Tripping Billies - Let's celebrate some of Dave Matthews Band's music!

"Let's celebrate some
Dave Matthews Band's music!"
click here for our prior article previewing the concert

by Kevin Alcox, Columbus Wired

"Let's celebrate some of Dave Matthews Band's music!" said Brandon DePaul, Tripping Billies lead singer, when I was talking to the fans at the Newport Music Hall.

"This is my chance to see Dave Matthews Band (DMB) up close," said Brian Turnbull of Columbus. Brian was just one of the many others that made it out on Friday night to see the Tripping Billies, a Dave Matthews Tribute Band.

What were people expecting from Tripping Billies?

"I expect that the background sounds will be dead on," said Nikole Gongaware. "But it's the vocals and energy that I am interested to see if they can match."

Not only did they combine what people were expecting and hoping to see, but they blew people away the fans with their accurate portrayal of a DMB concert. From the opening number until they left the stage, the energy was high and the tribute was exact.

For fans this was a chance to see DMB a few months early. DMB, who is coming to Columbus' Polaris Amphitheater on August 5th and 6th, is one of the most followed bands in the nation. Fans come out to show after show and every fan I talked to at the Newport had their tickets for one or both of the shows DMB will be putting on later this year.

The Tripping Billies for one night though, in Columbus, brought DMB's fans together and jammed. One thing that the Tripping Billies talked about in a previous interview is that they look to give all the respect to DMB and their music. As a fan and as a critic I can honestly say that they go above and beyond showing respect to DMB.

"It is an unbelievable comparison," said Turnbull. "This is the best. It is so close it might be better than Dave just because I am so close and it is the exact representation."

"I can't believe they are this good," said Gongaware.

The key to the success of the Tripping Billies is one of being close to their fans and also being fans of DMB music with them. "We are as big of fans of DMB as anyone," said DePaul. "That is what makes this so easy and so much fun at the same time."

This fun comes with some rough roads though. It turns out the band was in Georgia the previous night and had to travel to Columbus overnight to play at the Newport. Lack of rest might limit the energy of most bands, but this was not the case. I had hard time realizing I was not watching DMB.

"From the sound to the vocals to the energy to the style and looks," said Nick Dlouhy. "Tripping Billies succeeded in giving Columbus DMB fans a show that they would walk home stunned by the exact representation."

As a critic I couldn't put it any better in describing the performance of the Tripping Billies. If you had a chance to see them at the Newport you know what I am talking about. If not next time they come to Columbus get a ticket and enjoy.