Photos by Merideth C. & review by Dave G.

Performing live has always a main focus for the Counting Crows. The band, and especially lead singer Adam Duritz, are known for putting on an energetic and engaging show. This hasn’t changed at all since the 90’s when the Crows first hit it big. On December 9 at the Fillmore in Detroit, the crowd was treated to a lively set consisting of songs from many of their older albums and several from their latest effort “Somewhere Under Wonderland” which was released in September. I have only ever seen the Counting Crows perform outdoors, so the Fillmore made for an even more intimate show than I had previously seen.

To enjoy a Counting Crows concert you really only need to be a fan of genuinely good music. Everyone in the band is at the peak of talent and they know the material so well that they often improvise, re-arrange, and mix together songs, essentially rewriting them live for the audience. This is not something every band would be able to do, but the Counting Crows pull it off flawlessly. Duritz is one of the most real leading men in any band making music today. You can see the emotion in his eyes as he belts out the lyrics to songs like “Round Here” and “A Long December.” You can tell that the songs mean something to him and he makes you feel it too.

I was really happy to hear so many fan favorites like the two I just mentioned, “Omaha,” “Perfect Blue Buildings,” and “Murder of One,” which closed the 19 song regular set. I was especially glad to hear “Colorblind,” which is my personal favorite Counting Crows song. The encore opened with “Palisades Park,” the multi-tempo first single from their new album followed by early hit “Rain King.” The show ended on a satisfyingly mellow note with “Holiday in Spain,” which hopefully went a long way toward calming anyone who might be upset about not hearing the Crows most popular song, “Mr. Jones.” Other than that omission, the set was pleasingly well balanced and made the night really wonderful.

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Set List

Download songs from this set list by clicking the iTunes icon!

1. Round Here
2. Scarecrow
3. High Life
4. Elvis Went to Hollywood
5. Hospital
6. Colorblind
7. Perfect Blue Buildings
8. Start Again
9. Omaha
10. Possibility Days
11. Come Around
12. Hard Candy
13. Children in Bloom
14. God of Ocean Tides
15. Friend of the Devil
16. Earthquake Driver
17. A Long December
18. Cover up the Sun
19. A Murder of One Encore:
20. Palisades Park
21. Rain King
22. Holiday in Spain

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