Counting Crows At A Minor League Ballpark
They are calling it the Rock and Roll Triple Play Tour. The Counting Crows are out on the Road with Collective Soul and Live. They are stopping at Minor League ballparks across the country. The show came to our neck of the woods on Tuesday night. It is an unlikely day to attend a concert. Plus, the venue is about forty-five minutes north of Baltimore in the town of Aberdeen - Ripken Stadium - the home of the Ironbirds. I knew the show would be more than worth the trip on a week night.
I was very excited to see the Counting Crows. I haven't been to one of their shows in a few years. They are renowned for an energetic performance and musical genius. Before the triple bill was announced, I purchased tickets from their fan club. In their day, I did enjoy Collective Soul and Live, but I was not excited for their sets. In fact, Collective Soul canceled.
Late in the afternoon, Teresa and I drove up Aberdeen. I have never been to Ripken Stadium. I don't know how many times I have passed the ballpark on I-95. Not only was the ballpark new to me, but the idea of a concert in a ballpark was also new.
We pulled into the parking lot with relative ease. We found a spot within spitting distance of the main entrance. We could perfectly hear the replacement for Collective Soul, The Low Stars. The sun was setting. The air was decisively cooler than South Baltimore. It was a completely relaxing situation. We tailgated with a few drinks and throw of the football. We even stayed in the parking lot for all of Live's set. I didn't see any reason to give up our comfortable situation for high priced beers.
As the sun was about to completely set and Live had played their last song, we entered the stadium. The ballpark was pretty typical for minor league stadiums. Granted, I have only been to a few others in Bowie and Salisbury. It has some Oriole Park influences with brick walls and green accents. The staged had been built atop second base. Because the show was general admission, concert goers were allowed to stand on the infield. We grabbed a couple drinks and walked out to the pitchers mound.
I immediately noticed a rig set front of house. It was my friend Dave. We chatted a bit about the current Counting Crows tour and the DMB tour. He is going to be in West Palm Beach so, we will have to catch up in September. Teresa and I decided to watch the show from in front of the soundboard. We had plenty of room to see and dance.
Adam and the band took the stage to a loud cheer. The lighting setup was basic if not rudimentary. I do have to say, I enjoy simple lighting when it nicely accents a performance. This was the case for the show. The Counting Crows have a new album on the horizon, and they had been road testing a few of the tunes. They opened with a new song called Michelangelo. It is a slower number that I enjoyed. Here is the rest of the set list.
Michelangelo
Have You Seen Me Lately
Recovering the Satellites
Mr. Jones
Perfect Blue Buildings
Mercury
All My Friends
Insignificant
Miami (ac)
Cowboys
Long December
Hanginaround
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Washington Square
Time and Time Again
Come Around
Holiday In Spain
As you can see, the show picked up speed with the second song, "Have you Seen Me Lately." To tell you the truth, this is a pretty slamming set list. I don't think I could have asked for a better mix of songs from new to old. "Perfect Blue Buildings?" Teresa and I consider this one of our favorite songs off of August and Everything After. Adam even mentioned, they just started playing "Perfect Blue Buildings" on this tour for the first time in years. Other highlights for me included Miami and Hanginaround. Miami has great energy, and both opening bands joined the Counting Crows for Hanginaround. That song was an excellent choice to close the set.
Image courtesy of michaelyoung from the Counting Crows message board
More images are available here
As you might imagine, Adam is a bit of a showman. He tends to run around the stage and act out each lyric. The band still has wedge monitors on stage, but I think the monitors are strictly used as stage props. Adam continually stands on each and every one. During slower songs, the stage lighting dims, and the backdrop appears as stars. Adam takes his place at the piano and mesmerizes the audience. Besides his musical driven antics, Adam is adamant about local charity. For each show, the band is donating money to a local charity. For this stop of the tour, they invited the Chesapeake Bay Foundation to the show and gave proceeds to help preserve Maryland's greatest treasure. Adam mentioned how near and dear this charity was to his heart because; he was born in Maryland! He also made sure to let the crowd know that America isn't just New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. America is made up of not only cities but small towns. The Counting Crows recognize this fact, and are happy to play in a small town like Aberdeen.
The show finished with one of my favorite Counting Crows tunes, "Holiday in Spain." It has the best lyric ever, "Or we could simply pack our bags and catch a plane to Barcelona 'cause this city's a drag." I really want to say just that and act on it one day! I really enjoyed the entire evening. I hope to see more shows in a ballpark, but I doubt anyone would compare.
