Dave Matthews leads the crowd at his band's show Friday. (Brandon Kruse / Palm Beach Post)

Photos: Dave Matthews Band/Gov’t Mule at Cruzan | Live blog from Friday’s show

If you think of a Dave Matthews Band show as a wine party with friends, most of the songs are warm, familiar flavors. Many fans have had them before, but never, ever mind another glass, as they remind of good times.

Every so often, though, Dave will pull out a somewhat rare, great bottle from the cellar — something like the song “#41″, which served as the centerpiece of Friday’s show at Cruzan Amphitheatre.

And the audience savored “#41″ — understanding that for a little while, that glass, and all of the wine, is going to be put away for a while when Matthews and his band take a sabbatical from the road in 2011.

For the song, DMB was joined on stage by Warren Haynes, estimable guitarist from the show’s support act, Gov’t Mule. Haynes gave “#41″ a bluesy gravity as it stretched past 10 minutes, as it usually does.

Otherwise, the group settled into a comfortable pattern for the show — although the set started with “Minarets”, a winding song which stretches all the way back to DMB’s 1993 debut EP, Remember Two Things. It was populated with well-known songs like “Don’t Drink The Water” and the band’s first big hit, “What Would You Say” at first, settled into a slower, more experimental groove in the middle, then picked up again at the end with “Crash Into Me”, “Why I Am” and “Ants Marching.”

As always, each of the adept musicians performing alongside Matthews had a chance to shine — from drummer Carter Beauford, who held things together all night; to bassist Stefan Lessard, who really bounced his way through funkier songs like “Seven” and “Shake Me Like A Monkey”; to violinist Boyd Tinsley, who blazed his way through a solo on the chestnut “Dancing Nancies”; to guitarist Tim Reynolds, whose arpeggios add texture to the familiar; to an estimable horn section, led by trumpeter Rashawn Ross and saxophonist Jeff Coffin.

For the encore, Matthews came on alone and brought out a “bottle” only a few fans may have partaken in — the song “Little Red Bird” which was on an EP that came with a special edition of the band’s most recent LP, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King. That kind of fun unpredictability is one big reason why Matthews’ fans return for one more sip.