07.26.09
Dave Matthews Band @ L’Olympia, Paris, France
After the cool late-night performance by Jason Mraz, I woke up excited to the next day, about to see Dave Matthews Band for the first time! So taking that into account, this isn’t so much a review of the show, but a personal account of how I felt that evening, seeing a band I’d been wanting to see for many years.
I went to the show with some Finnish friends, one of whom is also a big DMB fan. We had one seat on the mezzanine (that I had accidentally purchased) and all our other tickets were standing. I decided to go to the mezzanine, because I knew I’d be happy to just see the band, and definitely could see them well that way. And it also felt natural because most of the time I’ve been listening to DMB I’ve been by myself.
I think the whole mezzanine was sold to fan club members, so I was sure to find some people who speak English next to me. Funny thing was that right next to me happened to be a Finnish couple who I didn’t know at all. Those seats were just the perfect place to see the band, very close to the stage.
The opener was Alberta Cross, a New York based band signed to Dave’s ATO Records label. It was so nice of Dave to come up and introduce them first. Alberta Cross played played a good set, but I was just too excited to see DMB in a moment to concentrate on their music. Then it took about half an hour to make the stage ready for DMB, and Dave’s koa-colored 12-string Taylor was right there waiting for him.
After an intro that fooled many, the first song finally turned out to be Bartender, which was just the perfect start to the show. I loved the solos and wanted it to go on forever, and it did last almost 15 minutes. Next up an energetic new song Shake Me Like a Monkey that really got me up and going. Most people were seated who were on the balcony, but some where standing. During this song the someone behind me tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to sit down. That wasn’t nice, how can you possibly sit through such an energetic performance? But I was feeling so good that I didn’t let it bother me and tried to stay as low as possible, finding all kinds of ways imaginable to dance on the chair. And this is something that changes from country to country and venue to venue, whether people get up or stay seated, so you want to be discreet about it.
“Somebody hit me with a moose,” Dave said after the song. The toy moose was supposed to be my friends’ nice souvenir from Finland, but Dave thought it was from Canada because that day was Canada Day. We tried to shout that it’s from Finland, but he didn’t hear us. Afterwards somebody told us that Canadian people who don’t like him throw moose at him, so we can just hope he didn’t take it in a bad way.
The next song, You Might Die Trying has developed into a cool jam towards the end, the song did well to keep the flow going. Spaceman is a song from the new album Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King and I was thrilled to see it live. Corn Bread is not usually one my favorite songs, but I have to say it was amazing. Moreover, everything they played that night was impressive to me. Last year I had been thinking about traveling to the States to see them, and was pondering whether I could get anything better than tickets to the lawn (from where you can hardly see the band), so it felt unbelievable to see all of them play so near and I dug every moment of it.
Everyday is a song that European audience loves, especially the “honey honey” chant. I always get so excited about the scat parts. Seven is another new song, there’s just something about watching this amazing band play right there in front of you and sing along “love you, love you, love you, you, you.” Grey Street was one of the songs that I was hoping to get, and it was even better than I had expected!
Next up were two new songs, Alligator Pie and Funny the Way It Is, both were cool. Then two songs that were among the best that night, an old classic Crush and So Damn Lucky, which has developed into an amazing live song. Lying in the Hands of God was definitely one of the best of the new songs, even though this was a pretty short version of the song. An old song Jimi Thing was nice to see. The new trumpet player Jeff Coffin showed off a with solo playing two saxophones at the same time. He’s a great musician and has done a good job bringing his sound to DMB. I also liked the trumpet player Rashawn Ross very much during the show.
Next the drummer Carter Beauford started playing the snare intro of Ants Marching. What followed wasn’t Ants, but a song called Too Much. Then again, it wasn’t. They just played a “fake” version of Too Much in between, and even though I knew they did things like that they still got me! Ants Marching is like an anthem of DMB, it felt good to see. This closed the set.
People in every direction...
Dave started the encore by himself with an old American song Rye Whiskey, Tim Reynolds played cool guitar solo after that. Don’t Drink the Water was a big crowd pleaser. The theme song of their new album – Why I Am – closed the encore. That song really has got a nice groove. I was sure they are not going to close the show with that one and play a double encore, but that didn’t happen. Instead, Carter Beauford threw one of is drum sticks to me, and that was definitely the best souvenir from the trip!
I had so much energy for the show, I was feeling so good all the time. When I look at the show on paper now, it doesn’t look that impressive. But it truly was for me, and I think for most other people there. Many of the hardcore fans in the States like to demand very much from the setlists, but they have seen the band over 50 times, usually. We get to se them so little that we are easy to please.
The full setlist with notes is available on DMBAlmanac.com. There’s also a taper’s recording of the show on antsmarching.org torrens area. It’s of pretty good quality, and to me, brings back good memories!
07.24.09
Song of the Week: Chantal Kreviazuk – Wonderful
Before I left for my vacation, I didn’t have time to schedule the song of the weeks to appear, as I had planned. While being a way to get something posted on regular basis, they also started feeling like a chore, which is not such a good thing with a hobby project. So from now on, I’ll be posting them more randomly.
But here’s one for this week, by a wonderful Canadian songstress, Chantal Kreviazuk. She is actually a classically trained pianist, but turned out to be a pop musician after all.
07.14.09
Jason Mraz’ Secret Show
That’s what it was called. Our first night in Paris, eating dinner after sightseeing Montmartre, my friend Susi from Germany calls saying that Mraz is playing a “secret show” in Paris that night. Not really that secret, because it was apparently posted on his twitter and mailing list, but we old-fashioned travelers have on idea something like that was going on. I knew Jason was in town, because he played Le Zenith in Paris for two nights. I was trying to buy tickets to one of those shows, but it sold out while I was struggling with the French online store.
Four friends who don’t know Jason’s music much beyond I’m Yours come along. I have no idea what to expect either, all we have is the address of the venue. There’s a camera crew in front of the venue, which makes it easy to find. We are there an our before showtime, but there is already a long line waiting to go in. The venue is called La Bellevilloise. While standing in the line, the French TV crew interviews me. After all the French wine consumed during the hot day and being excited about what’s to come, I end up being quite a crazy Mraz fan.
Finally we are inside. The tickets cost 20 euros a piece, not an awful price to see such a show. When I go in, the percussionist Toca Rivera is standing right there with his golden gnome. We shake hands and exchange a few words, but I don’t want to bother him too much, because he is talking with some people.
Jason opens the show by himself with a song I’ve never heard before. Then Toca joins him, then more people. Here’s the setlist.
Jason Mraz at La Bellevilloise, Paris, June 30, 2009
What Would Love Do Now Childlike Wildlife Older Lover Undercover Never Too Late Lucky (with Inna Modja) Canada Day (improvised song) Did You Get My Message Plane --- Cannabis College
That was so much what I was hoping for! There’s old songs that I really like, two new ones (as far as I know), an improvised song, and the ending was real cool. I think it was pretty much like the small shows he used to play in San Diego when he was still unknown. Nobody in the audience had a birthday on July 1 (the show took place after midnight), but there were some Canadians in the audience who pointed out that it was Canada Day, so that’s what he sang about!
And he didn’t play I’m Yours. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad song, but it’s so overplayed that it was great to hear other songs instead of it. I loved the show, I thought I had already missed the days of Mraz shows like that. Jason is so good at small venues. My friends seemed to enjoy the show as well even though they were new to his music.
Jason was on his way to Amsterdam and wanted to close the show with a song called Cannabis College, here’s a video of it (more can be found on YouTube).
07.11.09
Travel Greetings
I spent the last three weeks traveling around Europe, and now I’m back home safe and sound. Sorry for the unannounced pause in blogging, I was going to schedule some stuff to be published, but ran out of time before I left. I was traveling happily without any devices to get online, so my exposure to the internet has been limited to short stops at internet cafes or using friends’ computers. It is very relaxing to take time off of the things you usually do, and now I’m glad to be back with a lot to write about!
I spent the first week in Southern France, doing other things than music. The weather was great, and it was an interesting experience to travel alone in small towns in a country whose language you don’t speak beyond a few simple expressions. I thought I would have been lonelier than I was, but I managed to find nice people who spoke English, and at other times I just enjoyed spending time by myself. Afterwards it was great to meet friends in Paris.
The rest of the trip was like I usually travel, seeing lots of live music along the way. The first night in Paris, there happened to be a “secret show” by Jason Mraz. The following night was the much anticipated Dave Matthews Band show at Paris Olympia. After some more days in Paris I took a train to Cologne, where I saw Amos Lee, and a smaller show by two singer-songwriters. From Cologne we also drove to Amsterdam to see DMB at Heineken Music Hall.
I’m off for the weekend now, but next week I’m back with reviews of the shows mentioned above, so stay tuned!
