Jones Beach is my home. It's the venue where I first saw DMB. It's my summer concert home. It also sold out for last night's show, after being snubbed last year.
There was a palpable energy in the air for the show. You could feel the energy pulsing through the crowd. But for me, I was nervous. I've seen the trend of this tour's setlists and was not sure whether I could stay optimistic.
Alright, enough foreshadowing; let's get to the music, shall we?
Dave comes on, talks about flying in from Yellowstone and that's why he was so late to get on (~19:45). Let's go blow by bitter blow.
Acoustic -Starts strumming the intro to Little Red Bird. I mean, I was thinking Jones BEACH would get BEACH Ball, but that's besides the point. His vocals were on point. -Timmy came on for Oh, which is one of my personal favorites, especially D+T. -Old Dirt Hill and Snow Outside were two of the songs I fell in love with for the acoustic sets last year, so it was nice to hear them again. -I'm not a fan of Satellite, so we're skipping that. -Recently. He actually messed up the lyrics to this, which gave me a little chuckle. Got to hear him interpolate Light's on Broadway. -Two Step and So Damn Lucky were the big highlight of this set for me. Killed it, made me smile. -If I have to hear acoustic What Would You Say again, I swear I'll start kicking puppies. -Sister as a closer for the acousic set was a nice touch. Sort of exemplified how all over the board this set was. High energy songs mixed with smoother cuts.
Electric -Can't beat a #41 opener. He stopped screwing up the opening lyrics, which made me very very happy. -What's a guy got to do to substitute Shotgun for Squirm?? Jesus! -Belly Belly Nice ... groan alright. Let's dance through this and move on. -He screwed up a verse in Digging a Ditch. Again, cue funny chuckles. -Black and Blue Bird. This song has grown on me. Ever since seeing it on Letterman, I really have enjoyed seeing it evolve. Hopefully, it stays true to this form for the album. Could see it as a Encore Opener in future tours. -Dancing Nancies > Warehouse. Didn't shout out New York or Jones Beach. But, there's nothing wrong with that segue. Got the crowd going. -When the World Ends. My first time seeing it live, first time Jones Beach got it. I appreciate it a lot more now after seeing it. -Out Of My Hands. The intro that they were performing was absolutely breath-taking. Can't wait for the tape to circulate. -Ok, I have to say this: Carter, you are a professional blue-baller after the shit you pulled last night! Did a full You Never Know drum tease into Shake Me Like A Monkey. There was an audible groan throughout my section. -Then straight into Jimi Thing? Jesus. At least we got a New York, New York interpolation from Jeff & Rashawn. -Grey Street Closer. Always wishing for that third verse. Never getting it.
Encore -The Space Between? Really? Ugh, starts dancing with girlfriend -Minarets?? In the Encore?? I can dig that. I can dig it so much until ... -Halloween. I can always appreciate this song and the story behind it, but I can never really enjoy him screaming.
Final verdict: Like every DMB show I've gone to, I had a great time. I made some great memories, heard great music, and got my two posters.
However, I don't think anyone can argue with me that Dave phoned in that setlist. I mean, he really didn't even look like he wanted to be there honestly. If I remember correctly, he even said something like "I try to spend the least amount of time here as possible."
If anything, the show made my girlfriend decide we're just sticking with this and Montreal for our shows this year. Gonna skip SPAC.
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