The Counting Crows Give Me Hope

I have a milestone birthday approaching, and it's kind of freaking me out. 

Last night, in an attempt to prove I'm still hip, I went to a Counting Crows concert at the Roseland Ballroom with my friend Dennis. Adam Duritz, the lead singer, is one of my favorite performers and I was eager to see him work his magic on the mic again. I reflected on their music as we waited for them to start and realized that the first time I'd ever heard "Mr. Jones" I'd been in 6th grade. There could be no mistake about that: It was morning and I was getting ready to start the day at Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama (I have never claimed to be cool), and one of our adult supervisors came into our dorm singing it at the top of her lungs. It's a vivid memory, but it gave me pause. Could that really be right? Goodness, these guys were OLD. 

Still rockin', crow's feet and all

Some research today confirmed my conclusion. The bad formed in 1991 - several years before I started 6th grade, actually - and the lead singer, who floored me again last night with his energy, passion, and pure rockstar appeal, is 48. Now 48 no longer seems to me to be outlandishly old - a sobering realization for me - but it's considerably above the range I typically associate with rock musicians. Most of his band must be right around that vintage as well, but they were still spectacular. In fact, I bet they are way more spectacular than they were in their 20's. One of the things I've always admired about the Counting Crows is their talent as musicians, particularly in an age where musical prowess is not a prerequisite for a career "performing" music. They use a huge range of instruments and are constantly experimenting by making their old stand-by songs into medleys, combining various musical styles, and improvising like crazy. Some bands perform their songs just the way they recorded them, making one wonder about the point of going to see them live if one can access the same performance on an iPod. But I'll bet the Counting Crows never play the same song the same way twice. And I'll bet they wouldn't be able to do that, and do it with such skill, if they were still young men.

Receding hairlines do not prevent us from rocking your world.

I left the concert with ringing ears and a hopeful buoyancy in my step. Maybe this new decade won't be so bad after all.