Dave Matthews Band Fits A Bevy Of Tour Debuts Into Rain-Shortened Run In Noblesville

Dave Matthews Band unleashed a bevy of tour debuts during their recent two-night run at Ruoff Music Center in Noblesville, Indiana. The concerts at the venue formerly known as Deer Creek took place on June 30 and July 1, with the latter cut short due to weather, ahead of a week off for the band.

The show on June 30 kicked off with one of the tour debuts, the beloved Crash classic “Tripping Billies.” The Ruoff 2023 version contained the “Nature” intro and elements of the Lost In Space theme. DMB last played “Tripping Billies” on September 20, 2022 at the Hollywood Bowl.

Following the title track to DMB’s new album, Walk Around The Moon (and a tease of the LP’s “Madman’s Eyes”), another classic, “Minarets,” also saw its first first DMB play of 2023 (last played by the band at SPAC on September 17, 2022) followed by a rain-soaked “Sledgehammer.” DMB last played the Peter Gabriel favorite at the Innings Festival in March.

The tour debuts kept coming with “Bartender,” last played by DMB on July 15, 2022 in Camden, New Jersey. Directly after came the first “Rhyme & Reason” since July 22, 2022 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“Proudest Monkey” also made its first appearance at a DMB show since November 15, 2022 in Chicago while “Where Are You Going” had not been played by the band since November 16, 2022 in Dayton, Ohio. The main set came to a close with “All Along The Watchtower” encompassing a partial “Stairway To Heaven.”

The final tour debut on June 30 was a Dave solo cover of Willie Nelson’s “Funny How Time Slips Away,” which Matthews recently played at Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday celebration at the Hollywood Bowl but had not been played at a Dave Matthews Band show since July 3, 2022 at Alpine Valley in Wisconsin. The Willie cover kicked off the encore before the band closed things out with “Warehouse.”

July 1 saw the band taking the stage at 7 p.m. as storms were in the area. Dave Matthews noted that the band would play until they were told to stop. The concert got underway with the classic “Lie In Our Graves” followed by a fitting “Fool In The Rain” by Led Zeppelin. DMB then offered the tour debut of “The Stone” for the first time since July 22, 2022 in Raleigh.

The show continued with Walk Around The Moon’s “Monsters,” the recently unveiled cover of The Beatles “I Want You (She’s So Heavy), as well as a pairing of “Jimi Thing” and the Commodores’ “Brick House.” Following “Gravedigger,” DMB played “She” — off 2018’s Come Tomorrow — for the first time since November 4, 2022 in Seattle.

The tail end of the weather-shortened set saw staples “Pantala Naga Pampa” and “Rapunzel” as well “Ants Marching.” The show came to a close with the tour debut of “Halloween,” last played by DMB on July 22, 2022 in Raleigh.

[Hat Tip – DMBAlmanac]

Check out video of some of the tour debuts from DMB’s Noblesville run below:

June 30 Setlist (via DMB Almanac)

Set: Tripping Billies, When the World Ends, You Might Die Trying, Walk Around the Moon, Madman’s Eyes [fake] » Minarets, Sledgehammer, Looking for a Vein, Funny the Way It Is, It Could Happen, Bartender, Rhyme & Reason, Break Free, Proudest Monkey » Satellite [fake] » So Damn Lucky, Where Are You Going, Grey Street, All Along the Watchtower » Stairway to Heaven [partial] » All Along the Watchtower [reprise]

Encore: Funny How Time Slips Away » Warehouse

July 1 Setlist (via DMB Almanac)

Set: Lie in Our Graves, Fool in the Rain, The Stone, Monsters, Dancing Nancies, I Want You (She’s So Heavy) » After Everything, Jimi Thing » Brick House, Gravedigger, She, So Right, Pantala Naga Pampa » Rapunzel » Ants Marching, Halloween

Notes: Show cut short due to weather