Dave Matthews Band with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
"#41" (Live on April 20, 2002)
From The Best of What's Around, Vol. 1: Encore [2006]
Well, we made it.
Thirty days done. Now I know how Morgan Spurlock felt on more than one occasion.
As a reward for sticking with me, I've saved the best for last.
I could've filled in a DMB song for nearly every day of this project. I can't think of one I can play on an instrument and they definitely don't qualify as "a band you hate," though.
Remember on Day 24 when I talked about playing an absurdly long Dave Matthews Band song at my funeral and boring the mourners? This 32-minute rendition of "#41" would fit the bill comically well.
It's the longest rendition of any song the band has performed that we know of. There are rumors of a 37-minute, soundcheck rendition of "Drive In Drive Out," but I think that's just a rumor that sprang from a poor game of telephone.
I don't love it because it's the longest, however. I love it because, astonishingly, about 28 minutes are loosely improvised and they sound so good.
"#41" is a setpiece in the DMB canon. It's opened shows. It's closed shows. It's been an encore song.
It's been as short as 3 minutes and 56 seconds during an appearance on "The Late Show With David Letterman" and as long as, well, this 32-minute rendition.
So why this lengthy thing?
People hear 32 minutes and say, "That can't possibly be worth it." And, in fairness to them, the last four minutes or so could be lost and few would miss them.
But the song takes many twists and turns on the road there. It could really be viewed as movements rather than a single song ...
Part I: 00:00-03:49 — Introduction and lyrics
Part II: 03:50-04:28 — Boyd Tinsley violin solo
Part III: 04:28-07:06 — LeRoi Moore saxophone solo
Part IV: 07:07-10:25 — Bela Fleck/Victor Wooten interplay
Part V: 10:26-12:07 — "The Sojourn of Arjuna"
Part VI: 12:08-15:11 — Jeff Coffin saxophone solo
Part VII: 15:12-19:47 — Drum jam
Part VIII: 19:48-20:55 — "Sojourn" phrase returns
Part IX: 20:56-23:05 — "Because I'd Never Flew Before"
Part X: 23:06-24:59 — Classic #41 outro/Dave improv outro
Part XI: 25:00-32:03 — Cool down
To be really accurate, because of "The Sojourn of Arjuna" interpolation, it's my favorite song with the horn groove from an original Victor Wooten composition dropped into it.
The song is a mini-history of DMB packed into its frame, even without 25-plus minutes of jamming goodness.
Bela Fleck — the guy rockin' the Tim Burton-era "Batman" shirt in the video — and the Flecktones have a rich history when it comes to DMB, so richly intertwined that when saxophonist LeRoi Moore was injured and died in 2008, Jeff Coffin of the Flecktones took over as his full-time stand-in.
That makes it an unwitting link between different eras of DMB as both Moore and Coffin perform on this rendition.
The two groups first performed together during DMB's 1997 New Year's Eve show, arguably the finest gig in the band's history.
But wait. There's more!
What the heck is that thing Futureman is playing? Why, that's the drumitar, baby!
It's an instrument that is designed to look like a guitar and be performed similar to a guitar but sound similar to an electronic drum kit.
I love "#41" because it reminds me of cool summer nights at DMB shows. It's a crowd favorite. It's great for guests or for the band to play by itself.
It was supposedly written about money squabbles between Matthews and the band's first manager, although the band's namesake insists he doesn't know its inspiration anymore.
Given how different it sounded during its first performance, it shows how the band relentlessly tweaks, refines and recasts songs in the live setting.
That's part of what makes them a joy to see over and over.
Honorable mention
· Jeff Buckley, "Hallelujah" from Grace [1994]
· Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Proud Mary" from Bayou Country [1969]
· Dave Matthews Band, "Crush" from a fan recording of the May 9, 2009, show at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nev. [2009]
· Dave Matthews Band, "Dancing Nancies" from The Gorge [2004]
· Dave Matthews Band, "Tripping Billies" from Live Trax 2008 [2008]
· Dave Matthews Band, "Warehouse" from The Best of What's Around, Vol. 1 [2006]
· Bob Dylan, "Like a Rolling Stone" from Highway 61 Revisited [1965]
· Foo Fighters, "Everlong" from The Colour and the Shape [1997]
· The Jesus and Mary Chain, "Just Like Honey" from Psychocandy [1985]
· The Jimi Hendrix Experience, "Red House" from Are You Experienced [1967]
· John Lennon, "Imagine" from Imagine [1971]
· Led Zeppelin, "When the Levee Breaks" from Untitled [1971]
· Metallica, "Sad But True" from Metallica [1991]
· My Morning Jacket, "Golden" from It Still Moves [2003]
· Pearl Jam, "Man of the Hour" from Big Fish soundtrack [2003]
· Peter Gabriel, "Solsbury Hill" from Peter Gabriel [1977]
· Radiohead, "Everything in its Right Place" from Kid A [2000]
· Josh Ritter, "Thin Blue Flame" from The Animal Years [2006]
· The Rolling Stones, "Tumbling Dice" from Exile on Main St. [1972]
· Sigur Rós' "Untitled #8 (Popplagið)" from ( ) [2002]
· Smashing Pumpkins, "Cherub Rock" from Siamese Dream [1993]
· The Standells, "Dirty Water" from Dirty Water [1966]
· Van Morrison, "Into the Mystic" from Moondance [1970]
· The Velvet Underground, "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'" from Loaded [1970]
· The White Stripes, "Seven Nation Army" from Elephant [2003]
· Wilco, "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot [2002]
Good job including "Everlong" just to spite me. LOL! ;-)
Posted by: If you don't know who this is I will be very disappointed | June 30, 2011 at 11:47 AM
Had to! Did you listen to all 32 minutes of awesomeness?
Posted by: Nick DeCicco | June 30, 2011 at 11:52 AM