Carter Beauford

Dave Matthews opened the first of his two shows at the TD Garden by informing the crowd that he was feeling lousy. If he didn’t confess, nobody would have suspected, as the Dave Matthews Band played a solid show that surpassed the two-hour mark and covered many chapters of the band’s nearly 20-years-long journey. With the DMB planning a year off in 2011, perhaps Matthews was feeling a little nostalgic last night, opening with vintage tunes “Proudest Monkey,’’ “Satellite,’’ and “Don’t Drink the Water.’’ The playing wasn’t as frenetic as when the...

Dave Matthews has just started a telephone interview when the shrieks of a child interrupt his thoughts and he has to go to another room to escape the commotion. “It’s not easy to find a quiet place in my house,’’ quips the leader of the Dave Matthews Band. “There’s a lot of action.’’ But it’s that kind of action with his 3-year-old son and two 9-year-old daughters that Matthews was craving when he decided last year, after spending 20 years on the road, to take a hiatus from touring.

Prior to the string of hits that began with 1994's "Under the Table and Dreaming," the Dave Matthews Band built up its fan base with jam-band strategies, such as the open trading of bootleg tapes of live performances. The group faced that facet of its personality head-on at the Comcast Center Tuesday (the first of a sold-out, two-night stand), favoring expansive groove-mongering over pop economy. Woe to the casual fan who came to hear the songs recognizable from the radio. With few exceptions, in fact, most of Matthews's songs clocked in at 10 minutes or more.

Dave Matthews opened the first of his two shows at the TD Garden by informing the crowd that he was feeling lousy. If he didn’t confess, nobody would have suspected, as the Dave Matthews Band played a solid show that surpassed the two-hour mark and covered many chapters of the band’s nearly 20-years-long journey. With the DMB planning a year off in 2011, perhaps Matthews was feeling a little nostalgic last night, opening with vintage tunes “Proudest Monkey,’’ “Satellite,’’ and “Don’t Drink the Water.’’ The playing wasn’t as frenetic as when the...

Every few years Dave Matthews comes up with a memorable song -- the math-jam anthem "Stay (Wasting Time)," a peppy dirge like "Ants Marching," sweet, sexy "Crash Into Me. " The rest of the time the mild-mannered road warrior and his excellent band create tight grooves and musical moments -- three hours of them on Thursday at the Garden. For the young party animals packing the arena, the opening notes of anything were cause to wave cellphones connected to best friends stuck at home.

The stage, rather than the studio, is where the Dave Matthews Band has always shone brightest. In fact, much like the grandaddy of jam bands, the Grateful Dead (or DMB's improvisation-minded contemporaries Phish), the veteran outfit's expansive live approach tends to outdo its more conventionally structured, middle-of-the-road recorded efforts. The same can be said for "Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King," the group's sixth studio album, out Tuesday and named in honor of late Dave Matthews Band cofounder and saxophonist LeRoi Moore ("GrooGrux" refers to him, apparently)

MANSFIELD — Dave Matthews Band may be going on vacation once this current tour ends, but at Monday’s show at the Comcast Center (the first of two nights), they certainly did not look like a group in need of some rest. Rather, the DMB played a fiery two-plus-hour set that spanned the band’s catalog, with extra emphasis placed on last year’s “Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King.’’ A song-in-development, “Break for It,’’ was the night’s only real lull, as frontman Matthews and his crew couldn’t beef up a lightweight trifle.

Despite hiring a hip-hop producer for its new album, the Dave Matthews Band has not exchanged its jam-band funk 'n' roll for bling appeal. The presence of Mark Batson, who's worked with Eminem and 50 Cent, is a surprise for Matthews fans, but it's not the shake-up some feared. Batson ends up playing an encouraging role -- and helps forge the best Dave Matthews Band album in years. "Stand Up," which comes out today, is much better than DMB's last studio record, 2002's inconsistent "Busted Stuff," and has a more cohesive flow than Matthews's choppy,...

Dave Matthews has just started a telephone interview when the shrieks of a child interrupt his thoughts and he has to go to another room to escape the commotion. “It’s not easy to find a quiet place in my house,’’ quips the leader of the Dave Matthews Band. “There’s a lot of action.’’ But it’s that kind of action with his 3-year-old son and two 9-year-old daughters that Matthews was craving when he decided last year, after spending 20 years on the road, to take a hiatus from touring.

It looked like your typical Friday night at Fenway Park. Lansdowne was clogged with people in Sox attire, throwing back Sam Adams wherever they served them. Scalpers wanted to know who needed tickets, and the usual chants of "Let's go Red Sox!" rippled outside the ballpark. Inside Fenway, though, the merch tables peddled jerseys with names other than Pedroia and Wakefield. They read "DMB" and "MOORE 41," proud salutes to Dave Matthews Band, the night's entertainment, and LeRoi Moore, the band's saxophonist who died in August.

MANSFIELD — Dave Matthews Band may be going on vacation once this current tour ends, but at Monday’s show at the Comcast Center (the first of two nights), they certainly did not look like a group in need of some rest. Rather, the DMB played a fiery two-plus-hour set that spanned the band’s catalog, with extra emphasis placed on last year’s “Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King.’’ A song-in-development, “Break for It,’’ was the night’s only real lull, as frontman Matthews and his crew couldn’t beef up a lightweight trifle.

The stage, rather than the studio, is where the Dave Matthews Band has always shone brightest. In fact, much like the grandaddy of jam bands, the Grateful Dead (or DMB's improvisation-minded contemporaries Phish), the veteran outfit's expansive live approach tends to outdo its more conventionally structured, middle-of-the-road recorded efforts. The same can be said for "Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King," the group's sixth studio album, out Tuesday and named in honor of late Dave Matthews Band cofounder and saxophonist LeRoi Moore ("GrooGrux" refers to him, apparently)

Prior to the string of hits that began with 1994's "Under the Table and Dreaming," the Dave Matthews Band built up its fan base with jam-band strategies, such as the open trading of bootleg tapes of live performances. The group faced that facet of its personality head-on at the Comcast Center Tuesday (the first of a sold-out, two-night stand), favoring expansive groove-mongering over pop economy. Woe to the casual fan who came to hear the songs recognizable from the radio. With few exceptions, in fact, most of Matthews's songs clocked in at 10 minutes...

Every few years Dave Matthews comes up with a memorable song -- the math-jam anthem "Stay (Wasting Time)," a peppy dirge like "Ants Marching," sweet, sexy "Crash Into Me. " The rest of the time the mild-mannered road warrior and his excellent band create tight grooves and musical moments -- three hours of them on Thursday at the Garden. For the young party animals packing the arena, the opening notes of anything were cause to wave cellphones connected to best friends stuck at home.

Despite hiring a hip-hop producer for its new album, the Dave Matthews Band has not exchanged its jam-band funk 'n' roll for bling appeal. The presence of Mark Batson, who's worked with Eminem and 50 Cent, is a surprise for Matthews fans, but it's not the shake-up some feared. Batson ends up playing an encouraging role -- and helps forge the best Dave Matthews Band album in years. "Stand Up," which comes out today, is much better than DMB's last studio record, 2002's inconsistent "Busted Stuff," and has a more cohesive flow than Matthews's choppy, guest-ridden solo CD, "Some...

LOS ANGELES - Saxophonist LeRoi Moore, one of the founding members of the Dave Matthews Band and a key part of its eclectic jazz-infused sound, died yesterday from sudden complications stemming from injuries he sustained in an all-terrain vehicle accident in June. He was 46. Mr. Moore died at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles, the band said on its website. The statement did not specify what led to his death. Mr. Moore was hospitalized on June 30 after the accident on his farm outside Charlottesville, Va. He was later discharged and had recently...

MANSFIELD -- Being branded a jam band implies performing a show stuffed with pointless are-we-there-yet noodling, and sound-alike songs that would have been better served by a traditional verse-chorus-verse structure than yet another 25-minute bass solo. Since their 1994 breakthrough, "Under the Table and Dreaming," the rabidly popular Dave Matthews Band has been considered a jam band in the tradition of the Grateful Dead and Phish, and while that speaks to this quintet's adventurous musicality, it also misses the point.