I had a really good weekend. The weekend prior to schools beginning is usually claimed by the communications department as they bring in new graduate students to the program and hold functions to introduce them to the program. This year I rebelled. Well it was much less a rebellion and more of a lack of attendence. I had purchased tickets for the Counting Crows in Chicago back in June and I didn't realize that this was going to be on the same weekend. Anyway I skipped out and headed north.
Tinley Park is just south of Chicago and the home of the most upscale McDonalds I think that I've ever been in. Chandeliers and fireplaces were part of the decor in this particular franchise. Not that it was terribly upscale but it was a bit better than normal. The amphitheatre was out in the middle of a field with a large earth embankment that slanted towards the stage meaning that lawn seats were fine albeit a bit far. It rained almost the entire time I was at the concert that the bands weren't playing. It's like God has a sense of humor. When the bands came on stage the rain stopped, when they went off it started again.
The Goo Goo Dolls were ok...for generic overly produced pop music. That's about the nicest thing I can say about the band in general. They used to have a more punk sound and I found out something I thought was a bit interesting. They have two frontmen. One does all the ballads and the pop songs you hear on the radio now like "Slide" and "Black Balloon" and that drivel. The other guy did the more punk sounding songs. That must make for an interesting dynamic in the band.
The Counting Crows were really good. I've heard they were great live and I really ate it up. They started off their set with "Anna Begins" which is my favorite and played something off of every album they've ever produced. One of the things that's really neat about them is that they'll take a song they've performed a hundred times and change the melody, keep the lyrics, and somehow make the performance fresh. Adam Duritz seems to really get into each of his performances which is amazing considering he's been performing some of these songs for over ten years. Another thing that was remarkable about the performance was the level of coordination among. Adam Duritz directed the band with handsignals telling his bandmates what he was going to do next. Amazing.
Tinley Park is just south of Chicago and the home of the most upscale McDonalds I think that I've ever been in. Chandeliers and fireplaces were part of the decor in this particular franchise. Not that it was terribly upscale but it was a bit better than normal. The amphitheatre was out in the middle of a field with a large earth embankment that slanted towards the stage meaning that lawn seats were fine albeit a bit far. It rained almost the entire time I was at the concert that the bands weren't playing. It's like God has a sense of humor. When the bands came on stage the rain stopped, when they went off it started again.
The Goo Goo Dolls were ok...for generic overly produced pop music. That's about the nicest thing I can say about the band in general. They used to have a more punk sound and I found out something I thought was a bit interesting. They have two frontmen. One does all the ballads and the pop songs you hear on the radio now like "Slide" and "Black Balloon" and that drivel. The other guy did the more punk sounding songs. That must make for an interesting dynamic in the band.
The Counting Crows were really good. I've heard they were great live and I really ate it up. They started off their set with "Anna Begins" which is my favorite and played something off of every album they've ever produced. One of the things that's really neat about them is that they'll take a song they've performed a hundred times and change the melody, keep the lyrics, and somehow make the performance fresh. Adam Duritz seems to really get into each of his performances which is amazing considering he's been performing some of these songs for over ten years. Another thing that was remarkable about the performance was the level of coordination among. Adam Duritz directed the band with handsignals telling his bandmates what he was going to do next. Amazing.
