Flying FuManchu said:
The musicianship of Dave Matthews Band is better. They have a multi-cultural band that appeals to hippies and jocks/ preps.
They go into jams that can be either good or bad but at least they improvise every show (for good or for worse). Dave Matthews has a distinct voicie (until John Mayer came along) that some view as an instrument that goes along with their type of music. They've had Steve Lillywhite produce several of their best albums. Dave Matthews does some cool accoustic stuff that is simple (and its all accoustic!)
That is why U2 is better than DMB.
Yeah I think this reasoning is right along the lines of what the people I know say. They say that live - unlike U2, Dave Matthews has improvised jams in every show (which I view as a waste of time). They say also that live, unlike U2, the drummer usually drums the songs slightly different from the other night (which I view simply as inconsistency). They also say that DMB mixes ups setlists a lot, unlike U2, (but I just view this as variety in the quality of their shows and the lack of a unifying theme).
Some say Dave Matthews has a distinct voice, but I feel it is a voice easily copied. I see many cover bands here in my country do good covers of DMB songs, and in the international scene John Mayer is sounding like Dave. I think his singing is kinda like Eddie Vedder - it was unique/distinct when it came out but is easily copied when the clones come in. For Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, ***** and similar bands who had singers try to emulate Vedder's growly singing style came out and cashed in on that style. Now it seems like John Mayer is starting to cash-in on the DMB singing style and many others will follow suit soon.
The real distinct voice is Bono. No one, and I say no one, whether it be a local band in my country covering U2 songs, or any foreign band has managed to sound remotely close to Bono. Now his voice is something unique and special, and unlike Dave, it is so versatile and he uses it in many different ways - crooner, loungue, wail, falsetto, shout, sing.
But yeah, I do wish U2 would release more live stuff and acoustic stuff just like DMB.
Cheers,
J