DMBAlmanac.com

1998 Fall Tour

In October 1998, DMB hit the road for the third time that year touring on Before These Crowded Streets. By the end of the year, they would play around 100 full shows starting in April.

Each song from the new album developed on stage at a different rate through the year. The album's darker and thicker sound was already a departure from the earlier lighter material the band had been playing for years.

But when Fall Tour kicked off, they were all polished and fit in the flow - partially connected sonically by the addition of Tim Reynolds for the tour (more on that later). Rapunzel's lyrics had started as a nightly battle and was now played confidently in a suite with Heartbeat intro, Linus & Lucy or Seek Up. The Last Stop outro had come together during the late summer, but it was this tour's performances that it has to thank for its elevated status with fans. Don't Drink the Water's vibe transformed from bouncy arrogance to menacing aggression. Every song on the album has this story - even the single Spoon performance that reprises Béla Fleck's album guest appearance.

Tim Reynolds is a fixture now. He was a fixture in 1998, but not with the full band. He was on each album and he & Dave of course toured twice. But he only guested on a handful of full band shows in 1993, then the Red Rocks 1995 show (after appearing on a few songs a few weeks prior). His band TR3 played the same city as DMB for three shows in the 1998 Summer Tour (8.18, 8.20, and 8.21), and Tim guested on most of DMB's songs before leaving to play his own gigs. The idea for him to guest the entire tour had to come together there. He not only contributed to the growth of the new songs - Crush is almost a different song 10.26 than it was 8.29 - but his tone on old songs like Rhyme & Reason created a musical flow that made the Streets songs feel like they've always been there. His sound as the tour went on definitely changed the band's sound and while no one has ever said why Tim didn't stay on, it was also probably never in the plans. As an example, Butch Taylor eventually stayed on with DMB, but only after three tours where he only played small stretches of major venues.

It's a tour of guests and famous guest spots. Aside from Tim Reynolds, the early tour featured Greg Howard and Joshua Redman guesting (both of which guested at DMB's last Halloween show to date). When DMB came back from the Canada portion of the tour, Béla Fleck and Flecktones opened the next 11 shows. Nine songs had their longest versions at the time at those shows - some are still the longest. Setlists of these shows contained an average of 11.81 songs per main set (pre-encore). After a stretch of core band performances, the tour finale included memorable guest spots from Maceo Parker, Victor Wooten, and Mitch Rutman. Adding to the tour's standing with fans, there are several major releases from the tour that hit plenty of the highlights above - with plenty of highlights still left to look forward to hearing.

In time for the 25th anniversary of the opener in Chula Vista, here is a timeline of the Fall 1998 Tour from announcement to finale.

Date	Show	Venue & Location	Notes	Tape?
09/15/1998			Fall tour dates announced; tickets on sale various Saturday mornings in October
09/30/1998			first newsgroup rumors of Tim at "most shows"
10/05/1998			survey posted to dmband.com about potential fan club
10/06/1998			MTV News reports: * - 10.8.98 and 10.12.98 canceled due to the passing of Carter's mother (the band still plays 3 Free Jazz Festivals) * - Tim confirms he will join the tour at least through Thanksgiving
10/26/1998	Link	Coors Amphitheatre, Chula Vista, CA	* - DMB Fall Tour Opener (opening song: Tripping Billies) * - Greg Howard guests on Warehouse, Don't Drink the Water, Typical Situation, For the Beauty of Wynona, and All Along the Watchtower * - Deed is Done tease is last reference at full-band show * - For the Beauty of Wynona remains the longest version to date at 8:34 (see List)
10/27/1998	Link	Great Western Forum, Inglewood, CA	* - Greg Howard guests on Don't Drink the Water, Warehouse, Minarets, and Rhyme & Reason * - only performance of The Song that Jane Likes on the tour
10/29/1998	Link	San Jose Arena, San Jose, CA	* - Greg Howard guests on Warehouse » Minarets, and The Dreaming Tree » Don't Drink the Water * - Lover Lay Down released on Warehouse 7 Vol. 2 / Warehouse 10 Vol. 2
10/30/1998	Link	ARCO Arena, Sacramento, CA	* - Greg Howard guests on the entire show
10/31/1998	Link	The Arena in Oakland, Oakland, CA	* - Greg Howard guests on the entire show * - Joshua Redman guests on I'll Back You Up & Jimi Thing * - I'll Back You Up played at a full band show for the first time since 11.16.96 * - full show released as Live Trax Vol. 39 on 11.4.16
11/02/1998			DMB announcement e-mail of the first DMB webcast on 12.19.98 from Chicago
11/02/1998	Link	BSU Pavilion (Boise State University), Boise, ID	* - last show played in Idaho until 2010 * - full show released as Live Trax Vol. 53 on 9.1.20
11/03/1998			The Rolling Stones' live album No Security is released including Memory Motel that featured Dave on vocals from 7.5.98
11/03/1998	Link	Rose Garden Arena, Portland, OR
11/04/1998	Link	Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, WA	* - first time The Last Stop had been played as an opener * - only performance of One Sweet World on the tour
11/05/1998	Link	Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, BC, CAN	* - only show at this venue
11/07/1998	Link	Skyreach Centre, Edmonton, AB, CAN	* - last show played in Edmonton * - no fan recording of this show exists (see List)
11/09/1998	Link	Canadian Airlines Saddledome, Calgary, AB, CAN	* - last show played in Calgary * - Proudest Monkey played full band for the first time since 7.10.96
11/11/1998	Link	Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg, MB, CAN	* - last show played in Winnipeg * - no fan recording of this show exists
11/14/1998	Link	Corel Centre, Ottawa, ON, CAN
11/16/1998	Link	Le Centre Molson, Montreal, QC, CAN
11/17/1998	Link	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON, CAN
11/19/1998	Link	Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI	* - Béla Fleck guests on Don't Drink the Water, Minarets » Typical Situation * - Minarets remains the longest version to date at 13:33
11/20/1998	Link	Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY	* - Béla Fleck guests on The Last Stop, Lie In Our Graves, Crash into Me, Don't Drink the Water & Two Step * - at the time (since surpassed) was the longest Two Step at 18:15 by over 4 minutes passing 6.6.97
11/21/1998	Link	The Crown, Cincinnati, OH	* - Béla Fleck guests on Don't Drink the Water, Lie in Our Graves, The Last Stop & Spoon, and #41 * - Jeff Coffin, Victor Wooten & Futureman also guest on #41 * - only performance of Spoon on the tour also remains the longest version to date at 8:47 * - at the time (since surpassed) #41 was the longest song in DMB history at 27:28 surpassing Jimi Thing from 3.23.93 at 22:00
11/28/1998	Link	Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC	* - only show on tour without Tim Reynolds * - Butch Taylor guests on the entire show * - Béla Fleck guests on Crash into Me, Lie in Our Graves, Don't Drink the Water, #41, and Two Step * - Jeff Coffin also guests on #41
11/30/1998	Link	First Union Center, Philadelphia, PA	* - Béla Fleck guests on The Last Stop, Don't Drink the Water, Lie in Our Graves, Crash into Me, and Two Step * - Butch Taylor guests on most of the set * - full show released as part of DMBLive series
12/01/1998	Link	First Union Center, Philadelphia, PA	* - Béla Fleck guests on Don't Drink the Water, #41, Two Step, and Tripping Billies * - Jeff Coffin also guests on #41 * - Butch Taylor guests on most of the set * - only performance of True Reflections on the tour * - first Lover Lay Down in the encore since 7.21.95
12/02/1998	Link	Madison Square Garden, New York, NY	* - Béla Fleck guests on Don't Drink the Water, Typical Situation, Crash into Me, and Two Step * - Butch Taylor guests on most of the set * - first Christmas Song at a full band show since 12.27.96
12/03/1998	Link	Madison Square Garden, New York, NY	* - Béla Fleck guests on Lie in Our Graves, Minarets, #41, The Last Stop, and Don't Drink the Water * - Jeff Coffin also guests on #41 * - Butch Taylor guests on most of the set * - Warren Haynes guests on All Along the Watchtower * - Warehouse released on Warehouse 5 Vol. 1
12/04/1998			The Warehouse Fan Club is officially announced and is available for sign up immediately (some members sign up the previous night at MSG)
12/05/1998	Link	Pepsi Arena, Albany, NY	* - Béla Fleck guests on Don't Drink the Water, Two Step, The Last Stop, Recently, and Crash into Me * - Butch Taylor guests on most of the set
12/06/1998			First half of the Dave & Tim tour is announced (through 2.20.99) with tickets on sale as soon as the next day at campuses with student IDs
12/07/1998	Link	Worcester's Centrum Centre, Worcester, MA	* - Béla Fleck guests on Recently, Crash into Me, Don't Drink the Water, Two Step, and Lie in Our Graves * - Butch Taylor guests on most of the set * - Holiday encore (5th ever - first since 3.1.94) * - Crush released on Warehouse 5 Vol. 1 * - first Linus and Lucy
12/08/1998	Link	Worcester's Centrum Centre, Worcester, MA	* - Béla Fleck guests on Don't Drink the Water, #41, and The Last Stop * - Jeff Coffin also guests on #41 * - Butch Taylor guests on most of the set * - The Last Stop remains the longest version to date at 18:31 * - full show released as Live Trax Vol. 1 on 11.2.04
12/10/1998			Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds Live at Luther College is announced for release on 1.19.99, the tour opening date for Dave & Tim
12/10/1998	Link	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI	* - Say Goodbye released on Warehouse 5 Vol. 1
12/11/1998	Link	Kohl Center (University of Wisconsin–Madison), Madison, WI	* - #40 tease is first confirmed reference since 5.14.95 * - Two Step released on Warehouse 5 Vol. 1
12/13/1998	Link	Target Center, Minneapolis, MN	* - Rapunzel trainwreck remains longest performance to date at 10:14
12/14/1998	Link	Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI
12/15/1998	Link	Assembly Hall (University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign), Champaign, IL	* - Holiday encore * - only performance of Granny on the tour * - only show of the tour without Rapunzel
12/17/1998	Link	James H. Hilton Coliseum (Iowa State University of Science and Technology), Ames, IA	* - Maceo Parker guests on What Would You Say * - The Maker played full band at a confirmed DMB show for the first time since 4.2.1993
12/18/1998	Link	The MARK of the Quad Cities, Moline, IL	* - Maceo Parker guests on What Would You Say
12/19/1998	Link	United Center, Chicago, IL	* - this was DMB's first full concert webcast * - Victor Wooten guests on #41 and The Maker * - Maceo Parker guests on What Would You Say * - Mitch Rutman also guests on The Maker * - full show released as Live in Chicago 12.19.98 at the United Center on 10.23.01