Dave Matthews Band – not very rock ‘n roll are they? Maybe not, but their fans don’t mind, and there appears to be no shortage of them, as the O2 is as good as full. For an almost capacity crowd, things are a little staid – there’s a bit of arm waving, some energetic foot tapping and a lot of camera-phone picture-taking, but no dancing. Still, they seem to be having a good time, if the loud whooping and cheering between songs is anything to go by.
DMB themselves don’t go in for much headshaking, guitar smashing or even sweating, so you can’t blame the crowd for being a little restrained, even during the energetic ‘Shake Me Like a Monkey’. Ironically, the only song that gets the crowd obviously excited is DMB’s cover of ‘All Along the Watchtower’.
Newer material like ‘Lying in the Hands of God’ is greeted with enthusiasm; so are oldies such as ‘Crash Into Me’. ‘Gravedigger’ opens with some really impressive drumming, which brings us to the crux of DMB’s appeal – they may not be very rock ‘n roll, but boy, can they play. Many songs turn into long jam sessions, which due to the skill of the musicians are pretty darn incredible.
Your reviewer may prefer to leave a gig exhausted, sweaty and with beer-soaked hair. A stirring violin solo comes a close second. DMB may be a little AOR, but they do what they do with sublime skill.