Dave Matthews Band bus incident, 21 years later

The first time the Dave Matthews Band swung through the Chicago area during the summer of 2004, the group played a sold-out, 2½-hour set at the Tweeter Center (now Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre) in Tinley Park.

“Although his whiny high notes often sounded like air seeping from a leaky mattress, Matthews punctuated his springy vocals with scat phrases and mumbles that had female fans shrieking,” Bob Gendron wrote about the performance.

The band’s return visit on Aug. 8, 2004, would also elicit shrieking — but not for its music.

What happened on — and under — the Kinzie Street Bridge on the North Branch of the Chicago River two decades ago is now local lore. Here’s how the Tribune reported the infamous “bus incident.”

Aug. 8, 2004: Sightseers drenched by a ‘brownish-yellow’ slurry

Peopl