So the Crows returned to South Africa this month and fans that either didn’t get enough of them first time around or missed seeing them when they were here in ’99 could catch one of three performances. “I could tell you that we came back because we love the weather here…because you’ve got a beautiful country…but the real reason, ” Adam Duritz told the crowd, “is because you’ve got such lovely women.” Cue screaming crowd, one for the remark, two for the arrival of the American music heroes.
Counting Crows ended their SA tour with a show in Jo’burg at the Northgate Dome on Human Rights’ Day evening, Sunday March 21. A low-key opening with Recovering the Satellites saw Duritz unassumingly take his place on stage. He sat himself down on the drum-kit stand ‒ a position he would return to throughout the show ‒ and began the evening’s set.
All the old classics were there: Round Here, Daylight Fading, Colourblind plus a couple of more recent tracks too. Support act Just Jinger could learn a thing or two about mixing it up a little. The homecoming artists played all their old hits, with one new song. The crowd would have loved to hear some of the group’s more recent hits that have been getting radio airplay too. Surely they don’t still have to rely on only Stand in Your Way and Like You Madly to hype up the crowd? Nonetheless, their performance was a polished one, with their drum-roll act receiving huge applause.
Back to the Crows…the band played a variety of instruments, which made up for the lack of elaborate stage set-up. But then again, the Crows have never been about frills and feathers, and so they used simple yet effective lighting as the backdrop, with the songs taking centre stage.
Hearing them sing about all things American made me think about the kind of promotion the band is doing for their country. Whether it’s about Omaha or American Girls, the songs Counting Crows deliver all over the world as part of the band’s tours always show their pride in where they come from. One can only hope our bands do the same when given the chance.
But that pride does not mean the band turns blind eye to the activities of their president. Duritz took the time to speak to the crowd about the unforgiving actions of his president “who wasn’t even elected”. He reminded the 17 000 people gathered of their duty to vote in the upcoming elections (which politician paid for that one?) to “ensure the future of democracy.”
The Crows gave in to two encores, first Duritz playing the haunting A Long December on piano, and then returning to end with Hanging Around. The band invited Just Jinger onstage with them and Matthews sang the song as a duet with Duritz. Just as both bands and the crowd were reaching the peak of the song, the sound cut out and the large video screen went blank. Clearly disappointed, both parties left the stage. But Duritz wasn’t having it ‒ he came back out and started singing, “from the bridge”, until the sound kicked back in. and when it was all over, he was the last to leave the stage, lingering to the sounds of California Dreaming playing overhead.
“We’d love to stay but we’re leaving for Australia tomorrow,” he said, blissfully unaware of the rivalry between our two countries. Cue booing crowds, one for the remark and two, for the departure of the celebrated band.