CONCERT REVIEW: Dave Matthews Band at Coral Sky Amphitheater

On a steamy shirt-soaking South Florida summer night, rockers Dave Matthews Band made their annual tour stop at Coral Sky Amphitheater on Friday night for the first of their two-night stop in West Palm Beach.

Playing before 20,000 of their most faithful and exhilarated fans, this is a band that has never had any trouble selling out two nights at the massive amphitheater. Dave Matthews Band first played at this venue on September 4, 1996, and has made West Palm Beach a stop every year since they first started touring. What you get when you attend a DMB show is an ebb and flow of multi-genre music with a great deal of consistency. There are no surprises other than a set list that changes each night they perform. This is the type of band that brings you to the very high of highs and into a deep often times sorrows that has you look and reflect upon your own life and question it. Simplicity rules here: no crazy stage setups, no explosions, fire or smoke; what you get compares to going down to your local bar and hanging out with your closest friends, drinking a few cold ones, and watching your favorite local band playing some bluesy, jazzy rock-influenced music that will loosen you up and make you smile and want to dance like nobody is watching.

Dave Matthews – Photo: Rick Munroe MFN

Faithful DMB fans have enjoyed a fairly steady lineup over the past nearly 28 years since the band initially formed. After losing key members in unfortunate circumstances and parting ways with longtime violinist Boyd Tinsley in mid 2018, it only left founding members Dave Matthews, Stefan Lessard and Carter Beauford as the lone remaining original band members. Tinsley brought a unique energy and sound that is clearly missing and has yet to be replicated, and gone are the days of those live on-stage jam sessions with Matthews.

The night opened with “What Would You Say” and the band quickly engaged the spirited crowd. With thousands of the bands most faithful singing along to nearly every word in unison and harmony, this was setting up to be a night that they came for. This is a band that draws you in from Carter Beauford’s first drum strike to Dave Matthews final bow. The dynamic Dave Matthews led the band through a series of their very best, including fan-favorite “Don’t Drink the Water” and their version of Peter Gabriel’s 1986 hit “Sledgehammer.” With the always-smiling Carter Beauford on the drums, guitarist Tim ReynoldsRashawn Ross on trumpet, Jeff Coffin on saxophone and their newest member Buddy Strong on keyboards, the band ripped through a medley of hits including “Seven,” “Lie in Our Graves,” “The Idea of You,” “Lover Lay Down,” “The Last Stop,” “Come Tomorrow,” “Why I Am,” “Lying in the Hands of God,” “Here on Out,” “So Right,” “Warehouse,” “Can’t Stop,” “Where are you Going,” “The Song That Jane Likes,” “Louisiana Bayou,” and “Virginia in the Rain” and closed out the night with Bob Dylan’s “Along the Watchtower.”

Dave Matthews – Photo: Rick Munroe MFN
Carter Beauford – Photo: Rick Munroe MFN

This is a band that represents diversity and erases the boundaries that divide us all. “If I was standing on the moon looking at the earth, I would see one earth, not us and them, just us,” said Matthews during the concert Friday night. Their music bridges the gaps in society and aims to unify and unite, bringing people of all ages, races, and creeds together as one. The world has become a better place through their music, and it was clearly evident on that night. As the fans of the longtime band left the venue, you could feel an energy that is hard to describe. For some it was a time to reconnect with old friends and perhaps make some new ones, for others it was part of their annual tradition to see and listen to a unique band than continues to delight their fans. One thing is clear: the Dave Matthews Band didn’t disappoint and gave their fans exactly what they came for, a night of unique, inspiring, spirit-uplifting music that is created by the distinctive sound that only this band can deliver.

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