- No covers - no matter how much I love the various cover songs that DMB plays at shows, for this list to be authentic in my opinion the songs have to belong to the band.
- Unreleased tracks count - so Blue Water can make it in.
- Studio versions are important, but the live version is more important. This is a band that has flourished because of their 25 plus years of playing live. What matters is how the song plays live.
- The rareness of a song, and my search to hear it live, factors in. I'm just not really sure how.
- This list is how the songs hit me now, in January/February of 2017. I've made lists before, and this will vary from those.
Without further delay, here are songs 45-41, with brief comments:
#45 - Captain - from the Busted Stuff album, this song opens with a strong bass line, lightly moving violin, and firm, yet understated drumming from Carter. Dave's voice is almost quiet, reflective, and the lyrics are contemplative, if dark. This song is an example of the depths that the band can go to, and if you really take in the lyrics of self-examination and self-reflection it can make you wonder about yourself as well. I've had the chance to hear Captain twice: 2011 at Lakeside during the Caravans and in 2013 at Noblesville. Lyric to consider: "Strange, but it seems like like there's a mutiny brewing inside of me. But I don't want your pity, only the promise that you'll stay with me tonight."
#44 - Stay or Leave - from Dave's solo album, Some Devil, this song is one of the songs I've heard most often on tour, with 12 different times being played. The first time I heard it was in 2008 at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, at a Dave and Tim show which benefited Barack Obama's fundraising towards the end of the primary season. Other notable performances included 2010 at Wrigley Field (full band), 2011 in Charlottesville, VA (Dave and Tim), and a total of 3 full band performances in both 2011 and 2012. It's a good transition song live, and a great album version secures its' place on this list. Lyric to consider: "Wake up naked, drinking coffee, making plans to change the world, while the world is changing us."
#43 - Grace is Gone - another song from the Busted Stuff album, this song is a great take on trying to find peace at the end of the bottle or whiskey glass. With his daughter's name in the title, this song is a great live performance. I've been in attendance to hear the song four times. The first two were in 2011, first at Lakeside in a Dave and Tim performance, and the second in Charlottesville, VA at a Dave and Tim show (I'm listening to that version right now as I write this). I then saw this song again in 2012 in Virginia Beach, and again last year, 2016, at Alpine Valley. This song is good with the full band, but the Dave and Tim version is probably my favorite. Lyric to consider: "I could never love again so much as I love you. Where you end, where I begin, is like a river going through."
#42 - The Song That Jane Likes - a song that originated with the early band Tribe of Heaven, which Dave was a part of, this song has its roots in a time before Dave Matthews started play with the members of the band. Always opening with "I have a sister named Jane, and this is The Song That Jane Likes," the intro to the song will routinely get drowned out by cheers. I've seen "Jane" a total of nine times, with the first coming in 2009 at Tinley Park, IL. Other showings included twice at John Paul Jones in Charlottesville (2010 and 2016), three times in Noblesville (2012, 2014 and 2015), twice at Alpine Valley (2012 and 2016), and on our honeymoon to The Gorge (2013). Lyric to consider: "All of the captain's cards are kings. Still, he and the queen are lost at sea. I hope it isn't you and me."
#41 - Raven - A third song from Busted Stuff in this section, much like Captain I've seen it twice. This song is outwardly about Jesus and God having a conversation, but, as with most DMB lyrics, there is a variety of views which could be taken, and the lyrics have a great deal of depth. The first time I saw this song was 2012 in Alpine Valley, with the second coming in 2015 at Noblesville. The song has great interplay between members of the band, and is always a crowd favorite. Lyric to consider: "What you got, what you got in your hand? Your secrets safe with me. Well I found the truth friend, let me whisper in your ear."
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