Say Goodbye: Dave Matthews Band Plays Last Show Until At Least 2018

If there’s one thing live music fans have learned it’s not to take the future for granted. When the Dave Matthews Band announced a massive 2016 Summer Tour it was accompanied by the ominous sentence, “We will take a break from touring in 2017.” So last night’s third of three Labory Day weekend shows at The Gorge in George, Washington is the final DMB performance for at least 16 months and perhaps longer.

So much can happen over the course of 16 months that we can’t take the band’s return as an absolute given. While we certainly hope Matthews and his mates will come back refreshed and ready for action in 2018, there’s also the possibility last night’s performance at The Gorge will be the end of the band’s 25-year career. If so, they went out on a high note.

After a summer in which the band kept the setlist rotation tighter than usual, which was surprising considering how many songs they busted out during the first few weeks of tour, the Dave Matthews Band played 61 different songs with no repeats at the Gorge. Sunday’s finale featured five songs which hadn’t been played in at least 10 shows: many of which were fitting for the occasion: “Say Goodbye,” “So Damn Lucky,” “The Last Stop” and “Stay (Wasting Time)” as well as “Pig.” The night also included the tour’s second versions of “The Stone,” “Old Dirt Hill (Bring That Beat Back),” “The Maker” by Daniel Lanois and Talking Heads’ “Burning Down The House.”

For the third night in a row Brazilian woodwind master Carlos Malta sat-in on multiple songs. The flute/saxophonist’s 12th-ever appearance at a DMB show saw him add to “Say Goodbye,” “The Maker” and “Typical Situation.” The Dave Matthews Band also welcomed longtime crew member and guitarist Joe Lawlor for “Rhyme & Reason,” a song he had played with them 13 times prior.

While the band is done for a while, the same can’t be said of its leader. Dave Matthews currently has three gigs on the book as he’ll perform with Tim Reynolds at Farm Aid in Bristow, Virginia on September 17. Then, on October 1, look for a Dave solo set at the inaugural Many Rivers To Cross Music & Arts Festival in Georgia. In addition, Dave & Tim will make their return to the Bridge School Benefit Concerts at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California on October 22 and 23.