Holly V. HaysIndianapolis Star
As a self-proclaimed pop-culture junkie and fan of what I think is a pretty diverse range of music, I’m ashamed to admit how little familiarity I have with jam bands.
I’m not sure I can name a single song by The Grateful Dead, I have only some idea of what Phish might sound like, and going into Friday night’s show at Ruoff Music Center, I knew exactly one song by Dave Matthews Band.
I’m not sipping Haterade and telling you I’m too good for this kind of music. It’s a genuine cultural blind spot. It’s OK — I’m disappointed in me, too.
But, in talking to the people in my life who love Dave Matthews Band, it became quickly clear to me that I should be thankful to be experiencing my first of his shows on the first night of Creekend — his annual stop at the Noblesville amphitheater formerly known as Deer Creek.
August Indianapolis concerts: Phish will return to Ruoff Music Center for a 3-show summer weekend. How to get tickets
And it was a sight to behold. They played for three hours straight, jamming through 20-plus songs and communing with the crowd in a way I've yet to see at a concert this year.
As a Creekend first-timer, it was definitely an unforgettable experience. Here are five things that defined my first Dave Matthews Band concert.
The crowd at Ruoff Music Center reminded me why live music is a spiritual experience
Yes, Matthews and his band were great, and I'll get to that in a minute, but Friday night's show was, for me, about the fans. In looking around me in the pavilion and out across the lawn, it's hard to believe this show wasn't billed as a sellout.
The band hit the stage around 7:45 p.m. and were greeted by waves of applause and cascading cheers that lasted several minutes. As the opening song — 2002's "Grey Street" — started, the woman next to me turned and pointed to her arm: "I got goosebumps!"
There's a moment near the end of that song in which Matthews lets out a guttural "yeah," and the crowd went there with him, the first example of the evening's exuberance.
Live music, no matter the genre or venue, is a beautiful convener of people from all walks of life. People who may not have much in common outside the walls of a performance space, but for a few hours they can come together over their shared love of art. Artists and their fans create a sacred space for each other, interrupting all the outside noise and negativity to share in something that can be extremely cathartic, joyful, rejuvenating. In those moments, nothing matters except the music.
By the end of the first song, I had goosebumps, too.
Jam bands can make you lose track of space and time
Captain Obvious reporting for duty. But please be patient, it's my first time.
And by the end of the third song, "The Idea of You," felt like your average three- to four-minute song, compared to the two songs that spanned the previous 25 or so minutes, but as it wrapped, I found myself thinking, "Wait... that's it?!"
The fans love Dave Matthews — and they love Deer Creek Music Center
Despite my general lack of familiarity with his music, I respect the hell out of any artist who earns the kind of following that Dave has throughout the years.
I’ve been lurking in a DMB Facebook group with thousands of fans excited for Creekend 2024 over the last few weeks, and it’s been delightful to watch the community that’s developed around him. The creativity exhibited in their fan-made merch, the kindness they show when sharing tips and trips for navigating the area of finding lodging, the camaraderie forged among once-strangers.
Retro Indy: Deer Creek Music Center, now Ruoff, turns 35. See its first lineup (and those ticket prices!)
Not only that, but it seemed that every person around me had an encyclopedic knowledge of the Dave Matthews Band catalog. There were hardly any special effects or staging — just the band and their instruments — and the transition from one song to the next can sometimes result in an awkward pause as the musicians reset. And for a band like this, known for ever-changing setlists and new approaches to old standards, those transition times can create quite a bit of anticipation. Any gaps that existed were filled by the general buzz of the crowd. Fans were either decompressing from the jam they just heard, or trying to guess what was coming next based on a familiar stray note that might be part of a specific guitar lick. These people have PhDs in Creekend calculus.
The musicianship is stellar
Three decades since their major label debut, "Under the Table and Dreaming," I'm not sure how much rehearsal time these guys take for a tour, nor am I positive it would do them any good — they like to change things up, and it's clear the fans love it, too.
These guys are clearly so in tune with one another, and I'm not just talking about their instruments. I mean emotionally, spiritually, mentally. They're also great performers and they know how to create music that moves together and moves people. From the keys and guitars to the drums, trumpet and saxophone (and flute!), it was all top-tier.
Want more? Here are all the acts coming to Ruoff Music Center this summer
I am tired on Dave Matthews' behalf
What he's doing is not easy.
Three hours of singing, yelling, some light wiggling and a single jump may not sound like much, but bear in mind it was 88 degrees outside and quite humid when he took the stage. And he's doing that twice in Indianapolis and has been all over the Midwest with it in the last few weeks. The quality of his voice is fantastic for someone who's pushing his vocal instrument as hard as he is nearly nightly. But for as physically exhausted as I'm sure he was, Matthews' stage presence is delightful. He's a charismatic performer who clearly loves what he's doing.
There was one thing that surprised me, and I mean this more as a neutral comment than a criticism of his stage presence: For as much of a relationship as the fans seem to have with Matthews as a frontman and as an artist, he spent very little time talking to the audience. Apart from saying hello to the crowd and thanking everyone for coming, the first time he said anything substantive to the audience was about an hour and a half into the set, introducing "Black and Blue Bird." While there was plenty of interaction between Matthews and his audience when it came to singing together Friday evening, I'm not sure I've ever been to a concert with as little onstage chatter as Friday night's show.
His ecstatic dancing when he shed his guitar for a rousing cover of Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" made up for it, in my humble opinion.
Dave Matthews Band at Ruoff Music Center: If you go
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 29
Where: Ruoff Music Center, 12880 E. 146th St. in Noblesville.
Tickets: Limited tickets available via Live Nation (livemu.sc/3VM6DaZ) or via third-party resale sites such as SeatGeek (bit.ly/3XKs0w7) and StubHub (bit.ly/4ck8quV).
Forecast: Showers and thunderstorms are possible before 11 a.m. Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Conditions are expected to be cloudy, with a daytime high around 87 and a nighttime low of 63.
Looking for things to do? Our newsletter has the best concerts, art, shows and more — and the stories behind them
Contact IndyStar pop culture reporter Holly Hays at holly.hays@indystar.com. Follow her on X/Twitter: @hollyvhays.
