Antsmarching.org Forums - Dave Matthews Band Discussion - View Single Post - DMB and the Present Tense
View Single Post
Old 02-14-2021, 02:47 PM   #9
dreamingtree_34
 
dreamingtree_34's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 770

Shows Seen: 3

DMB Hub Stubs: 5

My Tour Central Stats

Re: DMB and the Present Tense

DMB could be a lot more relevant if Dave would have really focused on songwriting in the aughts / early 10's. Songwriting - writing great songs - not songs that work for the band / make everyone happy / are upbeat by mandate. I think another solo album really could have served him well. Some Devil is the last thing he made that I think is a work of art commiserate with his talent / prior works (and that is unencumbered with so much of the bullshit dynamics that the band has not been able to sustainably iron out in this millennium).

Look what Tom Petty was able to do between '89 and '94 - those are some of his biggest hits. I think if Dave was able to distance from the baggage of the band and just write - he probably could have done the same.

The other thing that I don't hear people talk about is that the band should have taken entire years off long before 2011. Every big act does this. Even a mid tier indie act that plays 180 shows in an album cycle today-- they would absolutely take a full year off touring to recover, live life a bit, write, and then go back to recording. And their new music is better for it. It's crazy to me to think that after the run the band had in the 90s -- there were these pressures to release a record within two years after BTCS --and this relentless tour schedule to maintain. If they would have taken some time off, yeah there is no epic 2000 tour - but there is probably a completed tLWS in 2001 and a far better future ahead. Everyday only really exists because the band allowed themselves to be backed into a release schedule, when they should have had all the leverage in the world to do whatever they wanted.
dreamingtree_34 is offline   Reply With Quote