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Benefit concert successful
by Kem Lizee

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by 1.B. Green
On Wednesday, May 15, _ the
Commodore Ballroom was packed to the
rafters with people waiting to groove to
the sublime sounds created by the
eclectic quintet known as the Dave
| Matthews Band. American kids drove
sacross the 49th parallel in cars packed
Fas much as eight people tight. They
planned to skip the next day of school
| because they knew what was in store for
the night.
Forgive my ignorance, but before the
concert I had seen Dave Matthews and
rhis band perform once on television.
| They were good enough to spark some
| interest but nothing could have prepared
| me for the concert I was about to go
‘through. holy fuckin’ shit, can that guy
play! Excuse me, can those guys ever
| play. I have never experienced a concert
_ in which the performers so successfully
| tried to completely drain the crowd of

,

Restoring faith in music
‘The Dave Matthews Band takes Opie by surprise

all the energy they came with. The five
musicians, including bass player, guitar
player, drummer, fiddle player, and a
horn player who plays everything from
sax to clarinet, must run marathons in
their spare time. They played one 2 hour
set and a 30 minute encore, with more
energy than a Richard Simmons
infomercial.

Dave Matthews is a member of a
growing fraternity of bands which are
slowly and at long last helping the 90s
music scene evolve. Bands such as No
Doubt, Blues Traveller, The Tragically
Hip and Phish are putting music into
their music. Not over-produced, three-
chord, teeny-bopper trash geared
towards people with memories that
allow them to remember only five
minutes of their total lives.

The quality sound of these bands is a
growing trend started by bands who

     
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 

know what it is like to play the road.
Following in the tradition of Jerry Garcia
and the Grateful Dead; Matthews and his
band are so tight that any given night
their performance could be recorded and
put to disk. They feed off of one another.
They improvise at every opportunity and
play to the crowd’s emotions.

This band and their skill is the product
of years of devotion. They aren’t a flash
in the pan. They know how to play music
and entertain using their art. They don’t
have to put across an image in order to
gain popularity, a difference that makes
the Dave Matthews Band great. If you
have seen them before then you know
what I’m talking about. If you haven’t,
make sure you do. It will change your
expectations for live shows for the better.
Assuming, of course, you don’t die of
dehydration in the process.

_ Nomeansno, _
undoubtedly responsibl
_ for placing Vancouver o
_the “quality” punk roc

 

 

| map for Vancouver year