Counting Crows
Where: O2 Academy Newcastle
When: 27th May 2009
Originally scheduled for an arena tour it was good to see plenty of fans turned out at the academy for the seven piece American country-rock band who've been producing records since '93. The queue tailed all the way around the building so a pit stop to the pub was in order.
Once the masses had died down we were just in time to catch some poetic guitar numbers from Craig Finn, who initially seemed alright, but the more you listened the better he sounded. Although not intending to get near the front I find myself with no more than ten rows of people in front of me. The atmosphere in the academy was so very different to what I'd experienced before, the fans were generally a lot older and a lot more polite to one another, and the sight of 22 guitars on stage just made you want to get closer, this crowd were all too obliging.
When the Crows themselves came on the tightness of the band was very apparent. Controversially they began with some cover songs, not including their famous cover of Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi. There was a lot of play from their most recent album Saturday Nights, Sunday Mornings, which as Adam Duritz explained was very much made up of two very different feels. Sunday Mornings naturally being the more laid back of the pairing. This album admittedly was new to me, I was an old crows fan, I love the early stuff (despite my youth I've been a fan for nearly 7 years) yet I found the new tracks just as enjoyable to watch. Duritz certainly had a lot of energy and the whole band had such chemistry, they really had it together, despite Duritz telling the masses of Newcastle he thought he was in Nottingham which was not a wise move.
But back to the music, when they played the first song 'Daylight Fading', a favourite of mine from the Crows second album Recovering the Satellites, I was brought to tears. That familiar guitar at the beginning just set me off. And it was the first time in a long time a band have overwhelmed me that much. Duritz was all over the stage; climbing on the amps at the front, and acting out all the emotions of the songs. He was a great performer with his heart and soul in their music and despite being quite the front man his two instances of lying on the floor did allow for the rest of the band to gain the credit they deserve. Guitarist and vocalist Dan Vickery was also a joy to watch and so clearly talented, as well as David Bryson who seemed a little shyer yet equally as talented.
Other fantastic songs the Crows pulled out for this gig were 'Mr Jones', 'Holiday in Spain' and 'Hard Candy'. They also brought back Craig Finn for the finale and with Duritz getting on the piano, there was a good old sing along to Bill Wither's 'Lean on Me'. This Counting Crows gig felt like such an experience and you were left simply in awe of the music.
Words and Images: Hannah Ross
Write a comment
- Required fields are marked with *.
-->