Maroon 5 Opens for Counting Crows
By Michele Pinczuk

It was a warm summer night at the Nissan Pavilion in Northern Virginia as Maroon 5’s manager ushered about 25 people up to the stage area to chat with funk man/lead singer Adam Levine and hang with the band during their sound check. He was as playful as ever, closing his eyes while playing the guitar. “I just did that without my hands. That’s a ‘feet,’” he said in a tongue-and-cheek manner to band member and best friend James Valentine, who was doing the same thing. Soon, Levine went running off stage like a frightened little boy. James called out, “Hey, man, it’s only a June bug! Don’t worry!” Then he reappeared with a broad smile while spraying bug repellant all over the stage. Maroon 5 began playing an improvised version of the Flight of the Bumblebee while everyone burst into laughter.

During a brief break I asked, “Years from now, what do you want people to remember about Maroon 5?” In his usual swagger, Levine quickly answered, “Besides James’ hair—the music.” I continued, “If you could be any Beatle, who would you be?” He replied: “Paul. I’d definitely be Paul. I’d be the shallow one.”

Once the concert began, I was absolutely stunned to turn around in my seat and discover that I was actually watching Sara Bareilles and Maroon 5 with none other than Counting Crows lead singer Adam Duritz and what looked like his whole mishpucha (family)! How amazing was that? There I was at a Counting Crows concert watching all the opening acts with Duritz practically sitting in my lap!

Sensitive songwriter/soloist Sara Bareilles opened the concert at the piano singing some of her hits, such as Love Song, Gravity, Bottle It Up and Many Miles. She described Maroon 5 and Counting Crows as her big brothers who enjoy teasing her mercilessly. Bareilles brought the house down with her sultry rendition of the Beatles song Oh Darling, accompanied by one electric guitar.

After Bareilles left the stage, a crowd of blinged-out young women wearing high heels continually screamed for Maroon 5. “I love you, Adam!” they yelped over and over again. Levine positioned his guitar around him and started playing in a way that would make almost any girl swoon.

The Los Angeles-born funk man sang hits from both albums, It Won’t Be Soon Before Long and Songs About Jane. Levine’s energy was high as he strut his stuff about the stage, seemingly making eye contact with every girl in the audience. I could swear he was singing just to me!

Makes Me Wonder, Harder to Breath, She Will Be Loved, Sunday Morning and This Love were performed with a high-tech light show made up of computerized flashing strobes and green-and-blue lasers. Musically, the band’s vibe was fresh to death with a great deal of chemistry between its members. Their pulsating rhythms and tight lyrics were synchronized with the light extravaganza.

Levine gave a haunting performance of Chris Isaac’s song I Wanna Fall in Love as he stood alone on a dark stage with a diffused spot glowing on him. The pace picked up with an encore performance of Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World, made famous by Neil Young.

Headliners the Counting Crows came out rocking the pavilion, performing such classics as Rain King, Mr. Jones, Round Here and Accidentally In Love. Uniquely expressive and a fellow Californian, Duritz told the cheering crowd: “We’ve been away for awhile. Now we’re going to travel around America playing rock and roll!” Although his trademark lyrics are known for being morose and tortured, his vocal and physical performance was extremely powerful and captivating. In between sets, Duritz shared his introspection with the audience, describing the meaning of his songs, which helped me to appreciate the music more.

Long December was an incredibly moving “big production” number. A facade of an old building with windows served as a frame with video images illustrating a magnificent snow fall. The effect really added to the tone of the song.

With a theatrical stage presence, Duritz stood on a large speaker urging the audience about the importance of getting involved in different causes, and most of all, voting. He continued explaining the importance of charity work (tzedakah) by discussing the GreyBird Foundation, created by the Counting Crows to help people make a positive difference in the world. The foundation strives to have a food drive at every one of their concerts, helping people in the local area. It also supports voter education to help people nationwide.

For their grand finale, Duritz brought out his family and friends on stage to jam with the band, including three small children. “That’s just about everyone I know,” he exclaimed. “My godson could really play his ass off!”

So what could be better than two rockin’ Jews in one concert? Two Adams!