Video: Dave Matthews Band Share Behind the Scenes Look at Summer Tour

Rob Slater on July 31, 2014

Dave Matthews Band is currently at halftime of their 2014 summer tour having just wrapped up a brief jaunt through the band’s home state of Virginia. As this is “set break” of their two-set tour, the band’s YouTube page released this 7-minute video documenting the tour thus far. Among the highlights are drummer Carter Beauford discussing what it’s like to play on a different kit (and different style) for the acoustic set as well as the origins of the idea for the new two-set format.

While the tour is fresh for the band, some fans have voiced their displeasure at the lack of variety and reportedly uninspired performances to bassist Stefan Lessard on Twitter, prompting the bassist to respond in various ways. Lessard said that he sees “99.9%” of the crowd dancing to every song no matter what the band is playing but that he also wants songs played that they don’t play at every show.

The variety stats on this tour speak for themselves, as DMB has mixed in right around 40 songs in their acoustic set, which is running at 8-10 songs per night. They are also playing their longest shows of the year, with the average show clocking in at 2:36, which would be in the top ten (and in some cases, the top three) of year’s past.

Another stat worth noting–there are only 15 songs played this year that weren’t last year. Out of those 15, four are covers, three are tunes from Dave’s solo album and four have been played three times or less. Essentially, DMB is delivering more of the same, which isn’t the best way to appease hardcore fans. After the break, the band will return to the stage for a three night stand at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA. Watch the set break video below.