Adam Duritz, right, performs with Counting Crows band mates Dan Vickrey, left, and Jim Bogios during Tuesday’s Rock On The River show at TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park. / Dave Lindquist photo
Adam Duritz isn’t taking his return to touring for granted.
Leading Counting Crows through a career-spanning WTTS Rock On The River show Tuesday night, Duritz beamed in his role of focused, animated and good-natured storyteller.
The vocalist said Indiana’s humid weather didn’t bother him because it enhanced the feeling of being close to one another after so many months of isolation. Duritz also mentioned that being idle during the pandemic spurred him to start a Cameo profile for selling personalized videos ($150, if you’re interested). And he joked that getting back to singing detailed tunes such as “Round Here” made him resolve “to be less wordy with lyrics.”
Fortunately for listeners, it’s too late to trim the word count of “Bobby and the Rat-Kings” from current Counting Crows EP “Butter Miracle, Suite One.” As a descendent of knotty Bruce Springsteen classics “Rosalita,” “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” and “Spirit in the Night,” “Bobby and the Rat-Kings” vividly describes “some leather-wrapped Fender-strapped kid with a pick-finger twitch. He’s got a recipe for radio or rain; I don’t know which.”
In tandem with current hit “Elevator Boots,” “Bobby and the Rat-Kings” provided a theme of rock ’n’ roll dreams and realities for Tuesday’s performance. A fan is obsessed with music within the tale of “Bobby and the Rat-Kings,” and Bobby is depicted as doing what he can to survive life on the road on the expertly crafted “Elevator Boots.”
92.3 WTTS morning host Matt Pelsor captures an onstage selfie with Tuesday’s good-looking crowd at WTTS Rock On The River presented by Arni’s Restaurant.
Elsewhere, Counting Crows reached back to 2002’s “If I Could Give All My Love (Richard Manuel Is Dead)” for a message of rock ’n’ roll mortality. Of course, the song that started it all for Counting Crows, “Mr. Jones,” is a wish for fame that became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The packed house at the newly renovated TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park knew it would be a crowd-pleasing night when Counting Crows performed “Round Here” and “Mr. Jones” as the first and third songs of the program.
Guitarists David Immergluck and Dan Vickrey and keyboard player Charlie Gillingham excelled at creating a big sound to accompany Duritz’s storytelling, with Vickrey supplying a particularly fierce Telecaster solo at the conclusion of “Recovering the Satellites.”
It’s worth noting Tuesday’s show served as the first “back to concerts” moment for many in the audience, and the venue all but levitated with joy during sing-along favorite “Rain King.”
One reason Duritz is coming up with strong material 28 years after the release of breakthrough album “August and Everything After” may be because he’s comparing notes with emerging songwriters such as Sean Barna and Matt Sucich – the supporting acts on Tuesday’s bill.
Philadelphia-based Barna has a strong grasp of ingredients heard in early-Springsteen epics, adding a dash of Lou Reed’s wild side expertise. Barna closed his set with “Modern Man,” from 2018 EP “Cissy”: “Sing the good songs, do the good drugs, turn the news off and love, love, love. I’m a modern man.”
The endearing Sucich won over listeners with the song “Saturn” from 2019 album “Thousand Dollar Dinners.” A slacker’s guide to not taking things too seriously, “Saturn” offers an answer to the question of what are you doing with your life: “It depends, because it’s all relative.”
Tuesday’s Counting Crows setlist
“Round Here”
“Scarecrow”
“Mr. Jones”
“Colorblind”
“Omaha”
“If I Could Give All My Love (Richard Manuel Is Dead)”
We were introduced to their music 3 decades ago. Now, they are bringing the magic of their music to Indianapolis for an event that won’t soon be forgotten.
It’s WTTS Rock on the River with Counting Crows presented by Arni’s Restaurant.
WTTS Rock on the River, Tuesday, August 17th at TCU Amphitheatre at White River State Park. Tickets on sale now. A portion of the proceeds benefit Indiana Wish.
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Indiana Children’s Wish Fund.Their mission is to put smiles on the faces of Indiana children who have been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness by making a dream come true. Their children have had to fight battles that children should not have to fight. These children go through treatments that make them sick for days on end. They forget what childhood is all about. Granting their wish gives these brave children something to look forward to and helps build strength and hope for their futures. Every child has the right to be loved, nurtured and to reach for a dream.
WTTS Rock On The River is presented by Arni’s Restaurant.
For the fourth year in a row WTTS brought the party to Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn with Rock On TheRiver, presented by Arni’s Restaurant, a benefit concert for The Indiana Children’s Wish Fund. This year the show sold out and WTTS fans fought the traffic to see a knockout performance from The Record Company. There was barely anytime for the crowd to catch their breath before Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats delivered a memorable set to wrap up the night. Photos courtesy Rhythm In Focus Photography.
Nathaniel Rateliff And The Night Sweats kick off the summer with live music that makes a difference here at home. It’s the return of WTTS Rock On The River, presented by Arni’s Restaurant.
On the evening of this once in a lifetime show Laura Duncan will be broadcasting live from 5pm-7pm. At 7:00pm we’ll broadcast the exclusive Studio session recorded earlier that day by the Record Company in Sun King Studio 92. As you tour the venue be sure to use #WTTSRockontheRiverand use the Rock On The River Snapchat filter to take photos of this memorable evening. Also, be sure to stop by the WTTS tent to bid on a Tom Petty autographed turntable in a silent auction to benefit the Indiana Children’s Wish Fund and check twitter to look for clues on where to find “keys” in a venue wide scavenger hunt.
The show has completely sold out come back for show photos following the event.
Portions of the proceeds will be donated to the Indiana Children’s Wish Fund.Their mission is to put smiles on the faces of Indiana children who have been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness by making a dream come true. Their children have had to fight battles that children should not have to fight. These children go through treatments that make them sick for days on end. They forget what childhood is all about. Granting their wish gives these brave children something to look forward to and helps build strength and hope for their futures. Every child has the right to be loved, nurtured and to reach for a dream.
92-3 WTTS Rock On The River is presented by Arni’s Restaurant.
For the third year in a row WTTS brought the party to Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn with Rock On TheRiver, presented by Arni’s Restaurant, a benefit concert for The Indiana Children’s Wish Fund. Through most of the day Central Indiana experienced gray skies and rain but as show time grew close the clouds began to break and the sun began to shine! The evening began with a knockout performance from The Marcus King Band and there was barely anytime for the crowd to catch their breath before Robert Randolph and the Family Band took the stage. The Revivalists delivered a memorable set to wrap up the night. See the photos below, courtesy Rhythm In Focus Photography.
The New Orleans based band The Revivalists have become a new WTTS favorite with their latest release, Men Amongst Mountains. Hear the band’s live performance in Sun King Studio 92 from 2015. Robert Randolph & The Family Band is a longtime favorite of WTTS. Robert’s playing of the slide guitar is legendary and draws inspiration from soul, gospel and blues music. The Marcus King Band may be new to the national spotlight, but the Greenville, South Carolina band packs a soulful punch. Listen to their Sun King Studio 92 performance from earlier this year.
Portions of the proceeds will be donated to the Indiana Children’s Wish Fund.Their mission is to put smiles on the faces of Indiana children who have been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness by making a dream come true. Their children have had to fight battles that children should not have to fight. These children go through treatments that make them sick for days on end. They forget what childhood is all about. Granting their wish gives these brave children something to look forward to and helps build strength and hope for their futures. Every child has the right to be loved, nurtured and to reach for a dream.
92-3 WTTS Rock On The River is presented by Arni’s Restaurant.
Robert Randolph
Marcus King Band – photo credit: Jacob Blickenstaff
For the past 5 years, we’ve watched The Head & The Heart blossom into household names amongst WTTS listeners (their last appearance in town was a sold-our “Rock To Read” benefit in 2013). Brett Dennen’s been coming to town since 2008. And newcomers Kaleo will be in Indy for the third time in eleven months (including a “WTTS First Experience” this past January).
WTTS Rock on the River is more than just a concert: It’s an experience. The night of the show, we’ll have very special prizes to give away from each of the bands. Be sure to stop by the WTTS booth for your ticket. We’ll call winners from a Rock on the River Raffle for a merchandise package from Kaleo, autographed music catalog from Brett Dennen, and a special viewing experience and meet & greet from The Head & The Heart. Don’t have tickets to the show? From 6:00-6:15pm on the night of the show, find the WTTS representative outside of the gates. They can give you a raffle ticket that may get you into the show with one of these prizes. In addition to the raffle, we’ll be hosting a Twitter Hunt for WTTS Prize Packs. Follow us on Twitter to find out more.
Portions of the proceeds will be donated to the Indiana Children’s Wish Fund.Granting wishes to Indiana children, ages 3-18, who have been diagnosed with a life-threatening or terminal illness. Every child has the right to be loved, nurtured and to reach for a dream.
92-3 WTTS Rock On The River is presented by Arni’s Restaurant.
Thanks to all of the listeners who attended WTTS Rock On The River, presented by Arni’s Restaurant. It was a fun night of live music at the Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn, as Alabama Shakes and Father John Misty played to a packed crowd of WTTS listeners. In the process, we raised thousands of dollars for the Indiana Children’s Wish Fund. Thanks for supporting great live music, and a worthwhile local cause as well.
