USF Bulls Radio

On Friday night, Maroon 5 and Counting Crows descended upon the Ford Amphitheatre for a night of spectacle and feel-good music. After opening band Augustana performed a short, yet polished set that peaked with their crowd favorite “Boston,” Maroon 5 took to the stage and offered up Adam Levine’s raspy vocals, raw energy and sex appeal. Strutting the stage in tight black jeans and a white T, Adam fired the crowd up by belting out the lyrics to the groups hit “Harder to Breathe.” A psychedelic light show played behind the band and spiraling lasers danced upon the ceiling of the amphitheatre as Adam switched manically between pacing enthusiastically around the stage and manning the guitar.

The crowd roared as the band churned out tunes such as “Wake up Call,” “Sunday Morning” and “This Love.” However, the more obscure tracks received a less fervent audience response and many songs sounded very much alike, leaving me contemplating whether or not I had heard the same songs numerous times during their performance. A Highlight of the show occurred with a deliciously slow paced cover of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game,” in which the band was captured in black and white sequences on the monitors, with their cover bleeding seamlessly into the beginning of “She Will Be Loved.”

When the Counting Crows took the stage, Adam Duritz, despite his 15+ years fronting the group, appeared to still be excited to play at the packed amphitheatre…and yes, he donned the same wacky, dreaded hairdo that he is famously known for. The Crows featured a few “never before heard tracks” that were too similar and dull for my taste, including a slow paced song about the complexities of the “booty call” entitled “Why Should you Come When I Call.” However, the Crows did not go overboard with testing the new material and seemed to understand that the audience wanted to hear their classic hits, as they primarily stuck to playing songs like “Mr. Jones,” “A Long December” and “Hangin Around,” much to the audience’s satisfaction. A highlight was when the Crows went into a long cover of the Beatles’ “With a Little Help from My friends,” after which Duritz launched into a long-winded, but ultimately applause-inspiring speech about the importance of voting in the upcoming election.

I give the performance 3 out of 5 stars. Overall, the vibe was that of a laid back, family friendly event. Though many of the tracks from both band’s sets sounded way too much alike at times, the performances did not lack in passion and both featured fun and interesting cover performances.