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Old 01-20-2021, 06:50 PM   #1
scythrops
 
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Best/Fav Fully Representative List of Live Releases

Hi there,

I've been visiting this site for many years and one of the things I've often read threads about is people's recommendations for live releases. In fact, that's what my only previous thread was about - asking for advice.

I now own and have listened to most of the Live Trax and official live releases and thought I might be in a position to give something back. Many people who have recently got into DMB or existing fans looking to invest in some live material often come here asking for advice and usually receive it. However, there are a number of hardcore fans that love the older releases and/or don't enjoy particular periods of the band's studio or live releases, and that's OK!

Myself, I enjoy all of the band's releases. In fact my least favourite period of live releases are the pre-BTCS ones, mainly due to a smaller variety of songs but Dave's voice can also be a factor.

I decided that I would like to compile a list of my favourite live releases spanning the band's history, that represents a reasonably even distributuion throught the various iterations of the band. I ended up with a small number of rules to guide my choices:
1) The list comprises 15 live releases - not too small or large a number and is effectively one per two years of DMB
2) The 15 were selected from the Live Trax and offical live releases, mainly as that is what I have and listen to (DMB only too, no D&T)
3) I limited the selection to contain only one show from any single year
4) I wanted the selections to provide a reasonable representation of each ieteration of the band and settled on 1 from pre-1995, 4 from 1995-2000, 4 from 2001-2008, 3 from 2008-2012, 2 from 2013-2017 and 1 post-2017.

Anyway, the list I have come up with in chronological order is:
1993 - Live Trax 20 - this one is my favourite of the early releases and I was surprised by how much I enjoy it. Warren Haynes guesting is a welcome addition and I love Blue Water.
1995 - Live at Red Rocks - this is such a good show and I find it a much easier re-listen than the other 95-96 releases. Tim Reynolds guesting throughout and many of these songs are top notch versions.
1997 - Live Trax 47 - despite LT7 being a favourite among most fans I have never really loved it for some reason - don't flame, I still think it's good! However, I much prefer this release in terms of the overall show flow. It has Bela Fleck guesting rather than the full Flecktones.
1998 - Live Trax 1 - this was one of the first I bought and is still a favourite. Butch Taylor and Tim Reynolds guest throughout with occasional input from Bela Fleck. The show is bookended by the superb Seek Up-Linus and Lucy opening and the IBYU-Last Stop closer. Sensational.
2000 - Live Trax 3 - another early purchase and a firm fan favourite. It's hard to say what makes this one so special, but I think it's the overall pace, flow and vibe of the show is just so on point. Again it features Seek Up-Linus and Lucy and Butch Taylor.
2001 - Live Trax 31 - I think this is the most enjoyable listen of the live releases with a heavy Everyday presence. Features the Lovely Ladies guesting on backing vocals. An interseting song selection and a good production mix.
2003 - The Central Park Concert - the first DMB release that I ever owned. It was listening to this over and over that made me catch the bug! Many of the songs on here are among the best live releases you will find. Warren Haynes guesting on Cortez the Killer is a highlight.
2004 - Live Trax 8 - all of the 2004 releases are great, but this is the pick of them for me. Although I love the Carlos Santana guest section of LT2, this show is just such a solid selection of songs and flows really well. No Loving Wings is the only thing you could hold against it as a 2004 release!
2007 - Live Trax 42 - I avoided any of the shows that were too Stand Up focussed. I love some of the Stand Up songs, but the shows which are dominated by them are not among the best IMO. This release is one of the very best in the DMB collection. Another great flowing show that has been mixed well. It picks up the Loving Wings that is missing from the previous selection and also includes Shotgun, which for me is over-rated but many love it something crazy.
2008 - Live Trax 13 - this is another release that is just so solid throughout with a great overall set of songs and flow. #27 and Water into Wine are nice inclusions and the Hey, Hey, My, My cover is fantastic.
2009 - Live Trax 35 - I think this is the best of the Big Whiskey era live releases. Another show with good flow, backed up with a good mix. Some great songs in here. I especially enjoy the performance of The Dreaming Tree.
2010 - Live Trax 28 - this year is overly-represented with live releases for some reason. I think they're all pretty good, but for me this one stands head and shoulders above the rest. I like the overall flow and energy of the show and it includes a performance of Spoon. I really love the Squirm through DDtW opening sequence too.
2013 - Live Trax 45 - I decided to stear clear of the two-set 2014 releases so settled on choosing one from 2013 and one from 2015-16. I enjoy this release more than the other 2013 option, which is LT29. I think this one is a more solid show overall, with a good energy. The run to the close of the main set and the encore is an incredibly strong finish.
2015 - Live Trax 36 - this one is a two-set structure, with an acoustic set including The Stone and Snow Outside. I picked this one over LT44 because I thought it good to include one two-set show and I enjoy the overall main set of this one more. I prefer the mix on this one and Dave's vocals seem a little off on LT44.
2018 - Live Trax 46 - no alternatives here, as I had to choose this one to represent the Come Tommorrow release era! Nevertheless, I do like this show and enjoy hearing the Come Tommorrow material in a live setting.

Wow, that was some effort!

Hopefully people find this now or years down the track and it helps them make some informed choices as to how to start or expand the DMB live release collection. For those of you that have already been there and done that, you are welcome to suggest improvements to this list, add supporting comments to my selections that you agree with or to come up with your own list of 15 following the rules I set out at the beginning of the post (with maybe one non-confrmance of the rules if you really feel it must be done!).

Cheers,
Dan.
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  • Old 01-21-2021, 06:33 PM   #2
    djamieb
     
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    Re: Best/Fav Fully Representative List of Live Releases

    Thanks for all the time you put into this! I really enjoyed reading your blurbs of the shows, and I'm aligned with you for a huge majority of this list.

    I agree that it's impossible to make a fully exhaustive list that covers all the highlights in their live release catalog with only 15 shows, but I think you did a great job of picking excellent representation from each period to cover the start through 2020. And I bet your post will be especially helpful to the uninitiated or newer fans who might feel daunted looking at the insane amount of live releases we have at this point and trying to figure out where to start or which ones to choose, lol.
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    Old 02-05-2021, 12:21 PM   #3
    HonestDenver1
     
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    Re: Best/Fav Fully Representative List of Live Releases

    Nice!

    Here's mine: No rules though.


    1993: 1/26 & 1/27 Very different versions of the band in the early days. The 26th has a female back up vocalist and it's fantastic. The 2 shows are high energy but different sets and different jams. You can feel the high energy as the band had really started to get confident and experimental with their sound... Right before getting BIG. It's just excellent DMB and a great look for any newer fans wondering where this band came from. OR older fans who haven't given the early days much time. Someone gave me the tapes for these shows back in 2000 and they have been at the top of my list ever since. Also check out the Prism Coffeehouse shows. The second D&T shows of all time and the official release or tape are just perfect sound. You'll feel like you're in the room with them...

    1994: Irving Plaza... A lot of shows in this year and 95 kind of run together do the amount of songs the band had at the time... They played this show with high energy and it sounds fresh.. I also enjoy the Fox shows in March and November from Boulder...

    1995: Obviously the classic Red Rocks show. I don't think you can make a list of anything DMB without this show. i believe it's how most of us discovered the band outside of WWYS, Ants and Crash... I think it came out in 1997 and I was like, you're releasing a live show without a bunch of tracks from your latest album?? Not knowing Crash hadn't been recorded yet when they actually played this show... I kind of knew then that DMB was going to do whatever they want... Also the Warfield show is a favorite of mine... Band was getting very popular and playing a famous theater in San Francisco...which became a huge fanbase for them...

    1996: Dave and Tim. Luther College is the obvious choice, but the most recent release on Sirius XM is equally as good and a bit of a different setlist from Live Trax 23 which is very similar to Luther College. The XM show has excellent quality sound and it includes Recently which is one of my favorite songs DMB or D&T, but they really kill it on this.

    1997: Live trax 47. It could easily be a top 5 DMB release of all time. Seek up with Bela might be the best version of this song ever released, and there is some strong competition. Can't reccommend this show enough.

    1998: The Oakland Arena show Live trax 39... Just fantastic... Winter 98 is considered one of the best tours for this band... Some of the releases don't do the shows justice, but this one really does. The DMBlive release from Philly that same year is really good too, but it's a soundboard show so less in term of quality audio... I am not a fan of Live Trax 1 or Live in Chicago... solely due to the mixes... they both give me ear fatigue really quickly.. To each their own though..

    1999: It's all Dave and Tim this year. 2-07-99, 1-13-99, 1-14-99 You can't go wrong with a show from this tour... To me this tour is such a gem... It's what got me into playing guitar... I was heading into college in 2002 when I first heard these tapes... I couldn't believe anyone was able to make 2 guitars sound so full... and then realizing they weren't playing normal open chords... It really escalated my obsession into Dave Matthews music and I learned it meticulously on the guitar.... I loved all the storytelling between songs and the ability to take a set all over the place in terms of emotion and volume...

    2000: Maybe THE best year for DMB. New songs, band was huge. They were at the top of their game... Great songs like Bartender, grace is gone, and sweet up and Down... Live Trax 3 and 16 are both untouchable...

    2001: I was at the Folsom show so I'm not impartial on this one. Live Trax 31 is the only other release... Though if you can download the labor day broadcast from the chicago shows... it is also worth a listen.. It's just a sampler but it sounds great and has a few tunes these others don't including Anjelique Kidjo on Satellite...

    2002: Live Trax 40. Gorge N3: You can now watch the N3 show pro shot on youtube.. It's probably my favorite treat the band has given us. Both of these shows are absolutely incredible. Don't let people tell you Dave's voice or the mix is bad on the Gorge. It's not perfect, but comparing to where his voice got later in the decade, it sounds great in retrospect on here.

    2003: Central Park

    2004: LT 43 is where my money's at on this tour. LT 8 is good, LT 2 is good but I like the setlist and flow on LT 43... You can't go wrong with any official release from this year.. LT 50 is probably my least favorite even though we all clamored for it, the setlist is amazing on paper, but the show itself drags a bit in energy and contains some mistakes... I understand other's really enjoy it though.

    2007: Gorge Night 2, LT 42, Hollywood Bowl, are my tops for this year... It was a strange year for the band as the tour got started late... And the new songs were not all that well formed... Lackluster a lot of the time though A Dream So Real and Cornbread became songs I ended up loving looking back... Eh Hee full band is something that should not be reviewed again...

    2008: Too many good shows to choose, but LT 13 would be the one I would start with... and then LT 19... South America tour was like a second line for ROI... The band was obviously grieving but playing out of their minds in honor of him.. The set was pretty standard for 08 on paper, but it's a jam heavy show.. It seemed the band didn't care about time this evening... And they were at the peak of their long jams...Multiple songs reaching beyond 15 minutes...

    2009: Europe and LT 35 are all we have.. Both are great if you like Big Whiskey Era... Very heavy BW setlists

    2010: Band was tight. The best show is the CVille show. Live trax 28... good surprises in a lackluster set.. High energy... Band was taking a break the next year.. Back home.. Can't go wrong. the video is really good too...

    2011: Atlantic City is a highlight for DMB 3.0 Also any show from the Gorge Caravan is worth your time. They are available in full in amatuer HQ on youtube...

    2012: No releases yet. But 5-26-12 is a gem also on youtube... It's a slow burn but just great all around... The Alpine shows need an official release... 2012 is an underrated year. Band was having fun... Loose, but intentionally..

    2013: Band was fire this whole tour. LT 45 is the one for me.

    2014: I love LT 52... It was a weird release, but the sounds is absolutely pristine and the first acoustic set is amazing..

    2016: Cville needs a release

    2017: Any of the D & T Europe shows should easily be a good listen... The Italy show is in regular rotation for me.
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    Old 02-05-2021, 09:24 PM   #4
    djamieb
     
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    Re: Best/Fav Fully Representative List of Live Releases

    @HonestDenver1 : Awesome reading through your list, as well. Thanks for putting it out there! Some spot-on assessments that I wholeheartedly agree with, and a few surprises that make me want to go back and listen to those shows that I might have listened to only once or twice and mostly overlooked, as well.

    I dig this thread so far.
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