Watch Wong tear through “#41” and “Jimi Thing” with DMB on the middle night of this year’s Labor Day Weekend run at the iconic outdoor concert venue.
By Scott Bernstein Sep 3, 2024 • 7:04 am PDT
Dave Matthews Band wrote the latest chapter in their long and storied history of performances at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington with help from special guests Trombone Shorty and Cory Wong. The group returned for a three-night stand at the idyllic venue over Labor Day Weekend, an annual tradition that began in 2006 and has continued each year besides 2020.
DMB’s “Gorge Weekends” are the rare gigs every summer that feature opening acts. The septet’s 71st – 73rd shows at the venue saw and Say She She open on Friday, August 30 with Cory Wong and Blind Pilot kicking off the action on Saturday, August 31 and Neko Case and Maggie Rose supporting on Sunday, September 1.
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The surprises came right from the start as DMB began the run with the first “Two Step” opener since August 29, 2021. Another tradition of the “Gorge Weekend” is bust outs and the group liberated “Blackjack” and “Oh” on Friday. The former was last played nearly 1,000 shows prior on June 2, 2012, while the latter had been shelved since September 10, 2022.
Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews made his Dave Matthews Band back in 2010 and shared the stage with the group for the 11th time on Friday night. The New Orleans native came out late in the set to add his trombone to the fitting “Louisiana Bayou” and beloved “Tripping Billies.” DMB wrapped the frame with “The Last Stop.” Matthews returned to the stage for a solo “Oh” before the rest of the band emerged for the “Ants Marching” finale.
| 00:00:00 |
| Mitch Wight (See 23 videos) | |
| Dave Matthews Band (See 1,094 videos) |
Saturday’s opener, “Crush,” was also a surprise as the Before These Crowded Streets track was last used in the slot on August 1, 2007. Later in the set, DMB looked to 2009’s Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King to dust off “Alligator Pie” for the first time since February 3, 2018.
Guitarist Cory Wong first sat in with Dave Matthews Band last November at MSG. Wong emerged at The Gorge on Saturday to shred through oldie “#41” shortly after “Alligator Pie.” The Minnesota native came back out a few songs later with his horn section in tow to guest on a +17-minute “Jimi Thing.” DMB then paired fan favorites “Drive In Drive Out” and “Don’t Drink The Water” to end the set. The tour’s first “The Maker” led into “Why I Am” to form the evening’s encore.
| 00:00:00 |
| Mitch Wight (See 23 videos) | |
| Dave Matthews Band (See 1,094 videos) and Cory Wong (See 49 videos) |
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| 00:00:00 |
| Mitch Wight (See 23 videos) | |
| Dave Matthews Band (See 1,094 videos) and Cory Wong (See 49 videos) |
The surprise opener trend bore fruit again on Sunday when “Shotgun” was played to kick off a show for the first time since June 29, 2022. Other rarities to make the setlist on the last night of the run included “Drunken Soldier,” “The Stone,” “She,” “Corn Bread” and “I’ll Back You Up.” Crew member Joe Lawlor lent a hand on guitar to “Corn Bread” towards the end of the night. Dave Matthews Band said farewell for now with “All Along The Watchtower.”
Watch more fan-shot video from DMB’s 2024 “Gorge Weekend” below:
| 00:00:00 |
| Mitch Wight (See 23 videos) | |
| Dave Matthews Band (See 1,094 videos) |
| 00:00:00 |
| Mitch Wight (See 23 videos) | |
| Dave Matthews Band (See 1,094 videos) |
| 00:00:00 |
| Mitch Wight (See 23 videos) | |
| Dave Matthews Band (See 1,094 videos) |
| 00:00:00 |
| Mitch Wight (See 23 videos) | |
| Dave Matthews Band (See 1,094 videos) |
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Setlists (via DMBAlmanac.com)
Friday, August 30
Set: Two Step, #27, Seven, The Best of What’s Around, Seek Up, Sugar Will, Funny the Way It Is, Black and Blue Bird, Walk Around the Moon, Pantala Naga Pampa » Pig, Blackjack*, Let’s Dance, You Might Die Trying, Digging a Ditch, Louisiana Bayou**, Tripping Billies**, The Last Stop
Encore: Oh, Ants Marching
- * – Last Time Played June 2, 2012
- ** – with Trombone Shorty
Saturday, August 31
Set: Crush, One Sweet World, Madman’s Eyes, Virginia in the Rain, Break for It, Dancing Nancies » Warehouse, Monsters, Lover Lay Down, Alligator Pie, Joyride, #41*, Cry Freedom, So Right, Jimi Thing**, Drive In Drive Out, Don’t Drink the Water
Encore: The Maker, Why I Am
- * – with Cory Wong
- ** – with Cory Wong & Cory Wong Horns
Sunday, September 1
Set: Shotgun, Drunken Soldier, The Stone, Crash Into Me, Gravedigger » Minarets, Looking for a Vein, She, Lie in Our Graves, The Ocean and the Butterfly, Lie in Our Graves [reprise], What Would You Say, Stolen Away on 55th & 3rd, Granny, Break Free, Corn Bread*, So Damn Lucky, Grey Street
Encore: I’ll Back You Up, All Along the Watchtower » Stairway to Heaven [partial] » All Along the Watchtower [reprise]
* – with Joe Lawlor
