There are some bands that capture the memories of a certain period in your life. The merest sound from bands such as these unleashes a torrent of Technicolor nostalgia. The Counting Crows are one of these bands for me, which is one reason this was my fifth trip to see them live. Of course the other reason would be the outstanding performance they deliver every time.
I was moderately surprised at the choice of Capetonians Flat Stanley as the support act. In theory, their style of gentle pop rock was in keeping with the tone of the evening. But for the most part they lack complexity, despite having an inordinate number of band members on stage, and I found their performance to be lacking in sparkle. The crowd appreciated fontman Andrew‘s humility and the band’s big hits like Treading Air were well received. If you’re looking for pleasant local pop-rock, these guys are certainly on top of their game. I just felt they needed to up that game somewhat in order to provide worthy support to a band of the Counting Crows’ calibre.
The Counting Crows released their seminal album August and Everything After in 1993. Their sound did not quite fit the grunge mould that was taking the scene by storm at that stage. Yet their manic depressive brand of country rock struck a chord, and August and Everything After sold millions of copies at whirlwind speed. Cut to 2008, and they have just released their 5th studio album, Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings. The album is an amalgam of rockier songs and more melodic numbers, based on the theme of Saturday night sinning and Sunday morning repenting.
The band has visited SA twice before, in 1999 and 2004, and amazingly enough always includes Durban on their itinerary, despite our reputation as being the only city that never sells out. Anyone who has listened to their live recordings will realize that they do not believe in performing exact replicas of the songs on the albums. They wend their way through the songs, taking the odd detour into what appears to be improvised territory, adding lyrics from other songs or making up new ones as they go along. This may be annoying to those who only know the radio hits, but for the true fans, it makes every gig a new and rich experience. Add to this the fact that Adam Duritz is a man in perpetual motion, one moment leaping off the monitors, the next crooning as he lies spread-eagle on the floor, and you’re in for a magical performance. Despite having visited us before, they did not make the mistake so many big bands make of only focusing on their new material. The 90 minute set contained fairly equal representation of all their albums, and even included the guaranteed crowd pleaser Mr Jones, which after 15 years, they must be heartily sick of playing. You’d never think it to watch them though.
My only complaint about the evening was the strangely low volume….I never want to be able to hear every conversation being held in the nearby vicinity while I’m trying to watch a band. Having a quiet performance tends to detract from the atmosphere of a show, and add to this the usual lacklustre response of the Durban audience, and you’re left with a tough crowd. Nonetheless, when the last song faded away, the folks of Durban called for more. And of course, the Counting Crows obliged.
Just before the final song of the encore, Adam Duritz shared some touching words with the crowd, spurring us on to take heart against the recent problems our country has been suffering. It was heart warming to see an artist take an interest in the country he was touring, without coming across in a smarmy Bono ‘heal the world’ kind of way. And that is the essence of what appeals about this band – genuine emotion and sincerity infuses everything they do. It’s hard not to like them.
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