did everybody say yes?”  Indeed they did.  Wow.  I come for a concert and get a marriage proposal (well, not me literally).  Unfortunately, Dave’s inquiry to the acceptance was one of the few things he said that night.  Friday’s show just involved a whole lot less discussion time from Mr. Matthews and that was a bit disappointing to be honest.  Sure, we all came for a concert first and talk second, but hearing more from the singer/song writer/actor was expected.  He did mention feeling a bit ‘throaty’ that evening so perhaps he was preserving his voice for the remainder of the performance. 

The night’s festivities concluded with with an impressive and unexpected four-song encore which contained everybody’s favorite DMB ballad, Crash Into Me, along with society’s anthem, Ants Marching.  The fans begged for more and for a second I thought we were going to get yet another encore (a first to be sure!).  Unfortunately, it just became a case of the venue lights being a bit delayed in their illuminating revival of the theater’s landscape.  Ah well, a fan can dream.  Of the three nights, I rank this evening the lowest.  Maybe it was the overly-conversed people around me or maybe it was a partially tepid setlist.  Either way, this show needed a bit more punch to it.  

12/11/09 Setlist:

1. The Stone
2. Squirm
3. Don’t Drink the Water
4. Angel From Montgomery (John Prine cover)
5. Funny the Way It Is
6. Where Are You Going
7. Shake Me Like a Monkey
8. #27
9. Little Thing
10. ~Tim Reynolds solo~
11. After the Gold Rush (Neil Young cover)
12. Jimi Thing
13. Lover Lay Down
14. Smooth Rider
15. ~Tim Reynolds solo~
16. I’ll Back You Up
17. You & Me
18. Satellite
19. Cornbread
20. Save Me

Encore:

1. Rye Whiskey
2. Down by the River (Neil Young cover)
3. Crash Into Me
4. Ants Marching

December 12

A bittersweet night, Saturday the 12^th was the last of the three shows, but something in the air told me these guys weren’t going out quietly.  No, it wasn’t the sulfuric smell reminiscent of a Savannah paper mill or the gaseous afflictions of a person (as Dave mentioned).  Something just said they were going to go 80 in a 25 zone.  Before we could get there, we hit a speed bump before we got out of the gate.  Sober fans grew somewhat impatient as we were approaching 9pm with no performers yet.  With an 8:30 scheduled start time, some began to wonder if Dave’s throatiness from the night before took its toll on his vocal chords.  In the end though, it was a case of ‘have no fear.’  The Matthews-Reynolds team made their casual but cheer-inducing entrance and the show began. 

Starting off with the primal and sometimes angry Eh Hee, the guys followed it up with what this time was to be a flawless Dancing Nancies.  Old favorites such as Loving Wings also dotted the evening with yet another marriage proposal taking place; this time a mere four rows behind me.  In between songs, Dave dedicated the next piece to his very good friend Eileen who requested the tune.  Wondering what it could be, I don’t think anyone expected Christmas Song to be just that tune, but that it was.  A gorgeous song about the true meaning of our most celebrated holiday, Christmas Song tells the tale of Mary and Joseph, their miracle-working son and his ultimate passing.  It was a special treat for all of us as this is one song that tops the rarity list. 

One of the biggest landmarks of the evening had to be Tim’s second solo of the night; an adrenalizing acoustic rendition of Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir from start to finish.  The crowd was on a musical high and stood for this entire piece.  We all just watched and listened in awe and Tim Reynolds virtually knocked our socks off with his jaw-dropping ability in manning the guitar.  This one is going to be talked about for a while.  Well done, sir.

Dave and Tim offered their thanks some five songs later before returning with the inevitable encore.  It was the second night in a row of a four-song closing effort that no one wanted to end.  Unfortunately, the show’s conclusion was unavoidable and it was just an awesome experience had by all…except for the guy in the next row over who wanted to knock out the guy in front of him for not knowing how to dance properly.  Cool!  That’s something worth going to jail over. 

Anyway, testosterone overdose aside, the night for me was the most memorable of the three evenings.  From Dave’s stories of incessant vomiting and pirates clad in shiny red pants, to Tim Reynolds’ cover of Kashmir, to the impressively varied music that night, December 12^th‘s performance was something I can walk away from saying, “I could have paid double and still got my money’s worth.”  Okay Ticketmaster, don’t go getting any ideas from that comment. It’s just a figure of speech. 

You can expect a CD release of the weekend, but there are no details at this time if it will be a best of the three shows, all three shows in their entirety or just a best night of the three.  No official word has been released on a concert Blu-ray yet, but with multiple cameras there, I wouldn’t think they were just filming for fun.

As for the Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino, please do yourself a favor and check out this stylish and happening locale.  The concerts couldn’t have fallen into a more hip environment, surrounded by the Miracle Mile Shops and one very chic, trendsetting casino. 

12/12/09 Setlist:

1. Eh Hee
2. Dancing Nancies
3. Squirm
4. Grace is Gone
5. Alligator Pie
6. One Sweet World
7. Loving Wings
8. Grey Street
9. ~Tim Reynolds solo~
10. Oh
11. Christmas Song
12. Funny the Way It Is
13. Stay or Leave
14. Shake Me Like a Monkey
15. Lying in the Hands of God
16. Bartender
17. ~Tim Reynolds solo (Kashmir)~
18. So Damn Lucky
19. Little Red Bird
20. Save Me
21. You & Me
22. Crush

Encore:

1. Some Devil
2. Typical Situation
3. Sister
4. Two Step

 

For more information on the Dave Matthews, Tim Reynolds or the Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino, please visit the following links…

 

The Official Dave Matthews Band website:

http://www.davematthewsband.com/

 

The Warehouse, the Official DMB fan club:

http://warehouse.davematthewsband.com/

 

The Official Tim Reynolds website:

http://www.timreynolds.com/

 

Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino:

http://www.planethollywoodresort.com/

 

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