Reviews of concert discs are a funny creature. Music is much easier to be pre-judgmental about than a certain film genre. For instance, someone who isn’t crazy about dramas is still more likely to watch a drama than someone who dislikes classical music would be to watch an Andre Rieu concert. Make sense? Good. Moving onward, I am more than happy to review the Blu-ray of my favorite music artist, Dave Matthews, and a good friend of his, guitarist extraordinaire, Tim Reynolds.
I want to point out that this disc is not a Dave Matthews Band concert. It is just Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds in a very intimate setting as Dave goes on his story-telling excursions in between songs, which range from a trip to Africa with his wife and kids (inspiration for the song ‘Eh Hee’) to the medical plight of Iraq war veteran Jon Town.
Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds met in the early 1990′s at a bar called Miller’s in Charlottesville, Virginia. Dave was tending bar and Tim was a weekly act, working his hands through what appeared to be all kinds of arthritic positions to pull off rifts and chords on a level that most guitarists can only dream about. The two got into talking and eventually found themselves running through jams in Dave’s basement. It was then that their musical friendship was formed and has remained strong to this day.
So, how is this performance, you ask? Well, please read on to find out how Dave Matthews & Time Reynolds: Live at Radio City Music Hall looks, sounds and entertains.
Film 
The concert took place in New York City at the landmark Radio City Music Hall in late April of 2007. You’ll find few band-enhancing frills here as it’s just Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds playing through a wonderfully varied set list. It’s just a couple guitars and a piano, folks. Oh, and Tim’s crazy pedal recording device. I’m sure this piece of equipment is something very common in the guitar world and my ignorance to it sticks out like Santa Claus on Hanukkah. Even so, I am fascinated by the effects this thing can replicate.
As I mentioned, the set list is varied. While it’s nearly all of Dave Matthews own written work (‘Still Water’ is by Daniel Lanois and ‘Down By the River’ from Neil Young), some of it comes from his solo album (Some Devil) and some comes from a variety of Dave Matthews Band albums. There are two tunes in particular that are the work of Tim Reynolds, (‘Betrayal’ and ‘You Are My Sanity’). Completely instrumental, you will appreciate how talented of a guitarist this guy is once you see and hear him hammer out these two solos.
The storytelling that is laced in between songs is something that fans have come to expect and look forward to of these more intimate Dave and Tim concerts (as opposed to the heavier, more produced DMB concerts). Even if it’s just Dave Matthews talking about a note he just screwed up on, it’s a time to interact with the audience and though the audience doesn’t get to ask back, there is still a high level of appreciation there for separating the artist from the performance and just hearing what’s on their mind. Let’s face it, we all put our pants on the same way, but our attention is captured when a celebrity we admire speaks. Now, on to the 26-song set list that totals a runtime of 2 hours and 49 minutes:
1. Bartender
2. When The World Ends
3. Stay or Leave
4. Save Me
5. Crush
6. So Damn Lucky
7. Gravedigger
8. The Maker
9. Old Dirt Hill (Bring That Beat Back)
10. Eh Hee
11. Betrayal
12. Out Of My Hands
13. Still Water
14. Don’t Drink The Water
15. Oh
16. Cornbread
17. Crash Into Me
18. Down By The River
19. You Are My Sanity
20. Sister
21. Lie In Our Graves
22. Some Devil
23. Grace Is Gone
24. Dancing Nannies
25. #41
26. Two Step
Video 
There is a certain scene early in the disc that is the epitome of Blu-ray. The shot features an over-the-shoulder angle from the top of the balcony looking down to the stage as one young lady has her cell phone open to take a shot of the venue’s layout below. It is one spectacular view and I felt like I was watching this through a window. I wish the entire concert was this crystal clear. There are several scenes that do relay this type of quality. Many include the close-ups on Dave and Tim. Pore whores unite, because this is what you folks are after. Looking for every little dermatologic detail? You’ll find such scenes on this disc. Let’s not leave out the less intrusive angles that manage to capture aspects as fine as the fingerprint smudges on the face of a guitar.
In addition, there are also some scenes that contain a little grain, but not on a distracting level. For instance, when the camera pans back from the stage, the arches over the stage consistently contain film imperfections in their imagery, but again, it’s not quite distracting. Shots from the behind the performers looking out into the audience are not all that inspiring at times. Some are better than others but there’s a bit of a haze over the seated crowd. Then there are other scenes in which there really isn’t any grain present but they don’t have the ‘wow’ of that cell phone shot I spoke of earlier. All in all, it’s a very beautiful presentation that is not perfect. Join the club, right? It’s still quite an enjoyable visual experience brought to us in 1080p resolution with a VC-1 encode and 16:9 widescreen format.
Audio 
For a concert on Blu-ray, it is imperative that it not merely sound good, it must sound great. The masterminds behind this concert disc were apparently well aware of that and took it to heart during its creation. It sounds incredible. I watched this on Blu-ray a while back before I was connected to surround sound. It was an enjoyable viewing. Now? It’s just bad…bad as in the good kind of bad. I was drawn in like never before. Both the rear and front channels are utilized with impressive range and nothing is left to the imagination. Every little strum and every hoot and holler from the audience is captured quite well here in this audio-enveloping experience.
The lyrics are delivered out of the front center speaker while other sounds, specifically the guitars, are delivered equally through rear, front left and front right speakers. And even though there’s no drum kit or bass guitar here, the subwoofer chimes in with its mild yet potent release of the deeper chords. It is just an impressive piece of work on this Blu-ray.
Special Features 
Disc 1 is entirely the concert. Disc 2 is reserved specifically for the bonus features. There is some good and some bad here. The bad is that there are only two extras on this disc. One is a documentary, the other a photo montage set to music. The good is that both are in glorious 1080p High Definition and that documentary is a very solid extra.
- “So Damn Lucky” Documentary – A 45-minute look at Dave Matthews, Tim Reynolds, how the two met and progressed their musical careers as well as discussions with the fans and some casual interviews with Dave and Tim. If I had a complaint here, it would be that too much time was spent showing pieces of the concert from disc 1.
- Photo Montage – a 4-minute slide show of photographs set to the song ‘Grace is Gone.’ The photos are well-varied, featuring on-stage shots, magazine covers and candid captures away from the spotlight.
Final Thoughts
Well, it looks like my review has come full circle. It pains me to say this but while I so badly want to label this disc as “Buy It,” I must refer to my opening dialogue regarding an individual’s taste in music. No matter how good this Blu-ray looks and sounds, people who are not fans of Dave Matthews will not buy it. Fair enough. Thus, while this should be a sure-fire buy for any Dave or DMB fan out there, I must label it “Fans Only” as a result.
I guess what draws me to his music, aside from the sound, is the often-found camouflage in his lyrics. It makes you think. There is usually a story or hidden meaning under his work. I like the thought-provoking style that is offered in this manner of songwriting. If you don’t want to think about the music you’re listening to, there’s always Brittney Spears.
Currently on my concert-going résumé, I’ve got 17 Dave Matthews Band shows under my belt (with 2 on the agenda for summer ’09) and 1 Dave & Tim show (as they are affectionately referred to). Believe me, if you think that’s a lot, talk to some of the other people at these shows. You’ll find a fair amount of “This is my 52nd show” or whatever the grand tally may be depending on the fan. People ask me how I can go to see the show so many times. Let’s take the 2005 tour as an example. I saw the show five or six times that year. Every single performance was different. I saw ACDC twice on the 08-09 tour. It was same show both times. I mention this not to offer some silly bragging rights of how many concerts I’ve been to. Rather, I am trying to point out how uncommon creativity has become in the music business and why Dave Matthews is on a different level than many of his peers.
