Sunday, September 7, 2008

Concert Review: Maroon 5 and the Counting Crows at Superpages.com Center (September 6)

By Brenna Rushing

The grassy lawn felt like one of many summer night ingredients, along with clear skies and comfortable temperatures. People of all ages settled into the Superpages.com Center on Saturday night to enjoy not only the prime setting, but the Counting Crows and Maroon 5 on stage.

James Minchin III

Augustana

San Diego band Augustana was also in attendance, acting as the opener for Maroon 5. Although they are the least known band of the night, they deserved more stage time. Augustana started as the doors opened, so half of their set was missed by a majority of the crowd filtering in and finding seats. They played a phenomenal set, showing a brilliant zeal in playing their instruments. Their beanie sporting front man, Dan Layus, danced all over the stage while playing his guitar, which seemed an extension of himself.

Most of the tracks sang were from their sophomore album, Can’t Love Can’t Hurt, including “I Still Ain’t Over You” and “Sweet and Low.” Of course they played “Boston” (their widely popular first single), but surprisingly they sang it right in the middle of their set instead of using it as a closer. It’s a shame that throughout most of the set the masses weren’t aware they were playing or weren't ready to listen. They missed a great first act.

As night fell, more people filled the seats and the lawn, proving that the Maroon 5 and Counting Crows performances were long overdue in Dallas. If the show didn’t sell out, only sparing bits of lawn were available.

Maroon 5 was undoubtedly the hit of the night. The second their stage lit up with a blindingly brilliant light show, everyone, including all of the women swooning over Adam Levine, jumped to their feet in excitement. They kicked it off with "Harder to Breathe," leading the way for every one of their radio hits.

Flickr user frigginawesomeimontv

Maroon 5 (taken at a recent concert in Australia)

It was unexpected that Levine wasn’t spotlighted as the main attraction onstage. He came out simultaneously with the band at the beginning, and the lights were never only on him. Despite the fact that his look is going the way of the modern rockstar, (full sleeve tattoo, tight v-neck shirt, skinny jeans), the staging emphasis was fairly evenly spread about the band members, foregoing qualms of any accompanying rockstar ego.

M5's set list was well-balanced, jumping from their first album to the newest one entitled It Won’t Be Soon Before Long. Levine sang the beginning of “Won’t Go Home Without You” a capella, creating a silent awe over the audience. Aside from that, they sang every song exactly like the radio version.

At the end of their set, Levine threw his guitar on the stage, potentially doing some real damage. But instead of walking away in glory, he picked it up and selected a lucky fan in the crowd to give it to.

Counting Crows paid tribute to Isaac Hayes on the screens before they came on, showing images of the famous soul musician throughout his life. Hayes passed away recently of natural causes.

They stepped onstage soon after with their massive rendering of the Grand Central Station as backdrop. They went so far as to add old New York-style light posts to the stage, hitting on one of the themes in their new album, Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings.

Flickr user dinimere

Counting Crows (taken at a recent concert in Zurich)

Adam Duritz showed his natural vocal talent and deep insight throughout the night by giving back stories of the songs and going into unexpected solos. Though playing before thousands, their act managed to create an intimate setting, no doubt a trick of the trade from the experienced band.

CC played “Omaha” second, introducing another of their great albums, August and Everything After. Thankfully, the band didn’t overload the night with a trite cavalcade of radio single. Instead they mixed it up, sprinkling the set with older hits, while using much of their stage time to introduce the crowd to the new album.

Towards the middle of the set, Duritz informed the crowd that they were going to play acoustically for a while, telling everyone to “sit back and relax.” Among the acoustic inclusions was "Mr. Jones," breathing new life into the early 90s hit. Duritz changed notes in the chorus and sang different parts multiple times.

Despite what was a welcomed nostalgic experience for some, others in the crowd were too riled up from Maroon 5 for this mood. Many departed three-quarters of the way through the Counting Crows set. Since the headlining title on this tour is shared between Maroon 5 and the Counting Crows, for the Dallas stop, it may have been better for Maroon 5 to headline.

Another altered hit was "Long December." Duritz stepped away from the spotlighted microphone, opting for the piano. The screens behind the band showed snow softly falling. There were a number of dramatic pauses throughout, elevating the emotional elements of the piece.

Although they played a number of well-known singles, "Round Here" was not one of them. Counting Crows closed with “Rain King,” bringing Augustana back on stage to sing the intro a capella.

Although the lineup included individually strong bands, Maroon 5 and Counting Crows did not complement each other very well. At least in Dallas, the fans' musical tastes did not cross over well enough to pull off this combination. But for this reviewer, the show was great. All three bands hadn’t been to Dallas in a while, so whether they came separate or together it was great to hear them.

Related stories

• Pegasus News Week in View: Aaagh-Ike! edition (Sept. 11, 2008)

See more stories in:

• Arts > Popular Music > Pop
• Arts > Popular Music > Rock

Comments

Teresa Gubbins Staff

review from Star Telegram here

2 months, 4 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Alex Bentley Staff

thanks, girliscold -- fixed now.

2 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )