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Words by: Jake Schindel | Images by: Rod Snyder
Dave Matthews Band :: 06.27.08 :: Hershey Park Stadium :: Hershey, PA
 Dave Matthews :: 06.27 :: Hershey Park |
The problem with Hershey Park is that it's just not a great venue. The seating is almost never desirable and the sound is bad. The worst thing about Hershey for this writer is that in all my years of going the concert has never been on a weekend. I'm not sure if this was the overall scheme of things or just coincidence. However, the world was set right as the Dave Matthews Band played on a Friday night, the gateway to the weekend.
The Black Crowes came out first and played a mediocre set of mostly new tracks. There was the obligatory "Remedy" but the rest of their set was for the most part uneventful. This only added to the already mounting tension of whether or not this show would be like all the other Hershey gigs in my past. My impression was the Crowes were not as "Hershey Park Happy" as the crowd was.
Dave Matthews opened with "Old Dirt Hill." Since its release it hasn't really changed a whole lot but the mellow nature of the song and the lyrics can only be described as "aw that's nice." "Everyday" was helped by Tim Reynolds' guitar as the crowd sang along. What would become apparent later was that the star of the show, according to face time on the big screens, was Reynolds' guitar, especially on "Rhyme and Reason." At times it was even a Flying V, which looked somewhat foreign at a Dave Matthews concert.
"You Might Die Trying" has really been cranked up this tour, again thanks to Reynolds. The band seemed to want to test their rocks on this one. One of the newer songs, "Eh Hee," proved to be as good live as the Peter Gabriel-esque video suggests it might. "Grey Street" has been on the upswing, too. At 16 minutes, "Bartender" was a definite temptress, filled with the bag pipe-like sounds of the long intro and the raring anger towards wars fought by young men overseas.
Matthews got into his faux country mood with "Corn Bread." This song has had little variation so far this season but this night they got into it. One of the highlights of the tour so far has been "Out Of My Hands." Mathews has been playing the piano on this track and it has stayed soulful. The band has been playing more older classics rather than the newer less-appreciated songs, including "Dancing Nancies," "Typical Situation," "Crash" and "Jimi Thing" (with a little "For What It's Worth" jam). Just about every show has had the staple "What Would You Say" > "Anyone Seen The Bridge" > "Too Much." While this has been played many times, Hershey seemed happy to hear it and sing along.
The encore consisted of a cover of Pink Floyd's "Money," a wicked "Two Step" and then finishing with an abrupt "Ants Marching." Due to curfews, most shows on this tour have ended around 11 p.m., so it was a nice surprise to receive a great rendition of "Money" and a "Two Step" that rivaled any in history in length and girth.
With the already famous second night at Saratoga under their collective belt, this poor soul expected them to come off half-cocked because of that stellar performance just a few nights earlier. Be still this blasphemous tongue, because they rocked hard.
Dave Matthews Band :: 06.27.08 :: Hershey Park Stadium :: Hershey, PA
Old Dirt Hill, Everyday, You Might Die Trying, Eh Hee, Grey Street, Bartender, Corn Bread, Out of My Hands*, Dancing Nancies, Typical Situation, Where Are You Going+, Crash Into Me, Jimi Thing, So Damn Lucky, Rhyme and Reason, So Much To Say, Anyone Seen the Bridge?, Too Much
Encore: Money+, Two Step, Ants Marching
* No Horns, Dave on piano
+ Without Rashawn
Eh-Hee Live At Piedmont Park
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