The Dave Matthews Band plays at the Cruzan Ampitheatre August 14, 2009. ( Allen Eyestone/The Palm Beach Post)

See more photos

Most groups could only dream of enjoying a small taste of the Dave Matthews Band’s success.

Since forming in Charlottesville, Va., in 1991, the band has sold tens of millions of albums and become one of the country’s highest grossing bands.

This weekend was no different, when fans flocked to the Cruzan Amphitheatre in suburban West Palm Beach to watch the jazzy rock quintet make its annual pilgrimage to South Florida for two nights of concerts, ending tonight.

Floridians and fans from as far away as the Carolinas and New York spent Friday afternoon grilling burgers, chugging Bud Lights and smoking marijuana in the blazing August sun, waiting to hear a cultural icon.
Yet unlike touring legends such as the Grateful Dead and Phish, two other bands that could fill a parking lot of that size and attract traveling fans , the Dave Matthews Band has managed to become commercial kings.

It sells massive amounts of albums — its latest, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, debuted in June at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, the fifth consecutive one to open at the top spot.

But many loyal fans refuse to see them as a mainstream band, instead wanting DMB to be their version of the Dead or Phish, bands that also change their set list from night to night and play improvised jams.
The difference is that Phish and the Dead never catered to the radio market.

“DMB are mainstream but still respected by the underground circuit,” said Larry Eckstein, 25, of Boca Raton. “They’ve been true to themselves. After their big three albums (from 1994-1998) they did sell out a little bit, but this new album has been out of control.”
Dave Matthews’ appeal across the music spectrum is what made the parking lot at Cruzan a diverse flood of music fans.

“You have the dirty hippies, the frat boys, and the high school kids,” Eckstein said. “It’s a good combination. I like it.”

Included in the mix was a 69-year-old grandmother from St. Petersburg, who received a ticket to Friday night’s show as a Mother’s Day present from her daughter and granddaughter, both in attendance.
“I’ve met some of the nicest young men,” JoAnn Dalessio said.

“Everyone’s polite and there’s none of the rowdiness you’d think of at concerts. It’s good, fun-loving kids. I’m very old-fashioned, but I haven’t seen one thing that’s been offensive.”

While Dave Matthews, the band’s guitarist and lead vocalist, is 42, the group continues to draw much of its crowd from college frat houses.
“Those guys are over there, I can tell they’re from ” the University of Florida, said Joey Domagala, 22, a University of Central Florida student, pointing to a group. “They’ve got their keg, they’re playing beer pong, and I don’t like them. But the thing we all share is DMB. I can go up to them, drink a beer with them because we all love the environment, the music.”