The Wallflowers and Counting Crows
By Seth M
With days of on and off heavy rains I wondered if the opening night of The Wallflowers and Counting Crows tour in Farmingville, NY were going to be a wash out. Of course the show was rain or shine. but given the weather Long Island and the East Coast had been experiencing, it could have been ugly. Luckily, Mother Nature likes good music and provided good weather for an incredible evening of music from two great bands for their fans.
I had been looking forward to this concert because the venue ~ The Pennysaver Amphitheater in the middle of Nowhere, Long Island ~ is a great place to see shows but, despite several remodels and name and management changes over the years, it rarely brings in good acts and seldom has a good crowd. This night, though, it was full of energy, with over 7000 in the crowd (which brings me to my only piece of advice ~ get there early to park!).
The gates opened later than expected due to Long Island traffic. For those of you who haven’t been to LI or on the Long Island Expressway, yes, there is always traffic but during the summer, Fridays are, with people trying to get the Hamptons, a total nightmare. In fact, Adam and the Crows hit so much traffic that they weren’t even able to do a sound check ~ that makes how great they sounded even more impressive.
Before we get to the Crows, though, let’s talk a bit about The Wallflowers. Jakob Dylan and The Wallflowers came on while the crowd was still funneling in, standing on long lines for beer, and getting settled while the sun began to set. If you have seen these guys live before, you know they are a solid band and, although they lack an amazing stage presence, they make up for it with some great music. They played over a dozen songs including their Grammy award winning “One Headlight,” radio hit “6th Avenue Heartache,” plus many others including some songs off last year’s Glad All Over. As the sun went down, The Wallflowers rocked set closer “The Difference” for a cheering crowd who were probably wondering where these guys have been.
The sun was just about gone when the staple intro of “Lean on Me” came over the PA and the members of the Counting Crows made their way on stage and began to play “Sullivan Street,” which started off a really great set. I have seen this band many times over the years in places that hold 200 people to festivals with 40,000+, but over the last few years I’d become disappointed as they participated in those touring troop type tours. They would have 3 or 4 bands and people rotating in and out, mixing various bands’ songs and players throughput the evening. Sure, it sounds like it would be cool and fun ~and to some maybe it was (the first time they did it I thought it was) ~ but after the first time it became a very annoying format; when I go see the Counting Crows play I want to see them do the show.
Duritz and the band, sounding excellent, got this show moving from the start. Adam worked the crowd with his singing and talking between songs and it wouldn’t have mattered if the rain had started up again ~ this crowd wasn’t going anywhere.
Highlights for me personally? Well, I always love “Omaha,” and it’s one of those songs that rocks even more live. I mean, how often are you at a concert these days when one of the members pulls out an accordion like Charlie Gillingham does? Sure, Charlie plays just about every instrument that can be put on a stage during a Crows set, but this one is always a highlight for me and it always seems to be for the band as well.
Other highlights included “Colorblind” and an extended version of “Round Here,” which Adam ended by backing away from the microphone singing the end “Come out,” “Come out,” repeatedly as everything faded to darkness. “A Long Decemeber” and “Hanginaround” are always crowd favorites that I too enjoy, but this show ended with my other live favorite, “Holiday in Spain;” it’s another one of those songs I just love ~ who knows, maybe it’s the traveler in me and I only like destination songs, but then again. I have no real interest in going to Omaha so maybe they are simply great, memorable songs.
So this was the night and this is the tour to catch for a Counting Crows show. With twenty songs and nearly two hours of music, fans are getting their fill of the Crows and their money’s worth on this one. Anyone who knows the Crows knows they change up their sets up a little each night ~ but if you want to be completely surprised, you may want to look away because here’s the set from Long Island:
Sullivan Street
Untitled (Love Song) (The Romany Rye cover)
High Life
I Wish I Was a Girl
Hospital (Coby Brown cover)
Colorblind
Mercy
Omaha
Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell cover)
If I Could Give All My Love -or- Richard Manuel Is Dead
Like Teenage Gravity (Kasey Anderson cover)
Round Here
Goodnight L.A.
A Long December
Hard Candy
Return of the Grievous Angel (Gram Parsons cover)
Rain King
Encore:
Washington Square
Hanginaround
Holiday in Spain
If you want a great night of great music catch The Wallflowers and Counting Crows when they make their way through your town (click here for more tour info); I think you’ll be happy you did!
All photos by and courtesy of Seth M