Shannon
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It's hits that count for two '90s acts
« on: Aug 28th, 2006, 9:51am » |
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http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/magazine/daily/15377407.htm
Posted on Mon, Aug. 28, 2006
It's hits that count for two '90s acts
By Patrick Berkery
For The Inquirer
Times are tight enough for modern rock hit-makers of the '90s and early '00s such as the Goo Goo Dolls and Counting Crows that they now team up to work the big sheds they used to headline on their own.
Things aren't so bad that the co-headliners couldn't draw a respectable crowd Friday at the Tweeter Center. But as many on the lawn chatted away during the Goos' newer mid-tempo musings on love and the Crows' jammy deeper cuts, it seemed a breezy summer's evening of hits was the real draw.
Both acts' bond is that they became stars during the modern rock radio boom of the '90s. Yet their respective 75-minute sets (the Goos played second, the Crows closed) showed little common ground musically.
Watching the Goos' polished, ballad-heavy act, it was shocking to think this was the same band that once emulated the Replacements' sloppy-drunk performances and catchy, punk-influenced sound while recording for the aptly named Metal Blade label.
They injected their ballads "Iris" and "Black Balloon" with power-chord punch, but it was just a reminder that the lines between '90s modern rock and adult contemporary were blurry. The only traces of the Goos' scrappy origins came when bassist Robbie Takac took the lead for a couple of frantic rockers such as "January Friend."
Counting Crows have always been more classic rock than modern rock, with obvious traces of The Band and Van Morrison informing their sound. Still dreadlocked and suddenly burly singer Adam Duritz (picture Simpsons character Sideshow Bob working in a head shop) led the Crows though nods to those vintage roots.
They covered Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi," then later quoted the Byrds' "So You Want to Be a Rock 'N' Roll Star" during an awkwardly stripped-down encore of "Mr. Jones."
Their set clicked best when they mined their own catalog for obscurities such as the sprawling "Ghost Train," which offered a spacey trip fueled by atmospheric slide guitar and groaning organ swirls.
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