Traveling Circus and Medicine Show

The first confirmation that this show would be unlike anything we’d ever seen was when we arrived to our seats about 25 minutes early, looked down at the stage, and saw Adam Duritz and a guy with a guitar, doing a lovely acoustic cover of The Ghost in You while people shuffled around and found their seats. It made the setting (one of my favorite places to see shows) seem informal and intimate, definitely establishing the tone for the night.

They open the show with nineteen musicians on stage doing a wonderful cover of Van Morrison’s “Caravan” (you can see this song from earlier in the tour here), and you can just see how well they play together and what a good time they’re having. It was a nice historical note too, because in 1993, right before their first album, Counting Crows filled in last-minute for Van Morrison when he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and played this song. Other covers during the show included Simon & Garfunkel’s “Cecilia,” Rolling Stones and Peter Tosh’s Walk and Don’t Look Back and a few Bob Dylan covers, all featuring all three bands together. During one of their songs, Franti and Spearhead also mixed in a cover of Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love,” which the crowd loved.

Each band came out for what you could call “mini-sets”, where they played a few of their own tunes, but even during these, other members of the bands would be often be on stage, playing an instrument, singing back-up vocals or just bouncing around on stage, looking completely ecstatic. All night, the mood was joyful and inclusive: when Franti and Spearhead played their surprise Top 40 hit, “Say Hey,” they called for all the kids in crowd to come onstage and play, sing or just dance along while everyone in the crowd sang along. Also, each band would sometimes weave in songs from the others– while Augustana were playing their big single, “Boston,” the singer wove in lyrics from the Crows’ “Raining in Baltimore,” a well-timed nod to the location that set the crowd cheering. Unbeknownst to us, this was the last night of the tour, and all through the night various band members would talk about what a great experience it was, and how much fun they’d had, and how this was what all tours should be.

I’d never seen Franti & Spearhead live before and didn’t know their music as well as I know the Crows, but from their first song, I was on my feet dancing with thousands of others, and continued to dance for most of the show– it was impossible to resist! Michael Franti took time from the stage to thank teachers, veterans, and “everyone who helped us all become who we are today” and spoke a little about coming together in efforts of peace and community. Counting Crows have had a foundation for fifteen years and always partner with local groups everywhere they stop on tour, and it was a great feeling to think you could enjoy these bands and everything they stood for too. As the last song of the encore, all nineteen came together to play what Franti called “the most radical song of the past 80 years”: Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land,” and it was gorgeous. This is the third time I’ve seen Counting Crows, and every time they get better, and every time I’m so proud to be a fan of theirs.

As we walked toward our car, clutching our free tour poster, I thought about how amazing a show it was, and whether this would ever be possible for bands on major labels– the Crows left Geffen recently after 18 years, and Franti & Spearhead have long tussled with labels, major and minor alike. I don’t know how anyone could watch that show and not be convinced that artists who admire each other, who like each other, should be encouraged and supported to come together and make magic, on stage and in the studio, like what I saw tonight, even (and especially) if they come from what may seem like different backgrounds or genres. Duritz and Franti spoke from the stage about their 20-year friendship, and it made you wonder how long they’ve wanted to do something together and what obstacles might have been in their way. People keep talking about the Internet being the future or the demise of the record industry, but I think shows like this one are the future, and if the Internet can help us all get there, I’m all for it.

Personally, it was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. My husband surprised me with the tickets for my birthday in mid-August, and after the hectic, overwhelming first week of school I had, during which I often felt like I was two minutes away from a mini-breakdown, this show was exactly what I needed. Three hours under the stars with my sweetheart and fantastic music that moved my feet, my heart and my soul– absolutely perfect.