Concert Review: Counting Crows, State Fayre – Chelmsford

Chris Griffiths
17 minutes ago
3 min read

Twenty-six years ago, I fell in love with live music. It wasn’t my first concert, but I saw Counting Crows in Wolverhampton, and it blew my mind. The music was the music I had loved for years, and the crowd were bringing 110% like at any other concert, but this was different. Frontman Adam Duritz took to the stage at Wolverhampton Civic Hall and bared his poetic soul to all. Classic hits were amended to meet his feelings of the day; famous album tracks extended through musical and lyrical riffing that bared the soul of Adam to all in attendance.

I stood there in the crowd and thought… “I wish I could take photos at a concert” …

Fast forward to today, and I’m standing in front of the stage of the UK’s newest Country and American festival State Fayre in Hylands Park, Chelmsford. The Counting Crows took to the stage for an hour long set and didn't waste a minute of it.

The band looked sharp, sounded sharper, and moved through the set with the ease of a group that's done this a thousand times and still means it. Eleven songs, one hour, no filler. This was a set built to cover every base. Fan favourites sat alongside newer material and the commercial hits that turned casual listeners into lifers. Perfect effortless balance.

They opened with Spaceman in Tulsa, a more recent of their releases that played as a statement of intent – “Turning into a mother****ing rock and roll star”. This was followed up by the popular Accidentally in Love, a commercial success released for the Shrek 2 Soundtrack (that more parents and young adults in the crowd didn’t realise they already knew the lyrics to! David Immergluck showed his amazing guitar style that has defined their music since the second album.

Breakout hit Mr. Jones followed, really ramping up the show. The song remains a blueprint of Adam, the lyrics ever changing to sit where he was in his journey in life. I have lost count of the variations of the lyric starting “When everybody loves you…”, but it is what is so authentically Counting Crows. His journey has reflected everything, the last ten years being in a stable romantic relationship both reflect his changes in life alongside his personal evolution.

With Love, From A-Z showing more of where he is on this journey now, Miami followed, with a warmth perfect for these summer shows. Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi had the audience singing again, then Round Here took that level of attention from the audience and had the crowd in the palm of his hand.

Only one song can follow that, and the band went straight in A Long December. The beautifully reflective song showing shades of his relationship with Courtney Cox at the peak of both their fame. The hush was broken by stand out single from This Desert Life; Hanginaround, always guaranteed to have full vocals for the choruses and handclaps in union with Jim Bogois’ drums. The atmospheric Under the Aurora kept the momentum going, as the band finally rolled into the classic Rain King to close the set.

Counting Crows came as a dependable act who always over deliver and they did just that. The crowd were alive, and even though there was a headline act to follow, a lot started to depart closing this set. Should they have headlined? Absolutely. They came with expertise and nostalgia that lit up the stage for all in attendance, not just myself. As for me - this show was a full circle moment for my photographic adventures, finally realising a dream, and recognising my own achievements at the same time. Thank You Adam, Charlie, Immy, Dan, Dave, Jim and Millard for the inspiration, and of course Matt and Ben back in 2000 too.