DMB - The Last Stops - MSG

MSG is a special place to see DMB. They play killer shows and the crowd is electric! Walking around the city before the show started really got me excited. I love being in NYC... I think I belong there. I saw the little red guitar which signals a Squirm opener which did happen. Whenever that song opens I find that things get off to a slow start and the crowd is not very into it. That's exactly what happened. The show picked up after they jammed the hell out of LITHOG, I don't think I've ever seen Jeff and Carter push that song like that, I needed to catch my breath during Eh Hee. Once that song ended and I heard the opening chords to LIOG I literally jumped out of my seat for joy. No reprise and it went right into YMDT which is at it's peak right now, I used to hate this song but currently am loving it. The next song totally shocked me. Lover Lay Down is the song that made me fall in love with this band. I bought RR95 because it was the only CD that had LLD on it. Finally after 25 shows I got to hear this song. I got a little emotional...in fact I could hardly sing the song. I'll never forget finally being able to hear it. I did ask Fonz in Boston for Lover Lay Down, and I told him that I would be at MSG and Cville in case they needed to practice it. He said I'll see what I can do...' Well thanks Fonz! even if I had nothing to do with it. The rest of the show was what I excpected from MSG! Warehouse followed and this song is always spot on. I love what the horns have added to this one and the salsa jam was out in full force. I felt like it was my first show again, I was enthralled by the band and how they were playing. The crowd was nice and loud on Jimi Thing which Dave let us sing the first two versus of. What you are was a treat to hear, it was the first time in a while for me, and it was the first time it closed a main set since 2005. It had a really slow bluesy intro that went into the normal start of the song. I loved how they did it. The encore was really nothing special, I guess Dive In solo is cool because it has never happened before, but i was expecting another full band song before they went into AATW, like sayyyy Granny! Granny is the perfect encore song. But little did we know what we had in store for us N2...

There was a really big buzz in the building as everyone got to their seats. At first we tried to fit five people in one seat because we all wanted to sit together but that didn't work out. We did get to chat with Danny before the show. Finally! We had been trying to meet up with him for a while now. After chatting for a few minutes our group had to split up. Jamie and Sally sat together and I sat with Amanda and Brittany. It was Brittany's first show! The show started with the band building up, I thought it would lead into DDTW for sure...it was something far better. The #41 opener is tooooo good! It's the perfect way to start a show. You could tell it was going to be a special night. Then it went right into Say Goodbye...ala the Crash album. I thought I was going to faint. It was the first time since '96 they opened a show that way. MSG was on fire after these two songs. Funny was a decent BW tune to follow, but Dave's voice was shot...he couldn't even finish the song, we had to. Pig was cut the night before, so there was a feeling from the fans it would show its head on N2. I'm glad it did so early in the set because it kept the crowd pumped. That's one thing I noticed from that night, the crowd was so passionate. It was the most connected and loud crowd I have ever been apart of. Even more then Cville N2. Nancies was the perfect song to play after Write A Song because it let Dave rest his voice. He asked us to yet again help him sing along. We sang most of Nancies ourselves. This show was a lot of fun but I was a little disappointed at this point that Dave's voice was shot. Then out of nowhere, his voice came to life during DDTW and was fine the rest of the night.

The next part of the set was hilarious. Dave messed the the lyrics to Christmas Song giving Jesus two mothers. He started laughing and stopped the song. Carter started a beat, Tim joined in and Dave scatted a little improv. I thought they were going into Cornbread with the way Carter was playing, but thankfully they went back into Christmas song after the jam and the crowd went crazy! The first midset Christmas Song since 1995! Check it out HERE. 'I gotta little sister named Jane'...those words are like gold, it's the best when Dave introduces the song that way. Classic DMB, Jane should be played all the time! Crush is another classic that tends to follow me around. It's one of my favorites though, and one that Amanda and I love to see together. Boyd and Jeff are so tight on this song! Everyone was feeling the groove on that one. Once BOWA started my night was made. Jeff Coffin makes the outro his bitch! What a killer set so far. Pig and BOWA sum up my philosophy on life, so thankful that I got them in the same night. During BOWA I mentioned how badly I wanted to hear Rhyme and Reason and Brittany said she did too, it was one of her favorites. Sure enough, next tune was Rhyme and Reason, it's first play in over a year. All we could do was laugh. Then the band brought out Vusi Mahlasela for Everyday. I am not a huge Everyday fan at all, in fact after the intro I ran to the bathroom. Good thing I was only gone for a minute because this jam was the highlight of the night. I never thought it could be, but Everyday was unreal at MSG. In fact it ruined all future performances of it because this was too perfect. I can't even describe the pure feeling of joy in the room. Vusi has the most positive presence and you can't help but smile. Watch it HERE, when the house lights go up on the crowd around 7min...goooooosebumps! What an unreal moment. Then they wasted two spots with Time Bomb and You and Me. Two Step was a great closer. It was the best one I have ever heard. Carter pushed his solo longer and further (TWSS) than I've ever seen! My mind was fully blown after this main set. I'm glad to see this version getting the respect it deserves because it should be released. This is what keeps me going to shows, this is DMB at it's best!

The encore was not as jam packed as I expected. I thought there was a shot of #40 or IBYU. Instead he played Sister for his sister Jane. I was thinking there would be one more song before the closer, maybe So Right, but I saw the 12-string coming out and everyone knew that Last Stop would close out MSG. The band explodes right into this song. The crowd goes crazy, Carter goes crazy. The build up right before the reprise is so intense between Carter and Tim. The slow outro to close the show out and Dave thanked us all and that was the end. It was a quiet ending to the show, I loved it. Its a tough call between this and SPAC N2 '09 for the best show of my life. I want to call it a tie, both shows were basically perfect. I'm really happy that I got a poster from because this show is one that I want to remember forever. Everyone there will agree that this was one of the best shows the band has ever played and by far the best of 2010. I wouldn't trade this one for anything.