Sometimes a Jimi Thing...

Each of my last three summers has drawn to a close with a real exclamation point. It's pretty much tradition now for me to, on a typical hot and muggy Dallas night, make the short 10-minute drive to Smirnoff Music Center (now Superpages.com Center, but whatever), a truly magical outdoor amphitheater in the sense that Coors Light and cotton t-shirts apparently quintuple in cost.

But I don't go for the beer. No, I go for the Dave Matthews Band experience. The show of '06 was pretty unforgettable, but last night's performance beat it out by about eight lengths. It's usually tough for me to let my guard down and start acting like I can sing and dance, but not on this night. Let's plow through an abridged version of the setlist, shall we?

Pantala Naga Pampa/Rapunzel - Stupid traffic! Missed the opening, but I'd seen both of these before. My cousin and I waltzed into our seats between Rapunzel and...
Proudest Monkey - Eh, a little slow. Took this opportunity to snap a picture of the stage for my new cell wallpaper.
So Damn Lucky - About here we realized that a wiry, long-haired, tank-top-clad Tim Reynolds, who appeared to walk straight out of a Led Zeppelin music video, was on stage! Only he could turn a usually dull song into a full-blown jamfest.
Eh Hee - A strange but absolutely infectious song, with a really interesting story about a tribe from southern Africa behind its origin.
Cornbread - "A little bit of heaven and a little bit of hell yeah." Never seen Dave dance like that to this bluegrass-y tune. Would've been even better had he donned overalls and a straw hat.
Lover Lay Down - Not my favorite. Got a beer.
Money - Cover of the Pink Floyd song. Don't think anyone expected that one. Also, learned Michael Phelps won his eighth gold during this song. USA! USA!
Jimi Thing - Here's where it really started picking up. Crowd sings the first two verses, Dave approves and lets us have the solo. Gave his vocal chords a rest. Probably 15 minutes of musical nirvana.
Halloween - Formerly a rarity on tour, they've started making this one a bit of a regular this year. I approve...easily the most frenetic and high-octane part of the show.
Ants Marching - Hadn't heard this one before live...lived up to my ridiculous expectations. Fiddlist Boyd Tinsley brought down the house.
Stay - Just when we were ready to endure the fake ending, they break into Stay. Crowd and Josh-pleaser.
Sledgehammer (encore) - Wish I knew this one, but good nonetheless.
Two Step (encore) - Everyone knew it was coming when Jeff Coffin picked up the barisax. 20-minute jam session, with Carter Beauford's insane drumming taking the blue ribbon for "Most Kick-Ass Solo", fittingly ends the night.

Nothing like a Dave show to make you forget all about life and free your mind. "Well sometime a Jimi thing just slide my way and keep me swinging." Couldn't have put it better myself, Dave.