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Outside world couldn't kill the buzz inside Fiddler's

By Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published September 25, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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REVIEW

Outside there was a president warning of dire economic consequences and fiscal meltdown.

But inside Fiddler's Green it was the last concert of the year, and for a few hours that outside world didn't exist. Fans carried handfuls of $9 beers and bought $40 T-shirts and spent a cool fall evening losing their minds over a couple of rock bands.

If anything, it was the musical equivalent of comfort food. Counting Crows and Maroon 5 played radio hits, cover songs and generally gave a soothing (and in Maroon 5's case, it veered into boring) evening of ballads and rock.

What was interesting was how much music was played Wednesday night that wasn't by either band. Maroon 5 interpolated versions of Chris Isaak's Wicked Game and the Police's Roxanne (the latter ill-advised) into their set. The music over the PA between sets seemed carefully picked as well, from The Cure's Just Like Heaven to King Harvest's Dancing in the Moonlight. And as Counting Crows took the stage, the speakers blasted a full version of Bill Withers' Lean On Me, kicking off a spontaneous singalong by the crowd that might have been one of the most heartwarming moments of the night.

Coming after Crows singer Adam Duritz's impassioned intermission speech about the importance of democracy and voting, it gave the night the tone of "we're all in this together."

Duritz kept those covers going, opening the set with a cover of Van Morrison's Caravan (a song, not so coincidentally, the band played in its first-ever Colorado show at the Fox Theatre back in August 1993). He then went into A Long December, a Crows song about having faith that things will get better in the future.

With two members of the band missing due to impending childbirth, Counting Crows called on opening act Augustina to help out, with various members appearing onstage throughout the evening to fill out the sound.

But Duritz's transformation over the years is remarkable; the Counting Crows' early club shows could be dour affairs, but these days he clearly enjoys being an entertainer. Even downbeat-but-great songs like A Murder Of One and Miami were delivered with an upbeat vigor that left the crowd roaring and sometimes with a tear.

Maroon 5's smooth set featured songs that would have sounded at home in the '60s, '70s or '80s. You could call it timeless or you could call it generic. I lean toward the latter, but it's ultimately harmless music that gave the crowd a nice buzz.

Counting Crows/ Maroon 5

* When: Wednesday night

* Where: Fiddler's Green

* Grade: B-

Comments

  • September 25, 2008

    12:40 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    LeftyDv writes:

    Nice review. I wish the show hadn't been at Fiddler's. The 10:30 curfew is a bummer, the acoustics are no good, and the Counting Crow's melodic songs were often times overpowered by the "chatting" happening on the lawn. BUT, with all that said, the Counting Crows certainly improvised well. It felt as if we were seeing something special.

  • September 25, 2008

    10:50 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    dholmlund writes:

    Ok, first off, I agree completely concerning Maroon 5's version of "Roxanne" - should not have been done, and "Wicked Game" was missing the signature guitar bend... But overall the show was great. The 10:30 shutdown was unfortunate - especially since all the bands could surely have played longer - especially the opening act, AUGUSTANA - note the spelling, Mr. Brown - a band that has had a platinum single of their own, and who helped out on what was probably the BEST cover of the evening, Simon and Garfunkel's "Cecilia".

  • September 25, 2008

    11:01 p.m.

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    Mark Brown writes:

    You know, I've been to more Fiddler's shows than I can count since '89 or so, and this was easily the best sound there I've ever heard. I meant to compliment the sound crew in the review but ran out of space for the print version. Sound: Perfect. Despite the usual chatter.