Dave Matthews and
the Raging Animal in the Cage
On August 10, I went to a Dave Matthews Concert which was held in F(*^^(*^(**%, ))(&*^n. I estimate, that the audience outnumbered at least 10,000 people. Unlike in a small concert where the audience gathers up in front before the band, this concert was densely populataed in the front as well as in the back and even behind the band.
The spectators were overwhelmingly 15 to 19 year old teenagers although I could spot several middle aged spread across the huge concert hall ranging between 25 to 50 years of age. During the entire event, the songs were accompanied by spontaneous clapping, shouting and crying of an audience which apparently prefered to wear casual clothing to anything conservative. Sometimes, I could recognize a group of green hair colored fans standing in the dark with their faces illuminated by the flashlights.
After the first song had ended after approximately five minutes, the entire crowd would break out into an exhilerating and almost deafening: "DAVE MATTHEWS!" that captured even the less attentive members of the audience and unified us into one army of devoted fans.
English: Dave Matthews performing in 2009
English: Dave Matthews Concert for Virginia Tech 9...
violin scrollDaves' band consisted of a guitarist, a violinist, an alto saxophone player and a drummer. The music reminded me of Jazz since it was based on a lot of free improvisation, small combos and a fast tempo. Dave would always play the main rythm of a song with his guitar accompanied by individual inputs of his band. Every new song was really a new composition because so much was left up to the players. Another musical aspect of the band was the difference in tone color between the individual instruments. Daves' voice and guitar had a soft, determined and fluid sound while the violinist played presto and very...