Dave Matthews Band busted out another long-shelved tune last night at Gilford, NH’s BankNH Pavilion. Fourteen songs into their set, the ensemble launched into the original “Sweet Up and Down” for the first time since May 21, 2022. The surprise move comes just one day after DMB liberated the Everday track “If I Had It All” for the first time since June 28, 2019 at the same venue. The group has already brought back a number of oft-overlooked tunes this summer.

“Sweet Up and Down” has a curious history. Dave Matthews Band introduced the song during the summer of 2000 and played it frequently but then seemingly abandoned the number. However, Matthews briefly revived it for his Dave Matthews & Friends shows in 2003 and 2004, the rare song from the DMB catalog to make it into the electric Dave & Friends sets, and the full Dave Matthews Band brought it back in 2007. Since then, it has come and gone from the band’s repertoire a few times, enjoying ample plays in 2010 and 2021, a few appearances in the truncated touring year of 2020 and a lone reading in 2022. The song has also not been released on an official DMB album yet and, though it was recorded during the leaked “Lillywhite Sessions,” it was not reworked along with the other cuts from those aborted sessions for Busted Stuff. 

Dave Matthews Band will kick off a two-night run at Sartoga Springs, NY’s Saratoga Performing Arts Center tomorrow. 

Here’s a look at last night’s setlist via DMBAlmanac

Wednesday, July 15, BankNH Pavilion, Gilford, NH

The Stone, The Last Stop, Satellite, Everyday, Where Are You Going, Cha Cha, When the World Ends, Gravedigger, Looking for a Vein, Dancing Nancies, Spaceman, Sledgehammer, Virginia in the Rain, Sweet Up and Down*, Crash Into Me, The Best of What’s Around, Lying in the Hands of God, American Baby

Encore: Peace on Earth^, Kill the Preacher^, Why I Am

(*) Last played May 21, 2022

(^) Dave solo