Counting Crows & Goo Goo Dolls in Concert - June 27, 2006

On June 27th, Shawnna, Dan and myself attended the Counting Crows & Goo Goo Dolls concert at Shoreline Amphitheater. We met for dinner at Fiesta Del Mar before the show, but after placing our order and munching on chips and salsa, we were informed that they ran out of gas, so we ended up eating at The Sports Page - not the same quality, but good none the less. After dinner, we headed to the show (our seats were in Section 101, Row K).

We were early enough to see the opening band, Augustana, which was a mellow rock band that reminded me a little of The Black Crows. They were surprisingly good during their 30 minute set and were very musically talented. They were obviously thrilled to have the opportunity to open for two great bands and really held their own.

Next up were the Goo Goo Dolls. They played a 75 minute set of some of their greatest hits including Give a Little Bit, Slide, Black Balloon, Name, Iris, Broadway and Better Days. They pretty much played each song straight up like it sounds on the album without much deviation for "live effect." It sounded pretty good, but when Robby Takac (bassist) sang a few songs, it was extremely difficult to hear him. The set design was pretty minimal with just a few risers on the stage for the keyboardist, guitarist and drummer. They seemed to be having a good time and played well with the audience.

The Counting Crows finished off the evening with a 75 minute set on their own. In contrast to the Goo Goo Dolls, the Counting Crows didn't just play their songs as if they pushed play on their CD player. Instead, each song was a journey through their musical works with Adam Duritz as the conductor. He was deeply in tune with the music and it was obvious that he lived each song and felt each note. It reminded me more of a jazz concert than rock show - if you wanted to sing along, forget about it. They played most of their hits including Mr. Jones, Round Here, Rain King, A Long December and Mrs. Potter's Lullaby which satisfied my craving for Counting Crows in concert.

Overall, I had a good time at the show, but was really surprised at how sparse the audience was. Due to fact there were so few people, it wasn't as loud as it could have been and the excitement wasn't there. The "encores" for each band were really just part of the set and not a result of the crowd cheering so loudly that the bands came back on. Anyway, I'm glad I went, but probably won't go to see either band again (I've seen the Goo Goo Dolls twice before in 1996).