Dave Matthews Band kicked off a two-night run at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on Monday. Dave Matthews and company welcomed a string section and additional horns at the famed L.A. amphitheatre.
DMB kicked off the show with #41” ahead of “You Never Know” and the band’s recently debuted cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Fool In The Rain.” The classic “Satellite” followed ahead of the relatively new tune, “Walk Around The New Moon.” “Sweet,” “Don’t Drink The Water,” “The Riff “You & Me” and “Lover Lay Down” rounded out the first half of the set.
The band then welcomed a string section consisting of cellist Adrienne Woods, violinist Ann Marie Simpson, conductor Dave Campbell and others beginning on “Squirm.” The strings would stay on for “When The World Ends,” “Steady As We Go” and “What You Are.”
Next, DMB would go it alone on “Stay Or Leave” before drummer Carter Beauford and guitarist Tim Reynolds offered accompaniment for Dave on “Kill The Preacher.” Bassist Stefan Lessard, trumpeter Rashawn Ross, saxophonist Dave Coffin and keyboardist Buddy Strong came back out for “Kill The Preacher’s” companion song “Why I Am.” Ross and Coffin were then joined by trombonists Alex Wasily and Elizabeth Lea to round out the horn section for “Jimi Thing.”
Dave then made a round of introductions — including a humorous story about having to sneak Stefan into the clubs when they first started out as he was “just a kid” — and also welcomed back Ann Marie Simpson. “She’s a homie from Virginia,” Dave said. “We wanted her to come out here and join us on this song ‘cause we know she’d get it right.” Carter then drummed the group into the classic closer “Ants Marching” and Simpson did indeed pull off former fiddler Boyd Tinsley’s lines flawlessly as well as adding a bit of her own flair to cap off the set. Dave would return solo for “Rye Whiskey” to begin the encore followed by a full band “Grey Street” to wrap night one at the Hollywood Bowl.
Watch fan-shot video of the string section sit-in as well as “Ants Marching” below:
Setlist (via DMB Almanac)
Set: #41, You Never Know, Fool in the Rain, Satellite, Walk Around the Moon, Sweet, Don’t Drink the Water, The Riff, You & Me, Lover Lay Down, Squirm*, When the World Ends*, Steady As We Go*, What You Are*, Stay or Leave*, Kill the Preacher, Why I Am, Jimi Thing#, Ants Marching^
Encore: Rye Whiskey, Grey Street
Notes:
* w/string section
# w/horns
^ w/horns & Ann Marie Simpson
