Show #1:

June 7, 1998
Giants Stadium
East Rutherford, New Jersey

Opening Bands: Beck and Ben Folds Five

The Best of What’s Around
Pantala Naga Pampa * –>
Rapunzel *
Crush *
Don’t Drink The Water *@
Recently (On Broadway, Some Do/Some Don’t)
Back To Alexandria *@^
So Much To Say (Anyone Seen The Bridge) –>
Too Much
Pig *@^
Jimi Thing
For The Beauty of Wynona
Tripping Billies (Nature Intro)
Two Step @
Stay *@
———————-
Crash Into Me *@
All Along The Watchtower (Stefan solo intro) *@

* with Butch Taylor
@ with Bela Fleck
^ with Big Voice Jack
# with Tawatha Agee, Cindy Myzell, and Brenda White King This was my very first Dave Matthews Band concert. I went with Steve on a beautiful sunny day in June. I drove my Honda Prelude.

We arrived a little late to Giants Stadium plus we tailgated in the parking lot for a while which was a lot of fun. As a result, however, we missed seeing Ben Folds Five, and about half of Beck’s set, but the show was a lot of fun.

The band played a fantastic set list. Our seats were okay. We were pretty high up and off to the side but still had a rocking time. My only complaint was the song “Back to Alexandria” that Big Voice Jack did was a bit too long and redundant. Otherwise, it was awesome!

Highlights for me were the opener of “The Best of What’s Around,” the first song I ever heard from Dave Matthews Band. Awesome versions of “Rapunzel,” “Crush,” and “Don’t Drink the Water” were terrific.

A great intro to “Recently” with “I’ve seen the lights on Broadway (Sometimes I do)” version had me laughing. It was also the first time I ever heard them do “So Much to Say” connected to an awesome funky instrumental jam titled “Anyone Seen the Bridge?” which then went directly into “Too Much.” Just amazing! “Stay (Wasting Time)” was so catchy that I was still singing it all the way from the stadium to the parking lot, and into the next day.

A great encore ended the show, as DMB played two fan favorites, “Crash into Me” and their excellent rendition of “All Along the Watchtower.”