Dave Matthews Band Puts Crowd In A Frenzy

Dave Matthews Band Wednesday, Nov. 6, Spokane Arena

The Dave Matthews Band’s outstanding show at the Arena on Wednesday featured waving Bic lighters, tables of T-shirts and rock-band-like adoration throughout the audience.

The amazing thing is, it’s not exactly a rock band.

The Dave Matthews Band proved Wednesday night that it is a refreshingly unique blend of world music, American folk, jazz, Cajun, progressive bluegrass and progressive pop.

By the way, the band members can rock a bit, too, even though they didn’t have an electric guitar in sight. Their upbeat hit songs such as “What Would You Say” had the audience dancing in unrestrained frenzy.

I was absolutely floored by this band’s virtuoso instrumental skills, its inspired arrangements and, most of all, by its brilliant use of rhythm. Where other bands have long solo jams, this band has long rhythm jams.

Dave Matthews sets the tone with his frenzied acoustic guitar strumming, playing the guitar as if it were a drum. And the entire thing is anchored by the phenomenal drumming of Carter Beauford. With all of the intricate time changes, starts and stops, and changes in direction, this band could not function with an average drummer. It requires a brilliant drummer. My son, the 16-year-old drummer, pronounced Beauford to be a “god” after seeing this show.

Speaking of brilliant, that’s the only word to describe Boyd Tinsley’s electric violin playing. With his wild shock of hair bouncing at the top of his head, Tinsley’s violin gave the music a Cajun feel, a Gypsy feel, a Jean-Luc Ponty jazz feel.

The sounds he squeezed out of this violin were breathtaking. Sometimes, he strummed it like a mandolin. At other times, he made it sound like an organ.

This, in fact, is what makes the band’s sound so unique. The violin plays most of the parts normally handled by keyboards or electric guitar. And in Tinsley’s hands, the violin is more expressive than either of those instruments.

The other indispensable piece of the puzzle comes from LeRoi Moore, who played three kinds of saxes (alto, tenor, soprano) as well as flute.

Sometimes the band’s music reminded me of Paul Simon’s “Graceland” and “Rhythm of the Saints,” but nobody will mistake Matthews’ voice for Simon’s. Matthews’ voice is as hoarse and whiskey-flavored as any Delta bluesman. Yet his voice also has a surprising sweetness in the high ranges.

The band occasionally wandered into experimental psychedelic-land with somewhat interesting results. But the high points of the show came with the infectious hits, including “Lie In Our Graves,” “Tripping Billies,” “Ants Marching,” “Satellite,” “What Would You Say” and a “Much” medley (“So Much to Say” and “Too Much”).

These were the big crowd pleasers. The crowd, 5,500 strong, was an interesting mix, dominated by the alternative college and high school crowd but also sprinkled liberally with older fans. About one-third of the Arena was curtained off for this show, which gave the remaining space a surprising intimacy.

Me’Shell Ndegeocello opened the show with a well-received set, soulful and funky.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo