Forest Hills Stadium is marking it’s 100th anniversary with a massive summer concert series featuring an array of artists such as Duran Duran, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, The Smile, Fallout Boy, Boygenius, Maggie Rogers, Queens Of The Stone Age, just to name a few. Also included is the Dave Matthews Band that played tonight June 9th, 2023. It’s rare for these veteran rockers to still be able to play in the US at a venue they have yet to visit during their 32-year career let alone in New York City. But tonight, at the end of a very strange smoke-filled week in New York as a result of the Canadian Wildfires, they did just that.
It was an early show with a 7 pm start time at the 13,000-seat venue in Queens, cloudy skies, 50% chance of rain. The sold-out show is also part of DMB’s summer tour and comes shortly after debuting their 10th studio album Walk Around The Moon, which was released on May 19 on RCA Records. Earlier this week, Dave Matthews played a solo acoustic show at Irving Plaza for Sirius XM.
I’ve seen the band dozens of times, I find reviewing their show quite complicated as you never know what you’ll get. They are up there with a select few bands I admire that make the effort to change their setlist every night, often without repeats when they do multiple nights in the same venue. So at times out of their usual 3-hour set of 24 songs, I find myself torn as I’ll usually not hear a lot of material I love, and often stumble onto songs i don’t know from more recent albums.
Tonight was no different. They open strong with “One Sweet World” off Remember Two Things, their 1993 release, into “When The World Ends” off Everyday, into “Busted Stuff” and then back-to-back tracks off Before These Crowded Streets; “Pantala Naga Pampa” & “Rapunzel. The setlist varies a lot, they lean into Walk Around the Moon playing 6 songs from the new release. The band is tight, they sound great, the level of musicianship on stage with them is always admirable and you find yourself in awe when they improvise live. Around the 8th song, the sky wants to take part in the show and it starts raining, not ideal in an outdoor venue, rain is very common in New York in the summer. Most people are prepared with make-shift garbage bags and ponchos, others tough it out in the rain, and the band doesn’t miss a beat and doesn’t stop. The rain eventually stops, and the night goes on. The band interaction on stage is electric. The Lineup includes three original members from 1991, Carter Beauford on Drums, Stefan Lessard on Bass, and Dave Matthews on Guitar and Vocals, as well as later additions, Jeff Coffin on Saxophone, Rashawn Ross on Trumpet, Buddy Strong the most recent member on Keyboards & of course long time collaborator Tim Reynolds on guitars.
The tour continues on the East Coast into June and it makes it’s way West in August and ends in September at the Gorge!
SETLIST:
1.) One Sweet World
2.) When the World Ends
3.) Busted Stuff
4.) Pantala Naga Pampa
5.) Rapunzel
6.) Looking for a Vein
7.) Madman’s Eyes
8.) Funny the Way It Is
9.) Kill the Preacher
10.) Why I Am
11.) Walk Around the Moon
12.) JTR
13.) You & Me
14.) The Only Thing
15.) Jimi Thing
16.) Brick House
17.) #41
18.) It Could Happen
19.) Warehouse
20.) Crash Into Me
21.) You Might Die Trying
22.) Monsters
23.) Granny
24.) Crush
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Long-time traveling Concert Photographer, Official Photographer for Counting Crows, In-House Photographer for City Winery New York. Publications inc. Rolling Stones, The Aquarian, Brooklyn Vegan, Elmore, The Village Voice, and more. On-tour photography, In-Studio Photography, and documentary assignments. Artist Portraits and Album Covers shoots.