Ants Podcast: The Best Stop for All Things DMB

While Matt and Joe have been able to enjoy some face time over the last couple of years, the podcast has definitely not been as fortunate. The fellas return with aplomb after a 20-month hiatus with hot takes abound on the band's latest effort, Walk Around the Moon. You might be surprised at what they have to say, as opinions develop in real time during this episode. Enjoy!

The very unfortunate news mere hours before the start of Labor Dave Weekend at the Gorge sends the DMB community on a roller coaster of major lows to major highs. We call an emergency podcast to recap and discuss all the implications. Unique barely describes it. Long time friend, Ant and contributor Mark T joins the pod (from the pool) and provides perspective from on the scene.

The band is back! (In more ways than one.) Dave Matthews Band is back with new songs, album recording sessions, and are six shows into a long-awaited summer tour. So it's only fitting that the Ants Podcast with Matt and Joe is also back. We dust off the cobwebs and get right into all the details. We recap where we left off, what's happened over the last year, and the latest developments. There's a lot to be excited about, and as usual, we take the discussion and the debate off the beaten path. We're so glad to be back!

The current extreme heat may or may not be a result of DMB's recent run of form. It’s been a month of shows and news and we're here to recap all the highlights and do some deeper examination, from Camden, the Northeast, Deer Creek, Alpine and SPAC and everything in between. There have been over 20 new tour debuts, including a song last played in 2012. Plus we get a new behind the scenes glimpse into a tool Dave uses for selecting songs for each show, ie the "Yellow and Red Songs". We explain and break it down.

We must discuss the current hot topic right now: the recent Dave comments made on SiriusXM. "Kiss my a**." The guys offer their reaction to the comments, plus Boyd lawsuit news and implications. We touch on all the latest DMB happenings including a new show download and new Come Tomorrow single. And we end with a discussion on your listener comments and questions.

It's that time of year, DMB are out on tour with the first 10 shows and it gives us a lot to talk about. Let's discuss the setlists so far. Is there justification for pitchforks or praise? Then we quickly recap and discuss all the latest DMB news like the return of DMB Radio on SiriusXM and new vinyl coming.  Plus an update on the Setlist Game and what it tells us about the sets so far.

Now that the European Tour is complete and our schedules have aligned, there’s a lot to discuss. We cover the latest DMB news, plus we dive into the current heated topics among the community. Including discussion of the song selection during the European show and implications (or not) for the upcoming Summer Tour. And a look at how the band’s sound and setlists have changed over the years. Plus we take your questions!

Lot of DMB stuff to cover over the last two months and we have a whole episode devoted to it!  We wrap up the Gorge and give our final thoughts on the Summer Tour, plus a number of one-off Dave shows, and finally get deep into the upcoming Fall Tour.  A look into the good/bad of how the Fall Tour ticketing, including pricing, floorplans, upgrades, premium, and scalper prevalence. Plus the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame snub. (And yes, we skipped episode 100, we are saving that milestone for an Ants History episode coming soon.)

Two discs that contain genuine unreleased studio recordings from the Mark Batson era are making their rounds on the Internet. And so we had to call an emergency podcast session to talk about this latest development. In this pod we talk about the history of these sessions dating back to 2006 and what we know up to this point. Also high-level feelings about the recordings, but a much deeper look into why there is a stark difference between the amount of music the band creates vs how much it releases.

Gorge Night 2 gets blessed with a new guest, and an amazing performance of Last Stop. Where did that come from, and will they sustain this momentum for night 3?