I saw 3 live music acts this past weekend. Skip Winters played at North Bowl. I’d seen him once before, but there was a bigger crowd and I didn’t really get to take it all in.
Then I saw Rift, a Phish tribute band, and DMTB, a Dave Matthews tribute band, at Concert Under the Stars in KoP. Rift’s lead singer, Sean, I’d consider a close friend. We’ve been in golf leagues together and I’ve been watching him play for over a decade. DMTB is led by a guy who sounds similar to the real Dave Matthews which you’d expect.
These aren’t stadium acts. Each group has a few thousand followers on Instagram. One of Skip Winters’ songs has over a million listens. I’d imagine these groups play shows ranging from a few dozen to a thousand people. They’re all out there playing gigs, presumably because at some level they still love the game. I can’t imagine winning over a different room every night is an easy job.
At Skip Winters, after about 3 songs, I put some money in the tip jar and said that I came to hear a Hozier song. The very next song he played was “Work Song.” I’d heard him play this before so it wasn’t completely random that I knew he knew Hozier.
Well, it was the type of song that gives you goosebumps.
I was surprised three other people in the crowd knew it. Skip has a hipster vibe where I imagine playing an A-side would violate some personal code. To me, hearing that song alone was worth the experience.
He also played songs from the Lumineers, Mt. Joy, Father John Misty, and Bob Dylan. There’s something about hearing a familiar song stripped down acoustically that makes it feel fresh again. I also liked that they didn’t rush from song to song. There was some breathing room between them which other bands don’t always do because they feel they lose the crowd.
After his first intermission, he came to the bar, and I talked to him and the keyboardist in this video for about ten minutes. He also has an original called “Brand New Chapter” that I would have assumed was a cover by some famous band I’d never heard before. I mean that as a compliment. They also did “I Miss You” by Blink-182 with the same kind of acoustic spin, which worked surprisingly well.
I’ve seen Sean’s band Rift play a bunch of times and can only marvel at the talent level. Sean’s an excellent guitarist and lead singer, but they’re also starting to make the show more of a performance. They do this little synchronized leg kick during one of the jams that’s fun to watch.
I’m not the biggest Phish fan, which is where I’ll sidetrack.
The Dave Matthews Tribute Band headlined the gig. I asked Sean if he thought he could be the “Dave” guy. He said he could. Which I found interesting, because he obviously prefers Phish. He’d rather play to a smaller crowd of people who are into the same shit he is than chase the bigger audience.
Even though I don’t align with the Lizards and all their death, I found the Dave crowd to be worse. More people knew the music, and the drum set they brought onstage looked like it cost $50,000. Apparently my enjoyment of Dave Matthews covers is not correlated with the price of the drum set.
It’s not that I don’t like the music. I’d most likely choose DMB over Phish if I were going on a 10-hour car ride. But the show felt a bit soulless to me. Skip Winters made me feel something. DMTB felt like they were punching a clock.
That may be completely unfair. They might love playing Dave Matthews more than I love anything. But after what could easily have been their 500th show playing the same songs, that’s how it came across. It could also be that all the cool kids in sixth grade said DMB was their favorite band and I wasn’t listening to them, so this entire critique may stem from a 25 year old grudge.
Skip gave me goosebumps with one acoustic cover in a bowling alley. Rift makes music I don’t particularly like fun because I can see how much the band likes playing it. DMTB played music I theoretically prefer, for the biggest crowd, with the best equipment, and somehow I enjoyed it the least.
But that’s what I find interesting about all three of them. These guys have to win the room every time they play. Nobody bought a $400 ticket six months ago. Half the people might just be there because they were already at the bowling alley. You don’t get to walk onstage with everyone already convinced you’re important.
You have to earn the next song.
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