The temperature outside was smokin, and so was the entertainment at MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheater in Tampa, Florida on August 9, 2023. Temps were in high nineties as Tampa welcomed “The Banshee Season Tour” to the Florida State Fairgrounds with headliner Counting Crows and opener Dashboard Confessional. The program got underway with Adam Duritz, lead singer of Counting Crows, addressing the crowd and introduced the opening band, Florida’s own Dashboard Confessional to the stage at 7:30pm.
Dashboard Confessional was formed in Boca Raton, Florida in 1999, and with eight studio albums to date, the latest being, All the Truth That I Can Tell, which was released in 2022. This five-piece band came on stage to a sea of blue lighting, but there was something missing, Abigail Kelly, the backing vocalist that joined the band in 2021 and has been a regular on “The Banshee Season Tour” but she was absent on this tour stop.
Chris Kamrada was first to appear on stage and started slamming the drums with the beat for “Don’t Wait” from the bands 2006 album, Dusk and Summer. Right out of the gate it was going to be a great night as the band rushed on stage. Chris Carrabba was at home with the Florida audence and his vocals were awesome. The harmonies with the band added to the full sound of this Prog, Alt Rock band. The set was upbeat and a great way to distract the audience from the blistering heat. Dashboard Cofessional is a really good band and it’s hard for me to believe I wasn’t familiar with them until now!
Dashboard Confessional:
Chris Carrabba – Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Piano, Keyboards, Lead Guitar
Scott Schoenbeck – Bass, Piano, Keyboards
Armon Jay – Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals
Chris Kamrada – Drums, Percussion
Kenny Bridges – Guitar, Piano, Keyboards, Backing Vocals, Percussion
Setlist:
1.) Don’t Wait
2.) The Sharp Hint Of New Tears
3.) Belong
4.) Everybody Larns From Disaster
5.) Saints and Sailors
6.) Burning Heart
7.) Screaming Infidelities
8.) Again I Go Unnoticed
9.) Remember To Breath
10.) Stolen
11.) Vindicated
12.) Hands Down
The sweltering heat had calmed down a bit by 9:00pm when The Counting Crowes started their two hour, 20 song set. Calmer but it was still 93 degrees. But. only feeling like 96 which was tolerable after what felt like triple digits when Dashboard Confessional took the stage.
Counting Crows is a seven-piece band, and the amazing thing is that every member is a multi-instrumentalist, except drummer Jim Bogios. Singer Adam Duritz and guitarist David Bryson started playing together in San Fransisco in 1991 as an acoustic duet. Guitarist David Immerglück would sometimes sit in with them making it a trio. By 1993 other musicians were added and the band took shape. They released their debut album, August and Everything After that year which contained the hit single “Mr. Jones” which won MTV’s “Best New Artist in a Video” in 1994. On this night in Tampa, “Mr. Jones” was the third song on the play list getting it out of the way as they rolled on through the 20-song set.
The highlight of the show was during the encore when Dashboard Confessional came out and joined the band in performing one of their own songs, “So Long, So Long.” They stayed for one more song, a Counting Crows Song, “Hanginaround” before vacating the stage. Counting Crows finished the night with “Holiday in Spain” off their 2002 album Hard Candy and the crowd was ready for more.
What stuck with me as I departed for home after the show was the strong vocals from both bands and the full harmonies. Counting Crows is a very tight band and the chemistry on stage is undeniable. It’s obvious they are great friends that love performing together. There is another month and a half left of “The Banshee Season Tour,” so get out and see it! It’s well worth the entertainment value, so go and support this great band.
Counting Crows:
David Bryson – Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals, Lead Guitar
Adam Duritz – Lead Vocals, Keyboards, Occasional Harmonica
Charlie Gillingham – Keyboards, Backing Vocals, Accordion, Clarinet
Dan Vickrey – Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals, Banjo
David Immerglück – Guitars, Bass, Pedal Steel Guitar, Mandolin, Backing Vocals, Banjo
Jim Bogios – Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals
Millard Powers – Bass, Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals
Setlist:
1.) Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby
2.) Come Around
3.) Mr. Jones
4.) Colorblind
5.) Butterfly in Reverse
6.) Omaha
7.) Four Days
8.) If I Could Give All My Love -or- Richard Manuel Is Dead
9.) Children in Bloom
10.) Angels of the Silences (Acoustic)
11.) Start Again (Teenage Fanclub cover)
12.) Washington Square
13.) Round Here
14.) Palisades Park
15.) Rain King
16.) A Long December
Encore:
17.) Time and Time Again
18.) So Long, So Long (Dashboard Confessional cover)
19.) Hanginaround
20.) Holiday in Spain
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Photographer and Editor/Founder of AllMusicMagazine.com. My love of live music has taken me to incredible experiences with the top bands of all time in stadium shows to the smallest venues with equally inspiring musicians. Using the medium of photography and my publication, these memories will last forever.
