Live at the Gorge (CD) (Includes DVD)

The Dave Matthews Band (DMB, for the uninitiated) has retained a massive and loyal following in their decade plus long career by adhering strictly to the Phish/DiFranco philosophies; if you tour constantly, they will always come. The ensemble has played several years' worth of acclaimed and beloved shows at The Gorge in Washington State -- a scenic and natural amphitheatre with vistas that overlook the gorgeous Columbia River. Matthews and company are clearly interested in prolonging the love affair they've been having with their ferociously loyal audience, and have been consistent in releasing robust and satisfying live collections, including 2003's release of their legendary concert in Central Park.

The show itself, which is brilliantly captured on an accompanying DVD (which includes two entirely interactive songs where viewers can randomly switch camera angles), showcases the powerhouse live act that is the Matthews Band. They play together more like the well-seasoned machine of a jazz combo than a rock act; their songs so familiar to them now they riff solos through them and turn them around like said combo playing an Ellington standard. There is perhaps no greater living young artist to watch live than Matthews, who holds live performance in such high regard that not only does he effuse gratitude to his audience over and over again on the CD, the accompanying DVD documentary shows the affable and ego-free artist jamming on a side stage with an awestruck local band. Indeed, his confidence as a player is only surpassed by his genuine enthusiasm for his fans and his audience.

Matthews makes leading a band seem like an effortless walk in the park. The two CD set includes rewarding versions of some radio favorites, including his eminently likable "The Space Between." Versions of early hits, "What Would You Say" and "Ants Marching," are included on the DVD only. Bright spots glimmer the most when Matthews stands alone with his acoustic guitar and gives his crowd precisely what they have come thousands of miles out of their way to see. The mystical and wondrous "Gravedigger" is easily an album highlight. He gives the crowd a similarly intimate moment in the opening lines of the jazzy "Proudest Monkey."

One of the album's most invigorating moments is, ironically, one of its calmest, when the audience croons along to a pared down acoustic intro to the hit, "Everyday." His enviably optimistic life view bubbles up from the inspiring version of "Lie in Our Graves." DMB pours their hearts into a completely succulent version of "Pig." The prolonged jams are hip and jazzy, and the fun both in CD and DVD forms is infectious. For Dave, the audience is as much a part of the music as his fellow band mates, and after making a career of being one of the most successful live acts in the history of rock, DMB is clearly interested in creating the same excellence when recording their concerts. The Gorge is, indeed, exemplary of how powerful concert CDs and DVDs can be when left to the experts.