New Year's Dave: Solo, shopping, snagging awards

It was only a matter of time. Dave Matthews is going solo on tour, at least.

Matthews isn't digging a grave for his band, just dropping the "B" from DMB for a series of as-yet-unreleased 2003 tour dates.

But don't look for "DM" plucking his Taylor-made guitar at the small smoky venues some stars select for such outings. Matthews' management is auctioning off Dave's performances to colleges only, eBay-style, asking a rumored minimum bid of $50,000 for a solo show.

Clear Channel Entertainment (the nation's largest concert promoter) is offering at least 15 solo Matthews shows for March and April at college venues that hold at least 2,000 people.

This departure is likely largely Dave's doing, as Matthews seems to have been testing the solo waterspaying to see their 77 shows.

And the winner is... You won't find the socially conscious Dave Matthews Band following Sean Penn to Iraq (though Dave did join a campaign by celebrity opposition dubbed Artists United to Win Without War), but the charity-minded group has aligned itself with causes closer to home.

Last month the band received the 2002 Missions in Music Award from the Environmental Media Association for its "One Sweet Whirled" campaign, based on its collaboration with Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and the eponymous flavor. Matthews performed "One Sweet World," "Where Are You Going?" and "Gravedigger" at the Los Angeles ceremony in late November.

The Grammies may have dissed The Dave in favor of U2 last year, but DMB are still darlings of contemporary music channel VH-1. For