“It looks like darkness to me Drifting down into Miami.”

August 1, 2015

“It looks like darkness to me
Drifting down into Miami.”

Counting Crows are my favorite band, both to listen to and to go see live and I take every opportunity to see them, having seen at least one show on every tour they have had since 1994. That is a lot of shows, but I never tire of going because they are always new and fresh, varying the set-lists often, improvising and adding alternate takes on many of their most popular songs. You never know what new surprises they have in store, even if you see multiple shows on the same tour.

A number of my friends think I am crazy, they think lead singer Adam Duritz is whiny, nasally, boring and worse. Trust me I have heard it all, but I could not disagree more, hey to each their own, but personally I think that he is one of the great songwriters of my generation and that the band is consistently one of the best live acts touring. I have never been disappointed at one of their shows and when they are really and truly on, their shows can be transcendent. 

 

They played at the wonderful, intimate venue at Bayfront Park, which is ultra convenient since I can stay at the Holiday Inn Bayside and walk back and forth to the venue. I was flying out of Ft. Lauderdale very early the next morning, so it worked out all around. I got there early to catch the sound check as was part of the deal with my VIP ticket. It is great because the tickets are up front (in the first three rows) and include free admission to the sound check and a meet and greet with the band. It is worth it just to attend the sound check which is basically a cool private mini-concert where the band works through three or four songs without all the lighting and production. 

Sean

The sound checks often feature rarities or cover songs not featured during the actual concert as well as songs where they are working out variations or additions so it can be really interesting and fun. The down side to this sound check was the weather, it was Miami in July in mid-afternoon and it was blazing hot, I mean Africa hot both for the band as well as the small group assembled to watch.

 

After the sound check and meet and greet, it was back for a quick shower at the hotel to cool off before returning in time to catch the brilliant opening act, Citizen Cope who played a wonderful set. I had never seen the band and was really, really impressed. It was a great start to the evening.

Citizen Cope

 

Hollis Brown

Better yet was the nice group of friends from Key West who were also up for the concert that I hung out with during the set break. I guess some of my friends at least agree with my assessment of the band. I was happy to see it and happy to spend time with some friends somewhere outside of Key West.

Shawn & Tim

When the main act came on, they did not fail to impress. As expected, Counting Crows delivered another awesome set of live music. Twenty songs ranging from their first release up to selections from their fantastic latest CD, “Somewhere Under Wonderland”. The crowd was great and the band was on target, especially during the first third of the set list. They leveled off during the latter portion of the set, but overall it was yet another top notch performance by a band still performing at a peak level.