The Counting Crows were due to play Sheffield Arena in December 2008 but had to reschedule to the smaller O2 Academy, prolonging Sheffield fans' wait for a dose of Crows magic.

With 20 million records sold worldwide and a career spanning 16 years, lead singer Adam Duritz, who looks like a cross between Bob Marley and Albert Einstein, and his band didn't disappoint.

The Crows came on to the stage to clapping and cheering with the classic Lean On Me by Bill Withers playing in the background.
The set list included a good selection of tracks from their new album plus a mixture of fan favourites.

Part of that was the classic A Long December, where Duritz showed his vocal talents while behind the piano.

The crowd lapped up everything the lads from San Francisco threw at them. One of the many highlights was a great version of Rain King which they flawlessly mixed with the Beatles song With A Little Help From My Friends.

Disappointingly they didn't play possibly their most famous track Mr. Jones, despite teasing fans with a verse of it during Rain King.

But this didn't detract from what was a great gig. In my opinion there is room in everyone's music collection for a Counting Crows album or two, and to see them perform the tracks live was a joy.

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