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Listener Supported

Artist: Dave Matthews Band
Genre: Alternative
Year: 1999
Rating: 8 / 10

Over the past few years, as the Dave Matthews Band has become more and more prominent, I have noticed a simple truth about the effect the band has on people. Some denounce the band's continued reliance on live albums, wondering how one group can produce three separate live recordings in a matter of a few years. They vocally cry out against the legions of fans that support the band, those who eagerly purchase these albums and who travel across the country following the band. Others worship the band, thanking Dave Matthews & Co. for the many recorded treats the group provides its fans. These people are the intensely loyal sort, glad to be able to witness such musical artistry.

Listener Support, the third of three (so far) live albums produced by the Dave Matthews Band, is for this second group of people. Fans of the group recognize that its true majesty lies in the strength of its live performances. Watching performances by groups like NSYNC and Britney Spears, it becomes apparent that today's artists are about flash and elaborate choreography, with music taking a back seat. The Dave Matthews Band puts music first - no flaming guitars, spinning drum sets, or glittering dancers here. Thousands of people come out to see the band each summer because the Dave Matthews Band is first and foremost a live band, the type which delivers electrifying onstage renditions of already-spectacular studio efforts. Listener Supported, like Live at Red Rocks before it, illustrates this very point.

Even though the band had released a live album earlier in the year, the taping of a PBS special in early September provided a great opportunity for the band to deliver to its fans live renditions of their newest songs. Live at Luther College, released ten months prior, was nonetheless recorded in 1996, meaning that most of the songs on Before These Crowded Streets had not yet made their way to a live album. Shots of "Pantala Naga Pampa" and "Rapunzel", two staples from the band's 1999 summer tour, rectify that problem immediately, as does an eerie take on "The Stone." Sampling from Crowded Streets is not limited to these three songs, yet the true highlights are the other unreleased live numbers which dot the set.

The Dave Matthews Band's cover of "Long Black Veil" stormed into the collective fan consciousness during the Summer 1999 Tour, and, thankfully, it makes a sparkling appearance here. Ballads such as "Crash Into Me" and "Crush" have achieved significant mainstream success, and "Long Black Veil" belongs with them in terms of sheer emotion. Speaking of which, the "Dixie Chicken"-flavored "Crash Into Me" might be the defining jam of the album, though a peppy "Jimi Thing" might give it a run for its money. Live mainstays such as "Warehouse" are, as always, in prime form, with LeRoi Moore and Boyd Tinlsey once again displaying their ample musical talents. Listener Supported might be the third live album produced by the Dave Matthews Band, but each is a unique experience, which is exactly what keeps fans returning to see the band perform each summer.

See Also: Dave Matthews Band Tribute

Submitted 6/30/00.