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?

Matt and Joe have arrived in George, WA and are ready to get down to business! They broadcast live from poolside at Sunserra resort and offer their thoughts on the upcoming three night stand at the Gorge. Matt drops an interesting theory about how you are introduced to the band ultimately affects your perspective and taste in DMB (or any band). We're psyched for an amazing weekend!

We try not to let the loss of an Ants staple get us down, so we remember the great times it created. We say goodbye to Mono Loco, the Ants HQ of Charlottesville, VA and a place where so many Ants met and celebrated together. But back on tour, four new shows are in the books and we discuss if there is such a thing as a SPAC hangover. Plus, the tour takes on a new ‘guests’ theme, and one particular show gets some unwanted attention. Also, Dave makes new comments about Boyd’s exit, drama in the setlist game standings, and we take on your #AntsPodcast questions.

Man, has the band put in some extra work recently. Days after the Creekend, DMB plays the first two Canada shows, followed by the tour staple 2-night stand at SPAC, immediately capped by the final Canada show. The run produces the most interesting week of shows we've had all tour, so we must Dive In. Also, live show streams become more frequent than shows attended by Matt, but some exciting news on that front. And it wouldn’t be an Ants Podcast if we didn’t go on a bunch of tangents throughout. Plus we announce some new DMB Hub Stubs coming out!

Following the holiday week, the band visited Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center, known to everyone else in the world as Deer Creek. Both night 1 and night 2 gave us a lot to discuss, including some interesting tour debuts, and setlists that are very relevant following last week's podcast on variety. We take a look if song debuts are a net-add to shows or just tokens. Also, DMB Radio on Sirius XM is now up and running which included live streaming of Friday's Night 1 concert. Plus we make time for your listener questions!

It's been a couple weeks since our last podcast, and before you know it DMB has played 10 new shows and a Dave and Tim show. Too much to go in depth on each one of the shows, but we are now about halfway through the Summer Tour (22 of the 47) so we can make some tour generalizations. We explain what a song's Tour Rarity is, what it highlights, and brainstorm theories on the 2018 rarity. Also, a look into the new SiriusXM DMB Radio, and a quick Setlist Game standings review with some surprises.

We've now had three days to marinate in the release of Come Tomorrow, and Matt and Joe break it down track by track in an epic episode of the Ants Podcast. It's not actually our longest podcast ever, but it sure is close, tipping the scales at two hours and thirteen minutes. And we tried to be brief! Catch up on the latest four shows on the DMB Summer Tour, and shout your vocal cords sore agreeing and/or disagreeing with our opinions on the album. Opinions, we all got em, eh?

In our new album penultimate podcast, we discuss the latest song drop of Again and Again (ed: Bob Law), along with the album track times and the last 5 live shows. We take a data driven look at each of the topics and in each case it tells us something different than the general feel. Do you agree with the data or the feel? Plus a lightning-round recap of the setlist game results. Give it a listen and then join us this Sunday night for a LIVE podcast discussion on the new album.

We need to crack open some white-wine-with-fizz-in-a-can to celebrate all the good stuff in this episode! We dream during the offseason of weeks like these jammed with DMB happenings. We have to recap and review the first 3 shows of the summer tour. New song debuts: 3 live, 1 early album release. Plus we discuss the latest band member changes and interviews. Did your username get highlighted during setlist game recap? And a major DMB Hub release. Whew!

Matt and Joe come together to breakdown these latest announcements and discuss very early analysis. Thoughts on the recording work, changes from live versions, multiple producer albums, and music industry trends in general. Plus DJ Yette bumpers in the world premier of Samurai Cop.

Matt and Joe mix it up over "The Night Before" performance, and just how ominous that designation was. Joe went to the show (of course he did), so we have first-hand intel on how the band sounded, and what the reception to the Boyd-less Dave Matthews Band was. We try our hand at broadcasting this one on Facebook Live, but don't worry Periscopers, we haven't forgotten about you. We take your questions as we head into this anxiety-inducing break before the summer tour.

On the eve of Dave Matthews Band's performance the night before the Super Bowl, violinist Boyd Tinsley took to Twitter to announce that he will be stepping away from the band for a break. Joe's in Minneapolis for the show (of course), so he and Matt jump on an emergency Skype call to talk this over and try to analyze what this means for Boyd, and the band as a whole, going forward. You won't want to miss this one.

Urgent Podcast Alert: Major announcements in the Dave Matthews Band World, and it’s time for us and them to get back on the horse for tour time. We have completed our year of #notour punishment and are rewarded with official dates for a DMB Summer 2018 Tour. And if that wasn’t enough, the rumors have been officially confirmed now; this year (summer) will bring a new album. We couldn’t be more excited so we had to call an emergency podcast. We just had to talk about how the 2018 tour shapes up, venues included (and more importantly excluded), ticket price changes, and of course the new album. Plus a few Periscope viewer questions.

The new milestone vinyl set of live tracks has landed on doorsteps and we’re here to talk about the breakdown, in more ways than one. We discuss some of our listening highlights from the set, but also the mix-up that happens with one of the songs. Which one of the guys do you agree with regarding the mix-up? Also, Stefan Lessard opens up to fan questions during time off that give us a behind-the-scenes look into different topics. We highlight some of the most interesting and perfectly crafted twooshes. Don’t miss this banter filled episode.

You know, we were really enjoying this year off*. Jake's making Chik-Fil-A sauce, Joe's hitting up every no-show and then some, and Matt's switched from beer to coffee. But what's that you say? A new album has dropped? No - not *that* album. DMB Live 25 took most of us by surprise (well, not Jake), and it's set the community on fire. Jake offers some insight into how this project came to be, and what went into bringing it to fruition. The 'cast is back, Ants!

We are back! And we are quickly back to where we left off; making fun of each other.  But thanks to some recent exciting news, we can now temporarily end the hold out. What hold out? Take a listen. We talk about the upcoming ‘year off’ tour dates, and our expectations for large outdoor venues vs the traditionally indoor quiet show.  We dive into what songs may appear in the setlists, and we take a few quick listener questions.

Just because the band is off it doesn't mean the Ants Podcast is. In addition to the popular Twitter questions, the fellas talk about the upcoming TV performance on TNT of C'ville 16 and an interview Stefan did on YouTube. Samuel Adams, news, mispronounced words, and Twitter questions, what more do you need?

If last week represented the mother of all podcasts, then this week represents the baby. With the band on a short break before the final seven shows, we took the opportunity to catch up on the backlog of questions that the listeners have been lobbing our way. This episode's a nice quick chaser after the marathon we put out last week. Thank you for all your questions, and enjoy!

The mother of all podcasts. For the first time after doing podcasts on a weekly basis, the coordination of the schedule trifecta along with podcast recording oopsies led to a couple weeks without a podcast. We’ve heard your requests and we’ve brought it all in this latest content packed episode. We first discuss major news developments including Crash Vinyl, LT38, Coffin album, and very intriguing comments from RAab. Plus a plethora of DMB shows to cover (i.e. 12), including NH, SPAC, Deercreek, and WPB where we find clear ups and downs among this run of shows, but why does it have to be that way? Plus we SPEED recap the setlist game results with a few sidebars thrown throughout. And a big THANK YOU to the 1K+ that joined us on the Periscope LIVE!

The boys get a special delivery in the mail to kick off this podcast and set the mood to talk Dave and Tim CMAC plus DMB Columbus and Pittsburgh shows. Dodo doesn’t make an appearance which forces the guys to debate what they’d consider success in the #freedodo movement. Time to drop some game on the setlists (ie setlist game results), and your user questions see doughboy answers (and we don’t mean Jake.)

When 2/3rds of the Ants Crew is together, a live podcast is nearly a must. Thusly, Matt and Joe broadcast live from the basement of the Jensen's, also known as Club Wasted, and do so with a sizeable studio audience in tow as well. Both nights of Alpine are reviewed in depth, and yes, we talk about that Dodo tease. Jake joins us via Skype to varying degrees of success, but hey, isn't that the fun of it? A rapid-fire, Periscope-style edition of the Ants Podcast. Enjoy!

Dave Matthews Band reached the first two-night stand of the year; in Camden. What would that mean for the sets? What would that mean for the two shows before Camden? With Matt off saving Mother England, Joe M and Jake take a shot at making sense of what it all means. The debuts, the new song, the new venues, plus your Setlist Game recaps and of course the user questions via Twitter. The only thing longer than this write up is Jake and Joe's rambling; without Matt to reign them in this podcast is one of the longest ever! Sit back and take a listen. Break Song: Plastic Girl

With only two Virginia shows since our last episode, there are fewer shows to talk about (and even fewer songs), but plenty of speculation to bandy about. Brady Blade lets one slip on another podcast that sets the community ablaze regarding a possible new Dave solo effort in 2017. The battle for the top of the Setlist Game table gets even hotter, and we take your questions!

Reunited and it feels so good! Matt returns this week to once again join Joe and Jake, and boy are the latter two sorry for it. All recent shows recapped, and that includes discussion of the recent setlist lull the tour has been experiencing. Joe absolutely butchers yet another Twitter user's name, and also forces our hand in tagging this episode as explicit. We bum rush the Setlist Game and some awesome user questions.

The Crew was merely 2 Live this week; Jake and Joe M took the helm whilst Matt felt the Bern, so to speak. With the band off this past week and based on twitter feedback, this episode is listener question heavy. Also addressed is the latest release announcement (a Dave Solo from 1996), the Bernie Sanders Dave Solo performance, and the latest DMBHub update that you don’t want to miss!

Four new shows on this podcast; a mid-week Birmingham, then a 3-state-consecutive-run through (the not cancelled) Charlotte, Atlanta, and St. Louis (or was it Kansas City?) We get "horny" as we break down each show in depth, including the new song debuts, some new guests, and show flow data that is telling an interesting story. Also, what’s the biggest surprise after this first part of the tour? Then after a Raven break, we touch on projects from Stefan’s son (Diggy) and Mark Roebuck (not related), setlist game top players (we have some exceptional shot-callers), and your listener questions (correct pronunciations included.)

The tour is really starting to get clicking! The band and the current setlists have us all in a buzz. We break down the 4 latest shows, including the "returns" of a number of songs. (You’ll be surprised who likes/doesn’t like each return.) And with the unexpected song returns, we take a look at the setlist game and if anyone was able to predicted them, including the show winners who will each get an Ants 2016 Tour wristband. Plus we take your questions, which in turn takes Jake into a Story Time you don’t want to miss.

The 2016 Summer Tour has officially kicked off and we are beginning to get a sense of what we are in for, even though it’s still very early. We recap the most recent series of shows: Wichita, Woodlands, and Dallas. Including a breakdowns of the shows, sets, and songs of each. Plus the setlist game competition has been HOT! We take a look at top performers and what the results tell us about the shows. Plus the Warehouse package hits doorsteps/ears for the first time, and we take your listener questions (maybe with some Jake Story time?)

It happened. Cville 2016 has come and gone, and boy do we have a lot to talk about. From Matt's wild adventure on the way in, to Jake's always-stellar predictions, and Joe's Rockbridge tour - we can't describe how much fun we had. But we'll try to. We review the tour opener and all the surprises it brought, chat about the Night Zero party, and take some really excellent questions. You won't want to miss this one!

Tour Time is Here! It’s the final podcast prior to the start of the tour, or at least the Ants Night Zero party and the excitement level is at a ten. The boys dive into the final tour expectations and theories, give a rundown of the setlist game (give it a try!), recap the upcoming activities around Charlottesville, and release a great new feature on the DMB Hub app, Personal Stats! We bring back Joe M's DMB Vote Song Series with a seasonal song, and we rip through our greatest number of questions yet.

It's a twosome this week as Matt and Jake make due without Joe M., and thus, without Joe M's DMB Vote Song Series. The ping pong ball machine gets a rest this week, but there's still plenty to talk about. DMB Hub gets its big release and brings some pretty big headlining features to boast. Live Trax 37 knocks all of our socks off, and a bunch of very interesting questions this week. As always, thanks so much for listening! Featured Music: Spotlight and Lover Lay Down (11.11.92 - Live Trax 37)

We all got what we've all been waiting for. Finally - this year's Warehouse disc track listing! We debate what's more special on that disc - Shotgun or Broken Things, and the boys banter about FLAC vs MP3. Live Trax 37 gets some love as it's now available to download, and we chat up the new Ants app just released on iPhone. We wrap with listener questions and a whole lotta Joe M's DMB Vote Song Series! Featured Music: Broken Things (11.30.2012), Once on a Wild Afternoon (6.17.92)

This week we get the biggest tour news that has come since the actual announcement of the tour itself, #DMB1Set.  The guys discuss the late change and what to expect. Plus they try to touch on a very sensitive/hot topic; that all indications point to DMB pulling out of the Charlotte show.  We also share more details about the upcoming epic Ants Party, Joe M's DMB Vote Song Series pulls a good one, and possibly our best listener questions.  Cornbread Anyone?

On this week’s episode we look at the latest announcements about the Charlottesville show just one month out; including the DMB pop-up gallery and the location of the Official Ants Party. Plus we dive into the ticket sales data of the summer tour. And this week's real treat, Joe M's DMB Vote Song Series ping pong ball machine goes bonkers with some major obscurity and we test our skills. #antspodcast questions too! Featured Music: I Did It (7.17.2015), Litho Blitho, Pig (7.17.2015)

The mysterious teases have come, and just as quickly gone.  We now know what they are all about, a charity Charlottesville show! The boys break down all the details from the announce, placement, anniversary, speculation, and expectations. Plus they drop a major announcement related to Cville (with a few additional teases sprinkled in.) And after feedback from live Periscope listeners, the first ever Live Joe's DMB Vote Song Series draw occurs. Happy Easter from the guys!

What a week in DMB! The band hits a major milestone with the 25th anniversary of their very first concert, and on top of that we get an amazing treat, Recently from that first show. And if that wasn’t enough, the “Pink Warehouse Video” curiously emerges and the debate is rampant.  We take all your comments in both the video debate and the Song Series, and finish with #AntsPodcast questions. Hang on for a fun one!

Lost tweets, lost power, and lost agenda. Bear with the boys as they overcome the distractions and ramp into the DMB content. In this episode they discuss a recent Dave cameo, the upcoming Warehouse disk, and the passing of DMB’s Agent/Friend. Plus this week’s Song Series sparks surprise, debate, and story time, then finishes with your questions!

Last week we impatiently gushed about the upcoming Live Trax 37 deep archive pull, but in the meantime DMB has given us a new old-school DMBLive release.  The guys talk about the significance of the show, and a deeper look into the past week’s Song Series of I’ll Back You Up.  Plus this week’s song sends the guys down memory lane, along with your listener questions. Featured Music: Lillywhite Sessions - Big Eyed Fish and JTR

The boys dive into what it takes to get yourself a music-related Oscar, given that this week's episode is counter-programmed against the big show. That's ok, the Nielsen ratings support us. Live Trax 37 is a big one, and corrects the record in Tour Central for a rare stump of Jake! We close out with tons of listener questions; we love them, so thank you!. Featured Music: 7.28.94 - One Sweet World, 7.22.94 - Say Goodbye

Out with one target (The Warehouse), and in with a new one (Ticketmaster). With public on-sale for the Summer 2016 Tour this past Friday, most of us got to relive the anguish of ticket confirmation day all over again. After we contemplate, and eventually dismiss, a mutiny, we all settle in and accept that the laws of supply and demand have us by our wallets. A sneak peak at our latest "In the Spotlight" release and listener questions round out this "short" episode. Featured Music: 6.19.00 - Sweet Up and Down, 12.20.03 - Dodo

Valentine's Day 2016 brought a lot of love this year in terms of Warehouse ticket confirmations; or did it? As always, it's a contentious topic and this year especially so, with the tour-less 2017 looming just over the horizon. We've got the stats to break down on just how likely you were to score some seats through the lottery, and you may be surprised to see how your tenure in the Warehouse affects the likelihood.

Super Bowl L is in the books, and with that, so is Ants Podcast LVII. Matt, Jake and Joe review Dave Matthews Band's Pier 70 performance, and that includes drooling over that Passion intro to start the show. Even in the off season, there's lots to talk about, including the 1300+ shows now available to download at antsmarching.org. We reveal the winner of Song Series Vol. 5 and announce Vol. 6. We even resurrect Jake's "In the Spotlight" feature, shedding light on the original performance of "Sister", and it's not what you're thinking.