How would you rate the 2018 DMB tour so far?

[Dannyyankou]

Originally Posted by Bmwm3oz

Oh my god. That is probably the worst I've ever seen. WOW

Originally Posted by RiotAct

that run of Burning Down the House through Bayou is legendarily bad.

Originally Posted by Bmwm3oz

Terrible. Likely up there with the worst in history. The opener is too. Such an awful song.

And the worst part is I was there. It was the only time I seriously considered leaving a show, right when Spaceman started.

Also it was raining and Dave’s voice was going out. Terrible show of epic proportions.

[Dannyyankou]

Originally Posted by wrhslax1996

Unpopular opinion time: I kind of like Funny The Way It Is

Even more unpopular opinion probably: I like what Buddy does on Funny

[ajjb21]

When you look at all of the factors for this tour I think it’s average. I went to three shows this year and it seems like that’s about all you need to get a real idea of what this band has become in 2018.

The negatives:
-no violin
-Big Whiskey still getting way too much love
-Stand Up making a resurgence
-setlist variety isn’t strong/openers and closer have been pretty damn predictable
-Big 3 gems have very few plays

The positives:
-they are sounding as good as they have in a long time and not having Boyd has seemed to bring more energy
-It seems like Tim has been turned down some this year and for me that’s a huge positive
-Jeff seems like he has really settled in this year with this new sound and I’m really liking what he is doing
-Buddy has been a pretty solid addition (especially when he is on the piano and not the organ)

If you consider that this is a album release year and next year we have a blank slate (hopefully), 2019 could be an outstanding tour.

[lockman21]

Originally Posted by ajjb21

When you look at all of the factors for this tour I think it’s average. I went to three shows this year and it seems like that’s about all you need to get a real idea of what this band has become in 2018.

The negatives:
-no violin
-Big Whiskey still getting way too much love
-Stand Up making a resurgence
-setlist variety isn’t strong/openers and closer have been pretty damn predictable
-Big 3 gems have very few plays

The positives:
-they are sounding as good as they have in a long time and not having Boyd has seemed to bring more energy
-It seems like Tim has been turned down some this year and for me that’s a huge positive
-Jeff seems like he has really settled in this year with this new sound and I’m really liking what he is doing
-Buddy has been a pretty solid addition (especially when he is on the piano and not the organ)

If you consider that this is a album release year and next year we have a blank slate (hopefully), 2019 could be an outstanding tour.

DMB fans sound like Cubs fans of old. "There's always next year!"

[crashintonickdm]

01 is better than most tours after 2004.

This year is below 07, and right there with 05, 09 and 12. I’m gonna be fair and give it til the end of the tour. It could be the worst ever though

[Seanieb]

I'm happy I get to hear some DMB tunes this summer, I gave up on hoping for legendary shows a lonnnnnnnnnnnng time ago.

[jakesomedevil41]

I give the tour a 1. It’s worse then 05 or 01. (2001 should not be rated as a 1, by the way, in my opinion. 06 and 07 were both worse)

[ajjb21]

Originally Posted by lockman21

DMB fans sound like Cubs fans of old. "There's always next year!"

Lol... If next year means they aren’t playing a ton of CT repeats on two night stands and Buddy and the band have had enough time to play together and actually expand the number of songs that can be played each night... then yes I’m optimistic for next year.

[SmoothD41]

Below Average, 2. Fairly close to 1 though.

For shows I attended (Deer Creek), it's more of a 3.75.

[DMBzilla]

Below average. It’s not like the shows absolutely suck, but they’re just so boring and repetitive.

The fact that Two Step has become a rarity is basically unforgivable too.

[elmachobaracho]

Average for an album tour. I can understand wanting it to be better, but if you have any familiarity with past album tours from 2005 on, then this tour should meet your lowered expectations.

[soundburnt]

Average set lists. The band itself sounds great, but Dave's voice is getting harder to listen to these days. That said, I've still really been enjoying all of the scopes this tour!

[SeanMH]

not the worst not the best

[onesweetworld41]

It hasn't been as bad as 2005 tour which I would rate as the worst ever by a LARGE margin - but it's not better than 2001 or 2009 which I'm more fond of than most folks.

[dre2142]

Originally Posted by tyler3440

It is legendary. It's so bad it's legendary.

touche!!!

[dmbnut21]

I wanted a 2.5 option. It's not full on 2 but it is slightly below par. I picked 2.

The album is good but I don't find it to be exceptional so that leaves it around a 3. A violin is missing and that automatically eliminated the 4 and 5 as options for me. Buddy adds a half point but the Stand Up rotation and lack of AFTW and some of the better Big 3/LWS songs pushes it down to the 2.5 range.

Also, it can't be a 1. They aren't playing Everyday songs and standing up there telling each other to fuck off. And they aren't up there playing 7-9 Stand Up songs every night (and repeating them on multi night stays) and telling each other that this shit is great. It has to be more than a 1.

[comeandsee41]

01 tour is underrated and should not be in the same "worst tour" category as 05 and 09 tour

[DontThink]

Average for DMB is still great to me!

[eggsrsweet]

Originally Posted by comeandsee41

01 tour is underrated and should not be in the same "worst tour" category as 05 and 09 tour

Wrong. 2006-2007 are actually the worst. 2009 is super underrated.

[comeandsee41]

Originally Posted by eggsrsweet

Wrong. 2006-2007 are actually the worst. 2009 is super underrated.

no way 06 is worse than 09.

[eggsrsweet]

Originally Posted by comeandsee41

no way 06 is worse than 09.

Go back and listen to LT35 and tell me that the band was off that year. Seriously, it's amazing how many people overlook the amazing performances on that tour.

[uticans]

Went to SPAC and for the first time since 95, I thought it was boring... they held back and Dave sounded awful.

I think I am done. Just tired of same ole. Never thought I would say that.

[deftones]

This may very well be the worst tour ever. I still think 05' was waaaay better. They still played with energy back then and Robert Randolph opening for them and guesting kept things more upbeat. Plus, I don't think any tour without Roi is better than one with him.

[jkokoris]

OK, I thought of another way to think about this question—I think there are a number of valid ways, some of which the negative answers in this thread opened my eyes to... I ranked (approximately) all the tours and then I took 2018 and started with the bottom of the list (either 2009 or 2005 for me) and said, if I could only listen to one random show from this tour or that tour, which would I pick? 2018 easily beat out 10 tours (09, 05, 07, 15, 13, 12, 16, 01); I didn't have to think too hard for a couple more (14, 06, 10)—this would put it almost exactly in the middle—and then I guess I could see a lot of people getting mad about this, but personally I like more people on the stage and a more developed sound, so I have 2018 very narrowly beating 93 and 94 and maybe 97. Very painful exercise but I'd just rather hear keys and electric and trumpet in the mix, as much as I miss Roi and Boyd when he was good. So that's how I got to my 'above average' answer.

That being said, immediately after that in my list I get to a number of tours that 2018 doesn't come close to touching. But the only two in the post-Butch era are 2011 and 2008, meaning this is the third best tour for me in a decade and the fourth best since 2004. So to me, this tour deserves major props for just being fresh and different than many recent tours which suffered from a bit of stagnation. That being said, I'm not a multiple-show-per-summer guy—I just prefer the live albums at this point to paying a couple hundred to be hot and stand for six hours—so setlist variety doesn't bother me too much. And I'm not too much of a snob; the Stand Up songs are probably my least favorite, but I still genuinely like many of them.

[lockman21]

Originally Posted by eggsrsweet

Wrong. 2006-2007 are actually the worst. 2009 is super underrated.

Not that I want this to turn into a thread debating which other tours are the worst, I do want to say that 2006 has to be one of the most polarizing tours in the band's history. The first 6 weeks or so were off the charts good, and then they came back from the break and it was just really, really bad. Like, the early shows were complete bangers:

Dave Matthews Band
June 2, 2006
Verizon Wireless Music Center, Noblesville, IN

The Stone
The Best of What's Around
Raven
Crush
Pig
Idea of You
Bartender
When the World Ends
JTR
Hunger for the Great Light
What Would You Say
Lie in Our Graves
Too Much
Pantala Naga Pampa »
Rapunzel
-----------------------------------
Sister
#40 [tease]
Ants Marching

Dave Matthews Band
July 2, 2006
Alpine Valley Music Theatre, Elkhorn, WI

Don't Drink the Water
Everyday
Proudest Monkey »
Satellite
The Song That Jane Likes
The Last Stop
If I Had It All
Dancing Nancies »
Warehouse »
Typical Situation
Idea of You
Grace Is Gone
Pig
Digging a Ditch
Smooth Rider
Pantala Naga Pampa »
Rapunzel
-----------------------------------
JTR
Stay (Wasting Time)

[YankeesDMB41]

Nothing from 2009 even sniffs either of those two shows. Even the insanely overrated SPAC 09

[Utopia]

I enjoyed the one show I went to. Granted I was railed, it was my birthday and I hadn’t looked at setlists at all. I still put below average, though.

[ToySoldier#34]

Originally Posted by soundburnt

Average set lists. The band itself sounds great, but Dave's voice is getting harder to listen to these days. That said, I've still really been enjoying all of the scopes this tour!

Their schedule has a lot to do with him getting hoarse, it's not like he can't sing anymore

[dmbbearcat]

My qualm with 2006 isn't the setlist quality, but more with how the band sounded. Granted, my one 2006 show was arguably the worst DMB show ever. But I can't really listen to any 2006 show at all because I thought they sounded so bad.

[cry_minarets458]

i like the massive turd to 10 scale better