If the Dave Matthews Band never racks up another hit single or million-selling album, it will have proven something significant: that it's possible to entertain large crowds with music that is adventurous, unconventional, progressive.
Wednesday night at Camden's Waterfront Entertainment Centre, Matthews and his extraordinary four-piece backing band used songs familiar to the capacity crowd as platforms for extended improvisation. The single "What Would You Say" became a funk jam; "Two Step," from the current Crash alternated between a New Orleans parade strut and a Virginia reel.
The music changed constantly, and the crowd -- which was on its feet for most of the two-hour-plus performance -- followed every detour, even when the unexpected jolts and turns made for particularly challenging interpretive dancing.
Matthews would finish singing, and his earnest, doleful voice would be replaced by Boyd Tinsley's yammering violin or LeRoi Moore's saxophone. Each soloist began with a simple motif, then developed it into a climactic roar, creating a series of peaks and valleys not unlike those favored by jazz-fusion artists of the 70's. Indeed, when Tinsley had the spotlight -- ont he agitated "Drive In, Drive Out" and others -- the Charlottesville, Va., aggregate often sounded like one of violinist Jean-Luc Ponty's more adventurous ensembles.
If the fireworks came from the front line, the band's most important elements were behind Matthews. Bassist Stefan Lessard and remarkable drummer Carter Beauford provided an unshakable rhythmic foundation, kicking outu a sturdy pulse no matter how much syncopation was in the air.
Matthews complimented opener Ben Harper and his band the Innocent Criminals three times during the show, and it was deserved praise. Harper and company have retooled the bitter missives of his Fight for Your Mind to emphasize a strong, celebratory groove.