Last night I took a midweek roadtrip with one of my college roommates to see the Dave Matthews Band play in Louisville at the relatively new KFC Yum! Center. Overall the arena was pretty impressive with good sight lines from all levels, tons of luxury boxes, and a nice acoustics.

Inside KFC Yum! Center

Jimmy Cliff opened the show and we walked in after he and his band had already started. Though we didn’t get to hear “I Can See Clearly Now” we were treated to a set closing combination of “The Harder They Come” followed by a drum filled cover of “Rivers of Babylon.” It was a great start to our night. I’ve seen Jimmy once before at the 2010 Mile High Music Festival and recall having a good time there as well.

Great Lights

Between sets we made a stop at the Woodford Reserve Club for drinks and after returning toward our seats decided to hang at the top of our section and stand for the duration of the show. There was a nice drink rail for us to use and we could see just as well as we could from our seats. No one ever asked us for our tickets, so next time I would consider buying a cheaper upper level seat and just stand at the top of the lower level.

Our View

The DMB set was a nice mix of new songs from their most recent release, Away from the World, and a sampling of nearly all of their previous albums. “Don’t Drink the Water” is always a great song to hear as the opener. I also especially enjoyed this early stretch of songs: “Seven” “#41” “Mercy” and “Grey Street.” The encore was also spectacular with “Christmas Song” segueing into “Halloween” and then finally into “Tripping Billies.” It was a killer ending to a great night of music!