Counting Crows is on tour in support of their excellent new album Butter Miracle, The Complete Sweets!, with The Gaslight Anthem offering direct support. On a lovely Thursday evening in downtown San Diego, California, these fantastic live bands treated Gallagher Square at Petco Park to a very special night of music.
The Gaslight Anthem took the stage promptly at 6:30 pm, as the crowd was making their way from work to find parking and walk into the stunning venue. This band is a great fit for this tour, as they are excellent musicians with a lengthy catalog, and they choose songs each night. There were many diehard fans on hand, who stood and sang along to every word. Brian Fallon is a low-key, charismatic frontman, who interacts with his band and the crowd in equal measure. After a lengthy set, the seats were filled in and everyone was primed for the main event.
The Gaslight Anthem
Brian Fallon – Lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano
Alex Rosamilia – Lead guitar, backing vocals
Alex Levine – Bass guitar, backing vocals
Benny Horowitz – Drums, percussion, backing vocals
Current touring musicians
Ian Perkins – Rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Bryan Haring – Keyboards, backing vocals
The Gaslight Anthem Setlist:
1. Have Mercy
2. Positive Change
3. The Weatherman
4. Dark Places
5. Mulholland Drive
6. Chloe Dancer (Mother Love Bone cover)
7. Howl
8. Honey Bee (Tom Petty cover)
9. Mae
10. I’da Called You Woody, Joe
11. Michigan, 1975
12. The ’59 Sound
13. “45”
Counting Crows is a band that likes to mix things up with each performance, choosing different songs and creating alternative versions, seemingly as they go. Lead vocalist Adam Duritz is much more than a singer – he is an artist, a storyteller, and an actor all at once. The entire show seems to be improvisational, with band members changing instruments frequently, and Duritz adding vocals from other songs within their classics. He delivers many of the lyrics as an actor in a play, with the band leading the crowd in the more familiar melodies. It makes for one of the most dramatic musical experiences around. They have an amazing new album out, and they delivered five of those songs on this night. Naturally, the fans were most excited to hear their favorite songs off the debut album August and Everything After, including a breathtaking version of “Round Here”, which featured a bit of “Raining In Baltimore” and a heartbreaking song called “Wristwatch” by MJ Lenderman, before coming back to the final verse and chorus.
The band ended the main set with a roaring rendition of “Rain King” and then said good night and left the stage. Within a minute, they were back on stage, removing any doubt of there being an encore. Duritz explained that they had left the stage to go wait somewhere, but as the stage is behind the scoreboard for the Padres baseball stadium, there was no “somewhere” to go, so they had to come right back. The three-song encore once again showcased how talented every member of this band is, and showed how emotional live music can be, with the right combination of song, artist, performance, and crowd. Counting Crows is on top of their game in their fourth decade, and you should never miss an opportunity to see them live.
Counting Crows
Adam Duritz – Lead vocals, keyboards, occasional harmonica and auxiliary percussion
David Bryson – Rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Jim Bogios – Drums, backing vocals
David Immerglück – Guitars, bass, pedal steel, mandolin, backing vocals, banjo
Charlie Gillingham – Keyboards, backing vocals, accordion, clarinet
Millard Powers – Bass, piano, rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Dan Vickrey – Lead guitar, backing vocals, banjo
Counting Crows Setlist:
1. Spaceman in Tulsa
2. Hard Candy
3. Mr. Jones
4. Virginia Through the Rain
5. Omaha
6. Richard Manuel Is Dead
7. With Love, From A-Z
8. Miami
9. Colorblind
10. When I Dream of Michelangelo
11. Friend of the Devil (Grateful Dead cover)
12. Round Here (with Wristwatch by MJ Lenderman and Raining in Baltimore)
13. Boxcars
14. the 1 (Taylor Swift cover)
15. A Long December
16. Rain King (with Oh Susanna)
Encore:
17. Under the Aurora
18. Hanginaround
19. Holiday in Spain
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Johnnie Crow is a lifelong music lover. He has photographed artists from every genre at concerts, festivals and cruises all across North America.