Addicted To Noise editor Michael Goldberg reports:
For just over two hours, the Counting Crows held a capacity crowd at San Francisco's legendary Fillmore Auditorium mesmerized last night as they careened through their entire upcoming 14 song album, Recovering the Satellites, as well as sprinkling in a half dozen classics off the album (August And Everything After) that made them stars. As one fan who said he'd seen every show the Counting Crows have played in the Bay Area enthused, "Adam is really on tonight." "Adam" would, of course, be the group's singer, songwriter and leader, Adam Duritz, who with a beard, mustache and his trademark dreads, exuded some of the late Jim Morrison's cool swagger as he walked onto the stage at just before 9:30 P.M. to ignite the crowd with the new album's dramatic opener, "Catapult." What the Crows achieved last night was nothing short of amazing. Playing song after song that almost no one in the rock hall (where Hendrix, the Who, Janis Joplin and so many of rock's legends once performed) had heard before was a gutsy thing to do. But the Crows are certainly not about to live off their past success. Although the group had performed the new songs previously (they played several unannounced club gigs in L. A. last year), this was the first performance of the new material since the completion of the album. Songs like "I'm Not Sleeping," "Miller's Angels," "Another Horsedreamer's Blues" and the title track were delivered with a focused intensity. Duritz seemed to completely lose himself in the songs; it was as if he was possessed by a spirit. At one point he leaped atop a low stage monitor and then teetered on it, as if walking a tight rope. For much of the night it felt like Duritz was walking an emotional tightrope, as he dug deep into his soul, and poured everything into his performance. Duritz reveals so much emotionally when he sings, displaying a vulnerability not often seen in a rock star. It is easy to just focus on Duritz, because he is such a charismatic figure. But he is just the front man for one of rock's most potent contemporary bands. The ensemble work of the other members of Counting Crows was stunning. While rhythm guitarist David Bryson held down the rhythm and added sonic texture to the songs, lead guitarist Dan Vickrey delivered aggressive guitar fills and solos. Bassist Matt Malley and drummer Ben Mize infuse the material with the swing of cool jazz. And keyboardist Charles Gillingham fleshed out song after song with his piano and organ work; Gillingham is one of the few modern rockers with a mastery of the Hammond B3 organ. If there was a highlight to the night, it was a simply awesome performance of the new song, "A Long December," which begins with the hopeful line, "A long December and there's reason to believe/ Maybe this year will be better than the last." For many of us , "A Long December" is going to be a song that helps us get through difficult times.