Dave Matthews Band debuts another new song

Dave Matthews Band played a new song, "A Dream So Real," for the first time during last night's show at Alpine Valley Music Theater in East Troy, Wisc.

The concert is getting great reviews from fans, mostly because the horn section from The Roots sat in for nearly half the show. Kirk Douglas, The Roots' guitar player, joined in on "Jimi Thing" and "Eh Hee," which also featured a freestyle rap intro by MC Black Thought.

Another highlight of the show was the opening song: "The Dreaming Tree," a rarity that DMB had not played in nearly a year.

"A Dream So Real" is the fifth new song DMB has played this year, along with "Falling Off The Roof," "#27," "Cornbread" and "Eh Hee." DMB also tried out another new song, "Run While We Can," during a March sound check.

Here's a video of last night's performance of "A Dream So Real":



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Virginia Tech concert tickets go on sale to public

The public will get its chance to buy A Concert for Virginia Tech tickets tomorrow morning.

Musictoday will put a limited number of general admission tickets on sale at 10 a.m. for $65 each. Previously, the only people with access to tickets were members of the Virginia Tech community or Dave Matthews Band's fan club, the Warehouse.

A Concert for Virginia Tech will take place Sept. 6 at Lane Stadium. DMB, the headlining act, helped organize the show to build school spirit after April's campus massacre. John Mayer, Nas and Phil Vassar are also scheduled to perform.

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Dave Matthews Band brings (RED) on tour

Dave Matthews Band has joined up with (RED), the campaign to rid Africa of AIDS.

Members of (RED) will be at DMB shows from now through Oct. 2, "walking around and talking to fans, spreading the word about how to help eliminate AIDS in Africa," according to a press release. (RED) partners with the manufacturers of clothes, phones and other popular consumer items to make and sell (RED)-branded products. Partial proceeds of those products go to buy anti-retroviral drugs for AIDS patients in Africa.

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Dave Matthews Band video features new studio cut

Dave Matthews Band's new MySpace video features an apparent studio version of "Sweet Up and Down."

"Sweet Up and Down" appeared on 2000's scrapped album The Lillywhite Sessions, but that version is not the one featured in the video. There are three probable explanations of where this new version came from:

• It's another take from the Lillywhite sessions that was never leaked.
• It's left over from the Busted Stuff album. DMB worked on the song during those sessions but didn't include it on the album.
• It's a new track, indicating that DMB may include the song on their next album.

DMB stopped playing "Sweet Up and Down" last year but brought it back to rave reviews this year. The MySpace video is a behind-the-scenes look at DMB playing in Camden, N.J.



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Dave Matthews Band, Cincinnati weather reviewed

Dave Matthews Band receives an OK review of last night's show at Riverbend Music Center in The Enquirer of Cincinnati. Critic Chris Varias spends as much time talking about the heat as he does about the show.

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Live at Radio City debuts at No. 3

Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds Live at Radio City debuts at No. 3 on this week's Billboard 200 album chart.

The two-disc album has sold 70,000 copies in the United States since its release last week. Dave and Tim's last album, Live at Luther College, debuted at No. 2 in 1999 and sold 187,000 copies in its first week. A pair of children's CDs beat out Dave and Tim for the top spot this time: the High School Musical 2 soundtrack, which debuted with 615,000 copies sold, and Hannah Montana 2 (Soundtrack)/Meet Miley Cyrus, which moved up from No. 4 to No. 2 with 83,000 copies sold.

The only other DMB-related live album to reach No. 3 on the Billboard 200 was 1997's Live at Red Rocks 8.15.95. Every DMB studio album since 1998's Before These Crowded Streets has reached No. 1.

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New Dave Matthews Band songs get critic's praise

Dave Matthews Band's show on Monday night in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio gets a glowing review in The Plain Dealer of Cleveland. Critic John Soeder praises DMB's new songs, calling "Corn Bread" a "heavy-metal hoedown" and comparing "#27" to a Neil Young song. He also described "Eh Hee" as "weirdly captivating."

The show also featured the return of "Stand Up," which DMB had not played since December 2005.

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Dave Matthews to release new song, "Eh Hee"

A new Dave Matthews song, "Eh Hee," is on the way.

The Dave Matthews Band road page told fans over the weekend to "look for it to be released soon." Details on the release are pretty sparse -- nobody knows if it's a Dave Matthews Band recording or a solo effort. But in a Rolling Stone interview last month, Dave said "we" had recorded "Eh Hee" and -- in what seemed like a joke at the time -- that he wanted to leak the song on MySpace.

"Eh Hee" debuted on the Dave Matthews and Friends Caribbean Cruise Getaway in 2006, and it appears on Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds' new Live at Radio City CD. Dave Matthews Band played the song for the first time this weekend.

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Mom charged in false sex assault case at SPAC

The reported sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl at a Dave Matthews Band concert was actually a consensual act, according to police. And now a 42-year-old mother faces charges that she bought vodka for her daughter and friends.

That's according to the Times Union in Albany, N.Y., which has the full account of what happened during DMB's Aug. 14 show at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC). The newspaper reports that, according to police, Lisa M. Vedder, 42, bought alcohol for her daughter and three friends before the show. On the night of the concert, one of the girls claimed that a man in his late teens or early 20s sexually assaulted her. But a two-day investigation by police found that "consensual sexual acts" occurred between the girl and a 15-year-old boy, according to the Times Union.

Vedder faces three counts of unlawful dealing with a child and faces up to a year in jail if convicted, the newspaper said.

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Rolling Stone reviews Dave and Tim show

Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds' July 28 show at the East Hampton Social has received a short but positive review in Rolling Stone magazine's Smoking Section.

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Dave Matthews Band shows in Indiana reviewed

Dave Matthews Band's two-night stand in Noblesville, Ind. has received positive reviews in two local newspapers.

The Noblesville Daily Times has this short recap of the Aug. 17 show, while The Indianapolis Star chimes in with this review of the Aug. 18 show. That second show marked the first time Dave Matthews Band played the new song "Eh Hee" (download), which is featured on the new Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds album, Live at Radio City.

UPDATE: The Noblesville Daily Times also has a less enthusiastic review of the Aug. 18 show.

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Sex assault reported at Dave Matthews Band show

Police in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. are investigating a reported sexual assault that happened at Tuesday night's Dave Matthews Band show at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), according to the Times Union.

WTEN in Albany is reporting that state police said the assault happened in the woods outside the venue, just a few hundred feet from the ticket booth.

The suspect is described as between 18 and 20 years old, 5-foot-6 with spiky blond hair. He told friends of his accuser, a 15-year-old girl, that his name is Sean, police said.

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Newspaper reviews Live at Radio City

Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds Live at Radio City gets a B in the Orange County Register's review. Critic Ben Werner says the album is great because it blocks out the obnoxious crowd noise that often accompanies Dave and Tim shows, and he calls the CD one of Dave's "more appealing live offerings."

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Newspaper reviews Saratoga Springs show

The Post Star of Glens Falls, N.Y. has a positive review of Dave Matthews Band's show Tuesday night at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC). The highlight of the review: The look on guest Trey Anastasio's face during his "Lie In Our Graves" solo is described as "equal parts 'I'm not sure I know this one' and 'I have gas.'"

The SPAC show marked the first time DMB has played one of Dave Matthews' solo songs. The full band joined in on "Some Devil," and here's a video of part of that performance:



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Rolling Stone reviews Live at Radio City

Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds Live at Radio City has received a three-out-of-five star review in Rolling Stone.

Reviewer Christian Hoard says the double album would have been better if Dave and Tim pared it down to one CD, calling "Save Me" a "snoozer" and criticizing the "noodle-y" guitar solo on "Lie In Our Graves." But he also gives kudos to the "sensitive-dude beauty" of "Sister" and "Don't Drink the Water." "Dancing Nancies" and "Corn Bread" are also mentioned as highlights.

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Carter Beauford visits drum factory

Carter Beauford took some time after Dave Matthews Band's recent shows in Mansfield, Mass. to stop by the Zildjian drum factory in nearby Norwell. Zildjian has a short write-up about the visit on its Web site, along with a picture of Carter trying some new drums out.

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Stefan Lessard composing IMAX score

Dave Matthews Band will contribute songs to "Grand Canyon Adventure," an IMAX film about impending shortages of fresh water.

Stefan Lessard is also composing the score for "Grand Canyon Adventure," which is scheduled to hit IMAX theaters in March. The documentary follows Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and anthropologist Wade Davis as they raft down the Colorado River.

"It's our hope that this powerful IMAX Theatre film will inspire people to do what they can to help ensure that all the earth's inhabitants have access to safe drinking water, both now and in the future," Stefan said in a press release.

MacGillivray Freeman Films is producing "Grand Canyon Adventure." The company's previous environmental films have featured the music of George Harrison, Sting, Queen, the Moody Blues and Crosby, Stills and Nash.

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Listen to Live at Radio City

Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds' new CD, Live at Radio City, is now streaming on AOL Music. The double album and DVD both hit stores tomorrow.

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Dave Matthews to jam with Nelson, Allman

Dave Matthews, Willie Nelson and Gregg Allman will play an acoustic set at next month's Farm Aid concert.

Dave is also playing a set with Tim Reynolds, while Willie is playing with his band and Gregg is playing with the Allman Brothers Band. Between the three of them, they should be able to come up with an interesting setlist for the Sept. 9 show at Randall's Island in New York City.

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Tim Reynolds to play Farm Aid with Dave Matthews

Dave Matthews' previously announced performance at this year's Farm Aid concert will be with Tim Reynolds.

Dave and Tim highlight a strong Farm Aid lineup this year that features Counting Crows, the Allman Brothers Band and Guster, along with Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp. Other artists include Warren Haynes, Matisyahu, the Derek Trucks Band, Montgomery Gentry, the Supersuckers and the Ditty Bops.

Farm Aid is Sept. 9 on Randall's Island in New York City.

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Dave Matthews Band revives "Sweet Up and Down"

Dave Matthews Band played "Sweet Up and Down" for the first time in seven years at last night's show in Camden, N.J.

DMB had only played "Sweet Up and Down" 14 times, all during the 2000 summer tour, before last night. Dave Matthews and Friends played it six times during their 2003-2004 tour. Last month, when Stefan Lessard asked fans on his Web site what lost song they most wanted to hear this tour, "Sweet Up and Down" got the second-highest number of votes.

"Sweet Up and Down" appeared on the Lillywhite Sessions, a leaked 2000 album that DMB scrapped in favor of 2001's Everyday.

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Newspaper reviews Hartford show

The Republican, a newspaper in Springfield, Mass., has a positive review of Dave Matthews Band's show on Aug. 4 in Hartford, Conn.

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Victims' families criticize Virginia Tech concert

Relatives of some Virginia Tech massacre victims are criticizing the school and Dave Matthews Band for recruiting rapper Nas to play a benefit concert on campus next month, according to The Washington Post.

DMB organized the Sept. 6 Concert for Virginia Tech to help boost school spirit following the April 16 shootings that left 32 people dead. But Vincent J. Bove, who told the Post he is a spokesman for seven victims' families, said that including Nas on the bill is insensitive because of his violent lyrics.

"For a university official to condone it or to be clueless of what this person's track record is, it's unconscionable beyond belief," he said.

The sister of a victim also told the Post that the inclusion of Nas is "the most inappropriate thing I could imagine."

John Mayer and country singer Phil Vassar are also scheduled to perform at the concert, which is free for members of the Virginia Tech community. A school spokesman said in the Post that response to the concert, which was officially announced this week, has been "tremendously positive."

UPDATE: According to the Collegiate Times, the Black Student Alliance at Virginia Tech helped recruit Nas so the concert would "appeal to the greatest number of students."

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Dave Matthews Band covers Doobie Brothers

Dave Matthews Band shook the rust off and played a high-energy, jammed-out set last night in Mansfield, Mass.

The best part of the show came during "Grace Is Gone," where DMB segued into a giant sing-along of "Black Water" by the Doobie Brothers and then back into "Grace Is Gone." The only repeats from Wednesday night's show were the new songs "#27" and "Corn Bread," but "Corn Bread" was different. Dave Matthews played it solo the first night but was joined by Carter Beauford and Butch Taylor last night. Carter's drumming really added a lot to the song and showed its full-band potential.

Other highlights included the "Seek Up" opener and "Lie In Our Graves." DMB's next show is tomorrow in Hartford, Conn.

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Dave Matthews Band kicks off summer tour

Dave Matthews Band's summer tour started last night with a solid but not spectacular show in Mansfield, Mass.

DMB didn't bring back any long-dormant songs, as some fans had expected, but did play "#27," a song that Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds debuted last weekend. That bluesy rocker was one of the show's highlights, along with an energetic "Don't Drink the Water" featuring Xavier Rudd and Dave's solo performance of "Cornbread," another new song.

The Boston Herald has a positive review of the show, while The Providence Journal has a pretty nondescript recap. The tour continues tonight with another show in Mansfield before DMB moves on to Hartford, Conn. for the weekend.

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Dave Matthews Band to play Virginia Tech concert

Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Nas and Phil Vassar will play A Concert for Virginia Tech on Sept. 6.

A Concert for Virginia Tech, announced this morning, is to celebrate the school's spirit after the April massacre on campus that left 32 students and faculty dead. It will take place in Lane Stadium, home to the school's football team, and all 2007 graduates, current students and employees are entitled to one free ticket. Through a lottery system, those people will be eligible to buy one additional ticket for a to-be-determined price.

DMB, from nearby Charlottesville, Va., and Mayer have been rumored to be playing the concert for months.

UPDATE: The Warehouse has a limited number of tickets available for members. The request period is open through Aug. 20. And AntsMarching.org has this quote from DMB drummer Carter Beauford: "We have a profound respect for the incredible resolve and unwavering sense of hope the university community has shown, and are honored to have the opportunity to share this evening with Virginia Tech."

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Dave and Tim announce Europe 07 track list

Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds have announced the track listing for Europe 07, their bonus album for people who pre-order their Live at Radio City CD and DVD.

All pre-orders of either the CD, DVD or Blu-Ray will come with a four-track version of Europe 07 with these songs: