Just got back from seeing the DMS concert in Buffalo NY. It was their 3rd gig of an approximately 25 concert tour through the US. Their previous date (in Atlanta) was apparently cancelled, so they had about a 3 day lay-off before this gig. Beside George Duke, Marcus Miller, and Dave Sanborn, the band included drummer Louis Cato and another keyboardist whose name I didn't catch. The crowd was decent size, nearly filling the main floor and 3 balconies of Kleinhans Music Hall, home of the Buffalo Philharmonic Symphony (this is certainly one of the larger venues of the tour).
Overall, the concert was average/good, but certainly not outstanding. As mentioned, it was early in the tour, so maybe they were still getting their footings. Tunes consisted of mainly Miller/Sanborn fare (Run For Cover, Lisa, Straight To The Heart, etc.), a couple of tunes from Miles' Tutu, and about three George Duke tunes, Brazilian Love Affair, and two pop/vocal "hits" from the early '80s.
Beside the repertoire, what made the concert average was the fact that there really wasn't any stretching out on solos--tunes where pretty much played by the book. I was expecting some extended featuring of all three stars for at least once during the concert, but it didn't happen. Only Marcus had a bit of a "feature" on one of his own tunes. His brief solos were typical--slapping and rhythmic. He also played some bass clarinet on Backyard Ritual.
Lastly, there was plenty of casual banter among the three and "humor" provided by George Duke's antics (it seemed as if he really didn't seem to know where to fit in, besides his solo space, during the Miller/Sanborn material).
The rest of the dates can be found at:
www.dmstour.com
