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Dave Matthews: Tiny Desk Concert

When you go to a Dave Matthews Band concert, you expect a super-sized performance, complete with expansive solos and a nice, long set list. So when Matthews shed his backing players to swing by the Tiny Desk for a solo gig, he couldn't just knock out three songs and bail. Instead, he played a set so long — so defiantly un-Tiny — that his between-song banter could have filled a Tiny Desk concert on its own.

After a bit of judicious trimming, we're still left with this warm, winning, utterly game, happily overstuffed performance, which balances songs from Dave Matthews Band's new album Come Tomorrow ("Samurai Cop," "Here on Out") with older material (1998's "Don't Drink the Water," 2012's "Mercy") and a deeper cut from his 2003 solo album ("So Damn Lucky"). And, we had to leave in some of Matthews' banter, which includes a priceless bit in which he enthusiastically illustrates some of the many differences between playing on stage with a band and sitting at an office desk with an acoustic guitar.

Set List

  • "Samurai Cop (Oh Joy Begin)"
  • "Here on Out"
  • "Don't Drink the Water"
  • "Mercy"
  • "So Damn Lucky"
  • Musicians

    Dave Matthews (vocals, guitar)

    Credits

    Producers: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Niki Walker, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Bronson Arcuri, Niki Walker, Khun Minn Ohn; Production Assistants: Catherine Zhang; Photo: Samantha Clark/NPR.

    Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    Stephen Thompson is a writer, editor and reviewer for NPR Music, where he speaks into any microphone that will have him and appears as a frequent panelist on All Songs Considered. Since 2010, Thompson has been a fixture on the NPR roundtable podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he created and developed with NPR correspondent Linda Holmes. In 2008, he and Bob Boilen created the NPR Music video series Tiny Desk Concerts, in which musicians perform at Boilen's desk. (To be more specific, Thompson had the idea, which took seconds, while Boilen created the series, which took years. Thompson will insist upon equal billing until the day he dies.)

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    The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

    If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

    Now all of that is at risk.

    Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

    Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

    Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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