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Want to Kiss Johnny All Over?
« on: Jul 3rd, 2006, 6:18am » |
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Do you want to Kiss Johnny all over?
Well thats what girls were screaming in Irvine Friday Night!!!!!!!!!
Talk too much and you pay the price
By George A. Paul, Staff Writer
Counting Crows singer Adam Duritz conducts conversations as if the stage were his living room, forging a deep connection with fans.
On Friday in Irvine, Duritz was chattier than usual, describing the writing/recording of piano-driven ballad "A Long December" in detail and how he hurt his back earlier in the day. So the concert went past Verizon Amphitheatre’s 11 p.m. curfew (headliners fork over a certain monetary amount per minute when that happens). But the Crows encored with "Holiday in Spain" anyway.
While four years have passed since the Bay area pop/rock band’s excellent, hook-heavy "Hard Candy" disc, it just released a new live CD from the vaults and is working on a double studio effort with producer Gil Norton.
Still sporting a shock of pineapple top hair, a barefoot Duritz and his five band mates started their 80-minute, 12-song set with the somber Americana strains of "Anna Begins" from 1993’s "August and Everything After." Home movies played on the projection screens amid the gloriously sunny harmonies on "Candy."
Charlie Gillingham’s rollicking piano work steered "Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby" as Duritz playfully sang the narrative verses (including a lyrical reference to Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown bar) and Dan Vickery added twangy electric guitar. Duritz tended to stretch his vocals away from the recorded arrangements; sometimes it detracted from the overall flow ("Mr. Jones").
Show highlights included the popular breezy cover of Joni Mitchell’s "Big Yellow Taxi" with Gillingham on harmonica, a rare countrified take on the Grateful Dead’s "Friend of the Devil," "A Murder of One" (where the band rocked so hard, Duritz was breathless at the end) and standard closer "Hanginaround," a festive number that always features a bunch of friends onstage help on backing vocals.
The Goo Goo Dolls preceded Counting Crows and there was little audience erosion after their set. Singer/guitarist John Rzeznik posed the musical question, "do you want to get married or run away?" on the hit single "Slide." Judging from the female fans' giddy reaction after the Buffalo, N.Y., tri took the stage Friday, the answer was a resounding "yes."
Some teenaged girls seated beside me shrieked and immediately leapt into an empty row when the Goo Goo Dolls launched their 70-minute, 17-song performance with "Stay with You." Nearby, a thirtysomething gal held up various signs. One read: "John, I want to kiss you all over."
Clad in torn jeans and black T-shirt, the tattooed and blond Rzeznik remains a sex symbol a decade removed from the group’s late-blooming breakthrough disc, "A Boy Named Goo." Male followers respond to his likeable, Average Joe demeanor.
Last time I caught the veteran rock band, it opened for Bon Jovi at Staples Center. The sound was wretched and Rzeznik looked bored. At a nearly filled Verizon, two additional musicians on guitar and keyboards provided a meatier sonic thrust. A crisp mix (no easy feat outdoors) also made a big difference.
Focusing on the latest catchy, radio ready CD "Let Love In" – all but two tracks were played – and "Dizzy Up the Girl," the Goo Goo Dolls’ blend of dramatic power ballads ("Name," "Iris," "Better Days") and lite rockers ("Broadway," "Slide") was strong – except a few times when gravel-throated bassist Robby Takac took over the vocal reigns.
Earthy alt-rock newcomers Augustana turned in a short, low key opening set that recalled Travis and Remy Zero. Material from its major label debut, "All the Stars and Boulevards," went over well with early arrivals – especially the impassioned vocals of Dan Layus on "Boston," currently riding the hot adult contemporary radio charts. CONCERT REVIEW
COUNTING CROWS
With: Goo Goo Dolls, Augustana
Where: Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Irvine
When: Friday night
http://www.sbsun.com/music/ci_4006490
Stay True & Rock On!
Triest
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