Hung over and hanginaround in Brisbane

April 13, 2015 5:23 pm 11 comments Views: 4

Adam Duritz out front of Counting Crows at The Tivoli in Brisbane. Pic: Marc Robertson
Source: News Corp Australia

THE last time Counting Crows played Brisbane two years ago, frontman Adam Duritz was sick as a dog. Last night was the hair of the dog.

Duritz told the crowd at The Tivoli he was a “monk” when touring nowadays, not drinking as much as he used to.

But he’d had a lapse after the night before, after the band’s Sydney shows.

“I went to dinner which a bunch of friends last night and absolutely poisoned myself,” Duritz confessed.

Adam Duritz out front of Counting Crows at The Tivoli in Brisbane. Pic: Marc Robertson

“I love playing shows drunk; playing shows hung over is kind of the same.

“I am so f—ing hung over today…”

It explained why he’d been keeping the chit-chat to a minimum as the band wrapped up their Australian tour, ably supported by Aussie alternative up-and-comer Ben Salter.

Adam Duritz out front of Counting Crows at The Tivoli in Brisbane. Pic: Marc Robertson

Unsurprisingly, the biggest audience response was reserved for tracks from their smash 1993 debut August and Everything After, notably Omaha and Mr Jones, the latter of which has actually been a rarity on previous tours.

Their two most recent albums, Underwater Sunshine and Somewhere Under Wonderland, were heavily represented, along with a handful of Hard Candy. Poignant piano ballad A Long December and arena-crowd-pleaser A Murder of One closed out the main set.

The Tivoli is the smallest Brisbane venue the band have played, and its limitations were apparent, with those on the periphery of the capacity crowd straining for a clear line of sight.

Setlist:Round Here, Scarecrow, Hard Candy, When Elvis Went to Hollywood, Mr Jones, Black and Blue, Start Again, Omaha, Possibility Days, If I Could Give All My Love, Cover Up the Sun, You Ain’t Goin Nowhere, God of Ocean Tides, The Ballad of El Goodo, Return of the Grievous Angel, Earthquake Driver, A Long December, A Murder of One. Encore:Palisades Park, Rain King, Holiday in Spain.