Counting Crows - Live Performances and Covers

Live Performances and Covers

Counting Crows, and Adam Duritz in particular, have become renowned for the energetic, passionate nature of their live performances. Duritz frequently extends and rewrites songs live, adding extra verses or alternate middle sections and/or endings, sometimes fitting most of another of the band's other songs into the middle of the first. On a live performance on Howard Stern's SIRIUS broadcast radio show, he delivered an altered version of "'Round Here" that Stern said was one of the best performances in his studio he had ever heard, with anchor Robin Quivers agreeing. He often uses other artists' lyrics in these sections as well, ranging from well-known acts, such as Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison and George Gershwin, to obscure Bay Area bands, including revisiting material from his days working with Sordid Humor.

Most songs have been altered at some point during the band's history; the ones most often subjected to this treatment include "Round Here", "Goodnight Elisabeth", "Rain King", and "A Murder of One". Examples of this can be heard on the MTV Live at the 10 Spot disc from Across a Wire: Live in New York City (on which "Round Here" contains lyrics from "Have You Seen Me Lately?") and the VH1 Storytellers disc ("Anna Begins" has an extended midsection with new lyrics, and the introduction to "Mr. Jones" includes lyrics from "Miller's Angels" and from The Byrds' "So You Wanna Be A Rock & Roll Star"). Fansites have attempted to keep records of these alternate lyrics, or "alts".

The band has also become known for its acoustic performances, most notably recorded on the VH1 Storytellers disc from Across a Wire: Live in New York City. In addition, as of Fall 2010 (and maybe earlier), the band has recorded Coffee Covers for Sirius-XM Radio Channel-51 ("The Coffee House"), including a cover of The Ghost in You (Psychedelic Furs). iTunes Live from SoHo was recorded on March 27, 2008, at an in-store performance in the SoHo Apple Store in New York City. The album was an iTunes exclusive. It featured many songs from the band's 2008 release Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings along with old favorites such as "Rain King" and "A Long December."

The band has drawn deep in covering artists such as Otis Redding, George Harrison, Wilco, Rod Stewart, Fairport Convention, Pure Prairie League, The Rolling Stones, Jackson C. Frank, Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, Grateful Dead, Joni Mitchell, Warren Zevon, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Simon and Garfunkel, Psychedelic Furs, Oasis and The Band.

In 2008 the band launched a new website, offering band-approved, soundboard-quality recordings of its concerts.

In February 2011 Duritz released an indie album of cover songs he had recorded entitled All My Bloody Valentines, in which he allowed Facebook followers to help name and design the cover art for the album. The album is allowed for free download on Duritz's soundcloud webpage. Duritz later announced that the band has continued recording a new album as an independent band. The album August & Everything After – Live at Town Hall was released on August 29, 2011.