Live in Chicago 12-19-98 at the United Center – Dave Matthews

Long ago -- a full four years, actually -- Dave Matthews decided that it was a very good idea to thwart bootleggers by offering official versions of noteworthy concerts. By the time the series reached its fourth volume, Live in Chicago 12.19.98, in 2001, fans were clamoring for such unreleased material as the scrapped Steve Lillywhite album from 2000, not unadorned, lengthy live records like this, but Matthews and company aren't ones that necessarily follow the direct wishes of the fans -- they'd rather follow the general intent. And so, there are releases like Live in Chicago 12.19.98, finding the band doing pretty fine versions of album favorites and live staples, from "Don't Drink the Water" and "Jimi Thing" to "#41" and "All Along the Watchtower." Since the DMB hasn't been officially captured live since the PBS tie-in Listener Supported this is somewhat valuable, especially since the band is livelier, better here than they were then, but ultimately there really aren't many revelations and based on this it's hard to say why (at least for an outsider) this concert was picked over many others on the tour. Not bad, by any means, but still not the live album that the Dave Matthews Band is capable of producing. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide