Counting Crows Excites the Crowd at Ravinia

It was a beautiful Monday night and a sold-out show for the Counting Crows at Ravinia tonight and everyone was busy setting up out on the lawn as it was filled to its capacity. The openers for the night included 90′s band Toad the Wet Sprocket and newer band Daniel and the Lion from Madison, WI.

As I sat down, Daniel and the Lion started promptly on time at 6:30pm. They didn’t play that long of a set because Toad had to go on next. But in their 25 minute set, Daniel and the Lion proved they have what it takes to stand up next to 2 great bands like Toad and the Crows. They played songs from their most recent EP Death Head which has great songs including their popular song “Need You.”

Next up, we had Toad the Wet Sprocket, a great band from the 90′s that I’m glad reunited because they were always a tight band with great songwriting, and they definitely proved that tonight. Original 4 members were here; Glen Phillips, Todd Nichols, Dean Dinning and Randy Guss. I’ve been a fan of these guys for a long time, and to the crowd, they were definitely pleased because they played some of their classic hits along with some of the new songs from their recent album New Constellation. Some of the classic songs that they played that you’d know include “All I Want,” “Walk on the Ocean,” “Something’s Always Wrong” and “Fall Down.” They also played some great songs from their new album including “New Constellation,” “The Moment” and “California Wasted.” I would definitely see these guys again on their own.

Lastly, the Counting Crows arrive on stage with lead singer Adam Duritz wearing a Daniel and the Lion shirt on while chewing gum the whole time, which I though was hysterical. Being a singer, I’ve always heard you shouldn’t chew gum on stage, but in this case it looked like it actually helped him. Tonight they were playing songs from their upcoming album Somewhere Under Wonderland, along with covers and some of their hits.

Some highlights included their hits “Mr. Jones,” “Mrs. Potter’s Lullabye,” “Hanginaround,” “A Long December,” “Palisades Park,” “Sullivan Street” and many others. They even did some great covers including “Untitled (Love Song)” by The Romany Rye, “Friend of the Devil” by The Grateful Dead, “Meet on the Ledge” by Fairport Convention and “Like Teenage Gravity” by Kasey Anderson.

Duritz was having a lot of fun with the crowd and the crowd responded back singing all the words to their songs. The crowd were on their feet for all their hits and people were dancing in the aisles as usual.

Overall, this was the ultimate concert package. I thought these 3 bands sounded great together and it was a perfect choice. Ravinia is always the perfect place to see a concert in an outdoor setting and these bands took advantage of it. I highly recommend you see this tour if it’s coming near you.