It is surreal to think about how the concert managed to sneak up the way it did. Even as Matt and I were driving to Kansas City I could not believe we were going to see Dave Matthews Band. When the concert finally arrived and we were driving to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, it finally began to set in.
We found the place with no problem, and started tailgating right away. While we did pack a grill, burgers and a bunch of beer – Matt and I still managed to keep our tailgating low-key by just chilling out on lawn-chairs and listening to our music. The burgers were excellent, and we both had our fair share of beer. It was nice just sitting in the parking lot, letting the DMB experience sink in. We actually ended up missing the opening act due to our excessive tailgating, but we made it to our seats just in time to watch DMB take the stage.
The Verizon Wireless Ampthitheatre was passable venue at best. It reminded me a lot of the Coors Amphitheater in Denver, with two sections of seats and a lawn covering the top of the venue. It was much bigger, but was mostly expanded in the grass area. When I received our seat locations, I was disappointed that we were in the second level of seats. However, after being in the venue it turns out our seats were better than 75% of the people there. The seating radius was extremely wide, and the side-view looked horrible. Additionally, the grass looked like a zoo and was packed to the brink with people. We really lucked out with our seats.
My 12th DMB show was a blast! They had an excellent set list, filled with some rarities and a lot of old material (nothing off Remember Two Things though). It was also awesome seeing trumpeter Rashawn Ross on the tour. He was at Red Rocks last year and was definitely a crowd-pleaser.
Bonner Springs Set List:
JTR
What Would You Say
When The World Ends
Hunger For The Great Light
Dancing Nancies
Warehouse
Grace Is Gone
Raven
Tripping Billies
Where Are You Going
So Much To Say
Too Much
Smooth Rider
American Baby Intro
Louisiana BayouEncore:
Sister (new Dave solo song)
Crash Into Me
Pantala Naga Pampa
Rapunzel
It’s amazing to see the level of energy that Dave has this early in the tour. The earliest I’ve previously seen them was in late June, before their half-way point and it was no comparison to the raw enthusiasm conveyed at Wednesday’s show. I’m not sure if the rawness is better than the synergy and "polished" feel that comes from a later show. It looks like both have their benefits.
I was relegated to my cell phone camera for this show, which simply produced bad pictures. The best one (taken at dusk) has no representation of the beautiful lights/screen that was used in the later evening.
This was an awesome way to kick off my summer concert season (I’m pretending that the Black Eyed Peas show never happened), and am excited for lucky #13 at the Pepsi Center!
Check out my Flickr site for more pictures