 It happened. After weeks of teases and soundcheck rumors, Dave Matthews Band performed the fabled #34 for the first time in twelve years at Mansfield, MA on July 9th, 2005.
#34 was written for the late Charlottesville percussionist Miguel Valdez. See our 7/12/04 Davespeak for more information about Valdez. It was performed a handful of times in 1993 before being released on Under The Table and Dreaming and then it vanished.
It was teased once in 2002, then a few teases cropped up over the course of the 2005 tour. It was heard during recent sound checks and inspired the possibility that there may be a #34 reprise related to a background song from the Stand Up DVD in the works. See #34 Teases Draw Speculation.
Until Mansfield, #34 was just about the rarest Dave Matthews Band song in the catalogue. Before this tour, even seasoned fans would have said it was not likely to ever return. The song was not played again at the second Mansfield show, (7/10/05), so there is question as to whether it will join setlists over the rest of the tour as Time of The Season has. A happening like this leaves open the potential for more surprises over the course of the tour. (Though admittedly this will be difficult to beat.) A number of songs recorded during the Stand Up sessions have not yet seen the day of light outside the studio. Many other songs outside of the Stand Up sessions have potential to be performed and past interludes and what are sometimes called "improvisational jams" could solidify into independent new tunes. See the Gas Into Fire thread from this past week for an example. Also see the new Interlude here. The performance of rare or new tunes in the company of continued growth of songs from Stand Up. (See the thread on the growth of Dream Girl) Should set fans on edge for for an exciting if not apprehensive hope that the surprises will continue.  Listen to #34 from 7/9/05 (taper: kozmo)
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