DMBlive Vol. 1

This release is more about its place in history than about the performances, as it’s believed to be the second known Dave & Tim show (the first being the previous October, also at Prism Coffeehouse). The dialogue accounts for about 25% of the running time of the performance; putting this aside it’s actually a remarkably short run of music. Speaking about the show, aside from the obvious (very, very early days for Dave and for Dave & Tim), what’s most unique about the show is the heavy use of 12-string guitars, especially for songs that pretty much never saw them again (SATELLITE, TYPICAL, RECENTLY, ANTS, HELP MYSELF). On the one hand, this gives the songs more of a shimmer that’s interesting; on the other hand, it robs some of them of that bassy thump that’s a hallmark (e.g., the pre-chorus to RECENTLY). Dave’s voice is also at a less mature point; the falsettos are out in force, and the growl hasn’t really come into being yet. My favorite performances are RECENTLY (Tim’s solo is very good), ONE SWEET (hello, instrumental *outro*), MINARETS (when is this song not great), GRANNY, WAREHOUSE (stunning intro, although the rest of the song doesn’t live up to it IMO), BACK YOU UP (so pure), and HELP MYSELF (one of the better performances of it). On the other hand, I don’t care for TYPICAL, JANE, TRIPPING, TWO STEP, CHRISTMAS, WATCHTOWER, or SO MUCH, and then you have ANGEL FROM sort of being half-sung (although the audience sing-along makes it memorable). Not a release I gravitate back to with any regularity, although it’s a fun listen when I do.