Performance
"Ants Marching" is considered to be the definitive and most recognizable Dave Matthews Band song by many of their devoted fans. As Dave Matthews himself once said, "This song is our anthem". "Ants Marching" is a favorite of the band's to play live in concert, being the most played song over the course of the band's touring career, having been fully played 1,077 times over the band's 20-year career. The live versions of "Ants Marching" are recognizable by the typical snare intro by the band's drummer, Carter Beauford, as can be heard on the band's most recent live release, Live at Wrigley Field. For some live versions however, the band will skip the snare intro, and go straight into the song, which is known as the "direct intro"; the version on Live Trax Vol. 13 has a unique guitar duet intro by Matthews and electric guitarist Tim Reynolds. The band's addition of trumpeter Rashawn Ross for the 2006 tour has had a positive effect on the band's horn section in live performances of "Ants Marching", as he introduced several new interpolations, including The Jacksons' "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)". When the song is performed live, Matthews stops singing during the fourth verse so that the crowd can sing the lines "People in every direction / No words exchanged, no time to exchange."
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Famous quotes containing the word performance:
“Still be kind,
And eke out our performance with your mind.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“The way to go to the circus, however, is with someone who has seen perhaps one theatrical performance before in his life and that in the High School hall.... The scales of sophistication are struck from your eyes and you see in the circus a gathering of men and women who are able to do things as a matter of course which you couldn’t do if your life depended on it.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)
“Kind are her answers,
But her performance keeps no day;
Breaks time, as dancers,
From their own music when they stray.”
—Thomas Campion (1567–1620)