When Dave Matthews Band took the stage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday, August 19, they did so without saxophonist LeRoi Moore, a member of DMB since its beginnings in Charlottesville in 1991. Moore died at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center from complications related to his June 30 all-terrain vehicle accident near his Charlottesville home.
Moore had been absent from the touring band for weeks, replaced by Béla Fleck saxophonist Jeff Coffin following the accident while the band played on. Yet his presence seemed to pervade DMB’s first set following his death, from the opening lines of “Bartender” (“If I go before I’m old/ Oh brother of mine, please don’t forget me if I go”) to the final carpe diem of the night, longtime fan favorite “Two Step.”
Celebrate nearly two decades of LeRoi and DMB with us, folks, and view this gallery of photos. Life is short, but sweet for certain.