Moore, 46, the band's saxophone player, died Tuesday of complications from an earlier accident involving an all-terrain vehicle. On Tuesday night, observers said Matthews fought back tears and appeared visibly shaken as he performed in Los Angeles, Rolling Stone reported.

Some fans said Matthews poured his heart into a "healing" set.

"When we walked in, I was surprised to see Dave there because they had, literally, four hours to prepare, and he came out and you could see people were definitely sad," show audience member Sebastian Jonqua told Rolling Stone.

Another fan who attended the show, Bobbie Celaya, told the magazine, "(Dave) was like, 'We have some sad news ... We learned today ... LeRoi today gave his ghost up,' and right then and there, I started bawling."

During the concert, Matthews reportedly told the story of first meeting Moore in a Virginia bar where Moore was performing. He said he fell in love with him after hearing Moore play "the most beautiful version of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' that I ever heard in my whole life."