Anyone who has ever been to a Dave Matthews Band concert and been at least somewhat coherent can attest to the palpable energy, the extended jams, the special guests and the great crowd vibe that make these concerts stand out from other live performances. Almost as soon as the Dave Matthews Band started playing together in 1991, tape traders spilled over from the realm of jam bands in order to capture and preserve the unique energy of live shows.

The band welcomed tapers and traders alike with open arms, and soon this subculture had helped build an enormous fan base across the United States well before a major-label release hit record-store shelves or a single hit airwaves.

The two-disc Live at Folsom Field is the fifth in a series of official live releases meant to capture the essence of the Dave Matthews Band in the concert setting and make it accessible to a wider audience. The summer of 2001 offered a perfect opportunity to capture this sound, as the Dave Matthews Band was situated squarely in the middle of a cross-country tour to support the February 2001 studio release Everyday.

With material from the new album, the scrapped Lillywhite Sessions, three previous studio albums and an abundance of unrecorded songs, each stop on the tour was musically diverse and spontaneous. The music recorded July 11, 2001, at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo., is no exception.

It is crowd noise, not music, that initially pours out of the speakers at the beginning of the first disc. The volume and fever of the cheering increase sharply a few seconds into the first track, calling to mind the image of Dave Matthews swaggering up to the microphone, grinning slyly. Instruments tune quietly for a few additional seconds, and then suddenly the band erupts into a standard, but not dispassionate version of “Don’t Drink the Water.”

Funky “JTR” follows on the heels of the final wails of “Don’t Drink the Water.” This is the gem of the first disc, despite the addition of gospel-influenced backing vocals by “the lovely ladies.”

“When the World Ends” and “So Right” are the first of many representatives of Everyday to appear on the first disc. These songs are, for the most part, carbon copies of their album counterparts. They lack any original jams or twists that breathe ever-changing personalities into older, more road-tested songs.

“Big Eyed Fish” and “Bartender” are former Lillywhite Sessions songs that made it onto 2002 release Busted Stuff. At the time of the Folsom Field show, the Lillywhite Sessions had circulated far and wide on the Internet and through old-fashioned tape-trading circles, its fame audibly evident by the cheers of recognition from the crowd as the first notes are played.

The heaviness of disc one is contained within “Don’t Drink the Water.” The disc concludes with upbeat Everyday hits “Everyday” and “I Did It” and the song that best defines the popular image of the band, “Crash Into Me.” Although the commercial success of “Crash Into Me” makes many long-time fans retch and its appearance in concert provides a opportune time to visit the bathroom/beer stand/merch booth, the addition of lyrics from the Lowell George song “Dixie Chicken” greatly increase the tolerance level.

Everyday songs are notably, and at this point in the listening experience thankfully, absent on disc two, save for mediocre versions of the then-hit single “The Space Between” and “Angel.”

Long-time concert favorite “Warehouse” begins a streak of energy-filled, tried-and-true songs. The crowd provides the vocals in the song’s stop-time introduction, shouting the traditional “Woo!” during pauses in the guitar riffs.

“Recently,” “What Would You Say” and “All Along the Watchtower” fill the middle of the disc with old-school Dave Mathews Band musical love. These songs have been the staples of the band’s live shows since the early ’90s. Although standardized for the most part in recent years, each still draws a huge roar from the crowd. Matthews adds a twist at the beginning of “Recently”; borrowing from John Denver, he sings, “Some people do … some people don’t.” Mentions of drinking and smoking in this intro draw cheers from the crowd, most of whom are probably doing one or the other.

The “ladies” exit, thankfully, after their painful vocal additions in “Stay,” and the album sails energetically to a conclusion with standard yet beloved versions of “Two Step” and “Ants Marching.”

The album as a whole answers the call of not-so-fanatic fans looking to experience the energy of a live Dave Matthews Band show. Although heavy on the Everyday songs, the album manages to convey the energy and emotion of the concert experience and expose listeners to a few lesser-known songs.

For long-time fans, however, the aforementioned Everyday songs clog the album, taking space away from beloved concert favorites. The “ladies” are also a source of displeasure. Their vocal additions complement at most one or two songs and at all other times quickly become overpowering and annoying.

Let the long-time fans complain. They can always go back to their stashes of traded tapes.

Grade: B