Friday night's sold out concert, featuring Big Head Todd and the Monsters, the Dave Matthews Band, and opening act Ugly Americans, drew masses of excited students who enthusiastically welcomed the bands.
The Dave Matthews Band was the undisputed favorite with the audience.
The band succeeded in turning a mellow, politely responsive crowd into a bunch of wild, crazed fans who ruthlessly squeezed their way toward the stage in hopes of a better view.
"Our energy comes from playing live," said violinist Boyd Tinsley in an interview last week, and the band definitely lived up to this promise.
Tinsley stole the show with his astounding fiddle playing, and his frequent jam sessions with guitarist/lead vocalist Dave Matthews gave the performance a feeling of spontaneity.
"Boyd Tinsley was amazing. He's such a powerful player, and he put so much life into his instrument. It was just incredible," said Kristin Sullivan '98.
Toward the end, South African native Matthews brought out some of the band's older works, one of which he had written about the beaches back in Africa.
Drummer Carter Beauford and sax player LeRoi Moore each took over the spotlight as the show wound down and Moore even added the hollow sound of his flute for a few numbers.
"They definitely played off of the audience's excitement well, and there was a good mix of fast and mellow songs," said Laura Turner '98.
Long time Dave Matthews fan Marni Fox '98 found the concert "incredible, as always," but thought that his earlier concerts were "more entertaining" and that he used to play a wider range of songs.
Big Head Todd and the Monsters, however, only drew a lukewarm response from the crowd, perhaps because many people were not familiar with their music prior to the concert.
"I didn't enjoy Big Head Todd that much, but I thought that Dave Matthews was amazing," said Mike Goody '98.
Opening act Ugly Americans was virtually unheard of by most of the concertgoers.
The Ugly Americans did not draw a big crowd and elicited mixed responses from the audience.
"I didn't get to Leede until their last song, but once I heard them I wished I'd gotten there earlier," said Sullivan.
"I think the concert was a big success. We sold out, and everyone seemed to have a great time," said Chad Sclove '97, a member of the Programming Board.
