COUNTING CROWS

Last night I watched what has to be my 50th plus Counting Crows concert. I remember first seeing the Counting Crows in 1993 when they had just burst onto the music scene with their first hit, "Mr. Jones" off of their debut album, August and Everything After. In 1993, I was 23 years old and dating a screenwriter in Los Angeles. My boyfriend at the time somehow knew lead singer Adam Duritz and so we ended up backstage at several LA concerts. I watched the then unknown Counting Crows have a blazing set at the Henry Ford Theater, which is the most intimate outdoor concert space in Los Angeles. It was mesmerizing. Soaring music, a piercing guitar, emotional lyrics, all at the height of what was then the grunge movement. I had a front row seat watching someone go from complete unknown to the height of lead singer fame. It must have been quite a difficult ride for lead singer Adam Duritz.

Off stage lead singer Adam Duritz was piling on the ladies. First he dated Courtney Cox, then trading up to Jennifer Aniston (who continued her love affair with lead singers with John Mayer). I even watched in awe as Adam Duritz and Charlize Theron hooked up one night. The man has some game. He's been called this generations' Van Morrison, and that's not too far off the mark.

Although the Counting Crows now tour all over the world, they're a distinctly American band. Duritz writes about girls. Make no doubt about it, every song is about a girl or a relationship, finding love, falling in love, losing love, but the root is always a song about a girl. Another interesting point that was brought up to me is that Counting Crows is now a band with 7 members, with the other 6 backing up Adam Duritz.

What's interesting is that in between the time I first saw the Counting Crows, I have now seen them in Los Angeles, Miami, and London. Their music and subsequent albums (while often uneven always have some great music) have been part of the soundtrack of my life for the last 15 years.