Mar 21 / Rob

And Now Some 26 Year Old Footage of Dave Matthews at PC Ballroom

This video is from way back in the day. It’s from so far back that it predates even my time at JMU (by mere months, but technically true). And boy does it send us back. First off, it’s actual footage of a Dave Matthews Band show live from the concert mecca known as the PC Ballroom. If you were at JMU in the 90s, you’ll probably find it rather familiar. The baggy clothes and the “dancing” are perfectly representative of what you’d see if you walked into any JMU party roughly between 1992 and 1996.

Everyone loves to mock the more outlandish styles of the 70s and 80s, but as you can tell from this video, 90s fashion was a special kind of awful. There was nothing too glaring or over the top about things, but more just a general lack of fit. People didn’t really wear clothes, as much as they hung them around in loose proximity to their bodies. And I bet if we were able to zoom in, we’d spot more than a few folks in heavy wool socks and Birkenstocks. Or a pair of just plain ugly, “party shoes,” which were basically the oldest, rattiest shoes folks had, worn specifically to splash in puddles of Beast Lite. Functional, yes. Stylish, no.

And those weird movements that folks in the crowd were making? Those weren’t involuntary spasms, they were carefully crafted dance moves. Seriously. We’d mock everyone in the crowd, save for the fact that there is very likely footage somewhere of us doing the exact same thing. Or worse, of us doing the “pretzel.”

7 Comments

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  1. Ken / Mar 21 2018

    That is now 2:20 more Dave Mathews Band than I’ve ever listened to on purpose in my life and probably 2:20 more DMB than I will listen to on purpose going forward.

  2. Todd Lowman / Mar 21 2018

    I was on WXJM’s staff at the time, and I think every one of us worked that show in at least one role, from setup to sound to tickets to cleanup. It was exciting because he had a standing gig at a bar in Charlottesville and occasionally played gigs in the ‘burg as well, so getting him as a headliner felt like a coup.

    I wish I could remember who else was on the bill. PC Dukes didn’t exactly have the best acoustics but it was pretty packed, he was very good in that way that made you feel he was destined for bigger things, and I got to meet him at an after-party.

  3. Drake / Mar 21 2018

    I miss when Dave rocked those pajama pants.

  4. Andy Puckett / Mar 21 2018

    We called it the comfort look. Hard to remember that long ago, but there is a high probability that I was there somewhere.

  5. RB / Mar 22 2018

    great shot of JMU Duke LeRoi Moore in the video! Was this performance actually in PC Dukes? I only remember that place for the personal pan pizza on my dining card.

    Had Butch Taylor started playing with Dave at this point? I don’t think he had. However, I remember listening to Chuck Taylor and the All Stars a few times during my time at JMU. Have always had the thought that Chuck and Butch were brothers, can anyone confirm?

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