Caution! Blue Water's Approaching

Back in 2007, Stefan held a poll on one of his websites for fans to vote on which song they would most like to hear make a return. Winning by a large margin, Blue Water Baboon Farm was the voter’s choice. Stefan responded to this land slide victory by stating that he hoped to hear it return one day since it was one of his favorites, too.

On April 20, 2009, nearly two years after the poll, DMB teased Blue Water in of all places, Pelham, Alabama. Although it was just a tease and it only featured Dave Matthews singing and strumming the first verse, it was a sign of things to come. Since then, this classic has been played at three of the past four shows, progressing in to what we know as a “Blue Water partially” played.

Rewind back to July 3, 2003, where Blue Water was teased then segued in to Typical Situation. Comparing what was played that muggy July night to what was just partially played last Saturday in Nashville, the Nashville version had more content and more band members on it. It was roughly four minutes long and it featured everything a 1993 Blue Water would have minus a long, inspired jam and a return to the lyrics after a Boyd solo. According to DMBAlmanac.com, for it to be considered a full BWBF, it must have a Boyd solo and then Dave must return to the lyrics. So far, Boyd solo, yes, return to lyrics, no. Hints from Stefan, Dave, and the DMB Road Page indicate that a full return is soon to follow.

Baller's Corner

Lying in the park on a beautiful day
Sun shining in the grass and the children play
Sirens pass and fire engine red
Someone's house is burning down on a day like this

SUMMER IS BASICALLY HERE!!!!

...and you know what that means? That's right, it means from now until October nearly all conversations will revolve around DMB. The air will be filled with commentary, speculation, pre and post-show plans and plenty of opinions regarding our favorite band. It also means that anytime the temperature is especially warm, or a bowling alley accidentally starts playing the studio version of Stay... we are transported to another place and time, in a manner much like Pavlov's dog would salivate at the mere ringing of a dinner bell. This "DMB effect" as I'll refer to it henceforth, is perhaps double or triple strength this year with a new album on the horizon and a spring tour well underway.

And with that, here's a video that will certainly give you the DMB effect

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRMp2HwMM7o

IS THAT NATE?!?!?!

And now that we've all got the effect, I will now fill the air with my predictions, commentary and speculation for this year's spring and summer tour. The spring tour has been very interesting thus far. I guess the first item of importance that perhaps shaped this spring tour was the album release date getting pushed back from April 14 to June 2. As everyone expected this tour has seen the debut of some new songs, but probably not as many new songs as if the album was released on the same day as the tour started. I assume that if this was the case, this tour would more closely resemble the Roseland ballroom show from 2005 where nearly half of the songs played were from the new album at the time, Stand Up. In contrast, on this tour so far we've gotten three new songs and a few notable returns from the archives, namely Raven, Pig, Recently, and a week of partial Blue Waters. The set lists have not been incredibly varied so far, this is telegraphed by the fact that the same few songs are opening each show, and Watchtower closing just about every other night. I assume this is probably due to the band trying to familiarize themselves with the new songs. They probably spent a lot of time rehearsing the new songs and not a lot of older songs. However, this seems to be improving as the tour progresses, most notably in the fact that Seek up came out a few nights ago, and that Two Step opened yesterday. Yesterday also marked the end of the consecutive Blue Water partial song/teases, whatever that means.

Speaking of Blue Water. What is going on?!?!?! Dave tweeted two simple words “Blue Water” and this is followed by one tease and three partial versions of the song over the course of a week. Stefan also tweeted about this, saying that he told us all that Blue Water would return. Is it here to stay? Will it get longer? Will Dave ever return to the lyrics after the Boyd solo so that it can be officilly “liberated”? One of the following scenarios will occur:

• Now that it was not played last night, the course of this song will resemble last year's Halloween dog and pony show, where it was played several nights in a row, and then disappeared completely.

• It will remain as a tease/partial song and open a few encores for the rest of the year.

• It will continue to evolve, and end up a fantastic 20 minute jam that remains for the rest of the summer.

I'm sure I speak for all of us when I vote for option three. There are a lot of questions this tour. All of these questions amount to a damn good reason to watch these set lists very very carefully, and I look forward to doing just that with all of you this year.

Now for this weeks trivia question!!!!

Livetrax 15 is the 8.9.08 show from Alpine valley, and this will be packed in free with all pre-orders of Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King. The opening song for this show was Dancing Nancies which is a bit of a rarity! So rare that it has only happened 3 times since 1995. Your trivia question is to name the two others. I'll have the answer next week!!! good luck!

Nate's Tour News - Week of April 27, 2009

When the world Ends… We’ll be Tailgating

For most of us, we have at least 4 more DMB shows to look forward to this summer. And maybe attending an event with 20,000+ people in the wake of a swine flu pandemic is unwise. But as we think back to the tailgates, setlists, and dancing of past years, I think we can all agree a little of swine flu is well worth a day with the Dave Matthews Band.

Let us start the first issue with: The DMB Tailgate. We’ve been ‘serious’ about tailgating for over 5 years now. I think we can all remember when early tailgates didn’t go so well. We’d always forget a key item; a spatula, condiments, a lighter. But as the years went on, we got good…really good…

Here is a look at an early tailgate from Starlate Amphitheater, and at what makes a good tailgate.

The Preparation:
We got so good, in fact, that we hardly even need to discuss the plans. We know that around 11am we’ll meet at Wal Mart for food, drinks, and ice. We know that we’ll go to JR’s Beer Distributor, and each of us will buy a case. We know that Sean will bring a flask, with god only knows what kind of warm, hellish potion of liquor that we all taste. We know that I’ll have a rental car, with the extra insurance, so that we can spell out “DMB” on the hood in rocks, and smash an uncooked hot dog into the carpet of the trunk. And we know that, sooner rather than later, Smitty will tell at least 3 of us to wipe the sand out of our vaginas and ‘drink another beer’. We do.

The People:
One thing we always associate a DMB tailgate with, is heat. With today’s temperature in DC once again hitting 93, I’m reminded of one our first major tailgates. This particular one in Burgettstown, PA featured several people we wouldn’t see much of in the future, such as Wayne, Beth, and some fat broad. Some of our best turnouts have neared 20 people, including ‘friends’ we make. During this show on the lawn, Lover Lay Down began to play. We created what is now known as “The Circle of Love”, where we all got in a giant circle, arms around eachother, and then swayed. By LeRoi’s jam, we had a circle with a diameter of 20 feet.

The Location:
This one was special because of where we parked. We had about 5 cars for this one, all lined up along the road where the cars would pass by. So our antics were on display for all to see. It’s also ideal to be near the woods, so you can pee.

The Props/The Entertainment:
There seems to always be something unique that we bring to keep us entertained. In the attached pictures, cowboy hats were a focal point. And as you can see, one of the most famous pictures of Kevin Smith. Upon seeing this ensemble, we all laughed until we threw up. And then drank some more, as you can see from Sean holding a 105 degree bottle of Jack Daniels. Additionally, Smitty’s mom gave us some of the most embarrassing hot pink/aqua pool lounge chairs to lay out on.

This year:
The tailgate goes digital. With many of us now on Twitter, we’ll be posting updates as the day goes along. That way, when Smitty says, “Paging Nurse Reda!” to encourage him to finish his Labbatt, we know that we won’t forget any of the events that occurred while drunk.

We’ll continue to examine other aspects

I Tweet Too Much

Highlights of the week from Dave and Stefan’s Twitter.

I just read about a deadly strain of swine flu. CNN twitter -- Dave

In Nashville to play a really big show.....Last night was a lot of fun, some pretty pretty rockin' people in Charlotte... – Stefan

DMB, Where are you going?

Upcoming shows.

4/28 – Alpharetta, GA 8:00pm ET

4/29 – Alpharetta, GA 8:00pm ET

5/1 – The Woodlands, TX 8:00pm CT

5/2 – Dallas, TX 8:00 pm CT