The utterly mesmerising Adam Duritz seemed to be playing with a bunch of friends rather than leading a band as the Counting Crows played at the Colston Hall.

With his arms gesticulating, he pointed his microphone towards a crowd singing along to every word of Omaha or the Joni Mitchell cover Big Yellow Taxi.

No version of a Counting Crows song remains the same when sung live, with Duritz often tweaking arrangements or borrowing lyrics on the fly.

In Bristol, Sullivan Street opened proceedings, but segued into singing about perfect summertime blues and “I belong and you belong” before moving on to Untitled (Love Song) from the record they were there to promote.

Underwater Sunshine is the latest release by the Californians, but the long setlist included only a smattering from the selection of covers which hasn’t received particularly rave reviews. A song or two from each album followed, with set highlights including Mrs Potter’s Lullaby and Wish I Was a Girl.

This show was polished, professional and passionate with songs that filled the Colston Hall in a way that few bands manage.

A happy audience didn’t want to let them go and as Hanging Around faded into the summertime blues again everyone was on their feet trying to keep Duritz on stage after all the rest of the band had left.

The night felt like the end of a festival and when he promised to be back soon it was permission to let go. Seeing them once is a treat, two times would be an absolute joy.

Review by Joanna Papageorgiou