Regardless of what you think of his voice, it seems like Dave has finally adapted to the internet age and “the Youtube” he references all the time. This might be the first tour where he hasn’t rehashed the same lines and jokes every night?! I haven’t even begun to watch all the 2015 tour videos, but from what I’ve seen he’s telling different jokes and using different shtick during the song breakdowns AND there seems to be a different story before every Ice Cream Man. (Nobody wins that bet!) Conversely, the last couple of tours seemed to be the same ol’ thing every show. I’ve always been a big fan of Diamond Dave so to see him hyper and chatty has been a real treat.

On the same note, I know some people don’t like the long buildup to ICM but I’d be willing to bet he is just killing time to give the other guys a break. They probably have an unwritten rule that he needs to kill 5 minutes or whatever so they can have a quick recess and recharge for the final push.

No real point to this, I guess, but it does seem like he’s figured out how “the Youtube” works, so he’s adapting.

Gilligan: AND there seems to be a different story before every Ice Cream Man. (Nobody wins that bet!)

---

Dave must be lurking here at VHT and decided he was going to foil us!!

One thing I have noticed since his return to the band and more specifically the last tour and the early parts of this tour are his crazy smiles and “vaudvillian” faces. I was watching some classic stuff from the US festival and the Largo show from 82 and he never made the goofy smiles and crazy dance moves. It was more scissor kicks, parading back and forth across the stage and rock n roll moves.

I know things change, rockers get older and sometimes slow down but good heavens……if in 1984 you were able to show me some clips of the 2015 tour and this is what DLR would have evolved into I would have said “not possible”. He was one of the great front men of rock n roll, the whole package. Now he is wearing suits, has matching silk scarf and a crazy dance floor that he slips around on.

Still love the band and all that goes with it……but miss the old Dave.

Absolutely. However, in the 70′s & 80′s his face was generally trashed looking. In fact, they probably got the term “shit-faced” from Dave’s live performances! I like his crazy smile, and, for me, it seems more genuine this tour. 2012 was more on the creepy side…

Its hard to admit were all getting older, or better yet hard to accept.

Dave seems to have evolved away from the rock god he once was…. he tried to be an older version of that Dave on the ’07-’08 tour, and I prefer that to what we currently have.

Since 2012, we seem to have gotten a very different Dave… a more Vegas Dave, than Rock Star Dave. That whole Vegas thing he did back in the nineties, seems to have made it’s way into what we are seeing now. If Dave’s voice was good, I wouldn’t mind so much… but the dance floor, and the voice is making it difficult for me.

King Edward:
I know things change, rockers get older and sometimes slow down but good heavens……if in 1984 you were able to show me some clips of the 2015 tour and this is what DLR would have evolved into I would have said “not possible”.

Totally agree…. Alex looks like an older version of himself, and still performs great. Ed looks like an older version of himself, and still performs great. Dave looks mostly like an older version of himself, but performs like a completely different person.

nah man I agree that “Joker grin” I first really remember noticing back in 1996 with the aborted reunion. He was on the old Stern show that E! broadcast and he just had that grin with the veins in his neck popping out to keep in place. It was weird. But then as years went on I noticed he never lost it. It’s true back in the day he “prowled” the stage (for lack of better word. Now he’s sliding on mats etc. And I get it, he’s older, he has apparently a lotta back problems. I’m not expecting him to jump off the riser anymore. But this weird “dance like no one’s watching” shimmying on stage stuff is bizarre.

I did notice some clips from Red Rocks other night I guess cause of rain they had to leave Dave’s mat off the stage and suddenly Ed was leaving his “oat” on the side. If that’s been the reason for Ed not moving around more on stage I say get rid of that slipping mat for good. Dave doesn’t need it. Just like he didn’t need that drive-thru mic he tried out in 2012 before chucking it.

I think Dave has made an effort to sing better for this tour.

The lack of a bigger stage & giant video screen helps him focus more.

Voodoo just said in the Red Rocks thread that Dave was more “Dave” than usual – and that was kind of what I was driving at with this thread. Again, regardless of whether he’s acting like an idiot or singing good or bad, I like his stories and one-liners. In the past he was known for using the same stories and one-liners every show – which worked before youtube because you had to be there. Being boot collectors it’s pretty obvious, too… I mean, in how many boots is Dave “gonna fuck your girlfriend?” THIS tour, however, we’re getting a wide variety of stories and different one-liners, and I like that. It’s a part of what makes him one of the GOATs!