Dave Matthews Band delivers top-tier jams at Pittsburgh concert

Friday night is always a good time for a jam session, and the Dave Matthews Band will always strike that chord.

The newly-minted Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees took the stage at PPG Paints Arena and served up almost three hours of tunes. Don’t let that show length fool you — with extended solos and musical digressions, the set list ran only 20 songs.

Started back in 1991, DMB has had several hit songs and won Grammy Awards, but their loyal fanbase is most passionately committed to their live shows. They’re known for hits including “Crash Into Me,” “The Space Between” and “What Would You Say,” all from the 1990s. But they have consistently toured and made music throughout their 33-year history, even if not with all of their original members.

The current seven-musician-strong lineup is at the top of their game, however, and delivered a set that was at times searing and exhilarating, at times moving and at times even a little sultry.

With a group this in love with playing music, no opener is required. Dave Matthews and his band came onstage at quarter to eight, kicking off the show with a surprisingly-chill “Granny,” which kicked into gear after the bridge into the first of many lengthy musical interludes that got the crowd screaming.

“Hello, thank you very much. It’s so nice to be in a room where we all get along and everything,”Matthews said in introduction, the crowd cheering their approval. “Thank you so much for choosing to be here this evening.”

The Pittsburgh show was their first one in a few weeks, a brief break in their fall tour that started another spate of dates. The musicians all seemed well rested and ready to rock.

Moving into something a little more quirky, “Squirm” had an off-kilter time signature and a refrain that repeated “drum beats louder,” a command followed by the excellent — and exuberant — Carter Beauford.

Matthews’ skills as frontman are well-honed — he is capable of holding a crowd in the palm of his hand, switching his guitar and vocals up and delivering a unique poetry with his voice.

And the horn section of the band really asserted themselves here, taking solos that set the tone for the rest of the show.

.@davematthewsbnd at @PPGPaintsArena in Pittsburgh

????by @germbug1 pic.twitter.com/kN8IMfZkzn

— TribLIVE.com (@TribLIVE) November 16, 2024

“Warehouse” was a little dark and foreboding, but the crowd knew what to do, inserting “whoo”s after every line of dense lyrics. The song seemed to have several musical movements, even ending with a Caribbean feel. Dave Matthews Band is known for its cultural diversity, and they incorporated many musical styles throughout.

After the lengthy “Minarets,” which shone a spotlight on the keyboard for the first time, came the jaunty “When The World Ends,” with a surprisingly sudden start and ending.

After what felt like a run of very dark and serious songs, the sensual “Lover Lay Down,” which was lush with woodwinds and soft strumming guitar, was a welcome respite under purple stage lights.

Shifting gears again, “The Only Thing” had an electric guitar classic rock feel. They followed that with some actual classic rock — a cover of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” — and Matthews did a practiced send-up of Bowie’s vocal delivery.

“Digging a Ditch” was poetic and soft, highlighting Matthews’ voice and guitar, but wound up into something more driving with the rest of the band’s contributions.

In between songs, Matthews assured the audience, “No need to worry right now because we’re all right here.”

It was a lot of back-and-forth after that. “You Might Die Trying” was full of urgency and “Virginia in the Rain” is smooth and funky, the keyboard and guitar talking to each other while Matthews temporarily exited the stage at the song’s start.

With elements of jazz, the tune was smooth and soothing, the lighting even dimming to deep oranges and blues for a true blues club aura.

Matthews explained his absence. “I got a call from a friend. I couldn’t miss it, it was very a important call so I had to get to it right away, my apologies.”

They revved the tone up again with “Raven” and then the all-out scorcher “Lie In Our Graves,” from the smash-hit 1996 album “Crash.” The song was upbeat and felt celebratory of what these talented individuals could do.

Bringing out one of the few highly recognizable songs that made it onto the set list, the band had a good time with “The Space Between,” a fairly mellow tune that the crowd sang along with audibly.

Perhaps the most high-octane part of the evening was “Louisiana Bayou,” bombastic with horns and drums that filled the arena and spotlights that showed off the undulating crowd.

“Too Much,” another song from “Crash,” was a white-hot full-tilt jam that couldn’t be stopped, followed by “Rapunzel,” closing the pre-encore set with an off-kilter melange of instruments, lyrics and unusual time signatures designed to show off just how well this band can make anything work.

After DMB left the stage, the crowd roared for their return, and a galaxy of phone flashlights winked on. They remained mostly when the band returned.

After thanking fans for coming out once again, Matthews said, “I don’t say it everywhere I go, and I don’t know exactly why, but I love Pittsburgh.”

He continued, “It’s just a nice town and I’m always happy to be here. I think maybe when I was younger, my mom used to always say ‘I love Pittsburgh’ and I said, ‘I can’t wait to say I love Pittsburgh.’”

They kept things simple with the tear-jerking slow song “Sister” to start with, but ended with a bang. “Two Step” was the fourth single from “Crash” and it’s full of genre bending and melodies that offer great musical opportunities. The crowd rode the wave from the energy of the verses down to a cooled-off keyboard-focused bridge and then a crash back in again with a thunderous blend of blues, country and rock.

The band looked overjoyed and triumphant by the show’s end, mirroring the thousands of hyped-up fans who never got tired of even the longest songs.

There are certain things you should really do once, like seeing the Grand Canyon or eating a really expensive, well-prepared steak. Seeing Dave Matthews Band live? They proved Friday night that it’s still an experience that belongs on such a bucket list.