'Round here we're carving out our name,' sings Adam Duritz of Counting Crows in the young band's song 'Round Here.' And though Wednesday night's performance at the 9:30 club came on the heels of a 'Saturday Night Live' gig and in the midst of their surging popularity, the Counting Crows are still carving out their names, a fact they seemed to have forgotten at the start of Wednesday's show.
The San Francisco-based alternative rock band opened as cold and impersonal as the weather. But as the set progressed, it warmed to the sell-out crowd and hit its stride with the raucous '40 Years,' a song not found on its debut album, 'August and Everything After.' Midway through the set, the Crows launched into a stirring rendition of 'Rain King,' which -- from Charlie Gillingham's keyboard solo to Dan Vickrey's ringing guitar to Duritz's bluesy elegiac voice -- showcased the band's eclectic influence and its promise.
The most spirited selection of the evening was a cover of Van Morrison's 'Caravan.' Duritz proved he could wail with as much soul as anyone who has attempted to imitate the Irish legend as he hopped around the cramped stage, swinging his spidery dreadlocks and gesticulating like Joe Cocker.
There was also a taste of Crows to come. The show opened with a tough new song, titled 'Children,' that echoes Duritz's most common theme, that of rootlessness. But it sounded rushed and too deliberately pieced together.