Thursday October 8, the Counting Crows returned to The Woodlands for the first time in nine years with their unique (some might say “dread-locked”) twist on American roots rock. The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion played host to one of the final stops on the band’s worldwide, two year touring cycle in support of their 2014 release Somewhere Under Wonderland.

Opening the night was New York-based five piece band Hollis Brown.

They made the most of their 30 minutes of stage time, even if it mostly sound-tracked the Pavilion crowd grabbing a quick beverage and filing slowly into the seating bowl.

Those that arrived early enough heard a band on the rise that easily earned the right to return in the future, and hopefully with a start time later than sundown.

Next up was Citizen Cope, whose laid-back grooves kept the mood chill and settled everyone in for the main event.

Counting Crows took the stage shortly after 9:00 to the opening notes of the Bill Withers classic “Lean On Me” before launching into a set list that featured a little bit of something for everyone in attendance, from the casual fans of their radio singles to the die-hard fans crowding the stage.

If you were alive in the 1990’s and owned a radio then you had plenty of memories to sing along with throughout the night, as the band tore into fresh versions of Mr. Jones, Rain King and A Long December.

When he wasn’t pogoing around the stage and leaping from monitor to monitor lead singer Adam Duritz took time between songs to poke fun at the band’s reputation for churning out sad song after sad song. “Maybe we’ll move on to whining next,” he joked early in the night. Doing even more to disprove the “mopey band” tag was watching Duritz energetically move from acting out his own lyrics to stage directing the other six Crows like an orchestral conductor through the finer points of their mostly up-tempo set.

The band was loose throughout the 20 song set, with each member getting a chance to shine on songs that ran the gamut from their 1993 debut August & Everything After to the much more recent Somewhere Under Wonderland. Highlights for this reviewer included set-opener Sullivan Street, I Wish I Was A Girl, and Rain King. Before calling it a night, Duritz promised to return again and as the house lights came up he lead the crowd in a final sing-along as California Dreamin’ played the band off the stage and the crowd out into the night.