As you may have noticed, we have gone through one final (we swear) re-naming and domain change, the very appropriate, Augustana Fans and matching domain. We hope all of you enjoy the site and everything will be re-added over the next week (photos, media sections, etc). Thank you for visiting!

Also, expect things to keep being tweaked over the next couple days so they run better, so if you see errors, please let us know!

So, c’mon and lets get posting!

(also posted in the forums, feel free to post photos there if you would rather)

Read and listen to Adam Duritz visit with the Wall Street Journal Cafe about the Traveling Circus!

Make sure to indulge in this VIDEO of “Washington Square” with Dan!

Concert Review: Counting Crows at Bayfront Park Amphitheater

“After a while, I stopped trying to keep up with what was being played by whom and when and just enjoyed myself. But I will tell you that Augustana more then held their own when they were given their chance to stage by themselves. The lads are a neo-cool throwback to the days of song and style, and in fact they’re a little at odds with the Haight-like hippiness of both Spearhead and the Crows. That, naturally, makes them even cooler in my book. If I recall correctly the band played “Sweet and Low” and “Hey Now” before Durwitz returned to accompany them through “Stars and Boulevards.” It was my personal highlight of the night. And who knows? I may have found a favorite in the line-up after all. “

They are pretty cool in our book too! =)

Review: Counting Crows, Augustana astound at Nokia

If Duritz is The Rain King, then Layus is the dashing prince in waiting. Looking like a cross between a young Bob Dylan and Johnny Depp from Pirates of the Caribbean, Layus caught the crowd by surprise with his honeysuckle tenor and jitterbugging joy. When he and some of the band members came down off the stage with acoustic guitars and started harmonizing in the 10th row, he earned their eternal gratitude (When the sound failed, Duritz jumped in and held the mic.)

Really like that first line & the fact that the guys went down into the crowd! Just awesome!

From dallasnews.com: Concert Review: Counting Crows at Nokia Theatre

It was clear that Counting Crows was the big draw, but Augustana held its own with aplomb, earning its fair share of the crowd’s love.

That was apparent between the massed ensembles, as the groups appeared in their individual identities. Covering its own songs such as “Boston” and “Stars and Boulevards,” Augustana got a reaction nearly equal to the one garnered by the Crows when, on their own, they did the beloved “Goodnight Elizabeth.”

Always nice to read things like that!

In other news -

If anyone is going to be at the New Orleans headliner show tonight, consider yourself lucky! Jared posted a bulletin on Myspace last night saying this:

Hey y’all~

We’re going to be headlining a show at House Of Blues New Orleans tomorrow night… there’s going to be some really special surprises, so be sure not to miss it if you’re in town!! See ya then

Cheers,

Jared

To all of you that make it out – come let us know about these surprises in the forum!!

Reminder: Keep checking out Augustana’s tour blog! You don’t want to miss out on things like adventures in Berkeley or rollercoasters at Six Flags!

Q: The tour being among them?

A: Yes. And this tour took a long time to put together. I don’t know, there’s nothing else like this tour. Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen or (Bob Dylan’s) Rolling Thunder are the closest comparisons I can make. But they’re not even what we’re doing. You’re getting three bands playing together, apart and in different combinations. Every iteration you can think of. I’ve never loved playing and touring like I do this. The truth is a gig is usually a dream I walk into. I walk on stage and I’m lost. These shows I’m walking out with my friends and I’m there from the first note of the show. It’s hard to get word out, but people should arrive early. They’re used to showing up at 9, but we’re out there from the first note.

It’s so joyous, it’s not something I disappear into. There are moments when you have 18 people on stage and all 18 can sing. And 12 of them can sing really well. It shouldn’t work. There’s no way 18 people should be able to do this without killing each other. But there’s no ego anywhere, no problems. Nobody can steal the show because it belongs to all of us.

Find the rest of the article HERE.

It also just so happens to be Adam’s birthday today! Be sure to help him celebrate at the show tonight or stop by his twitter! All of us here at AFN would like to send out  happy birthday wishes to you too Adam!

Next, here’s an article from The Daily Californian on the Circus’ stop at Berkeley’s Greek Theater: Counting Crows Swoop Down On Berkeley’s Greek Theatre The site also has a slideshow with some pictures up HERE.

And last, Entertainment Weekly interviewed Adam Duritz from Counting Crows about the Circus. Check out the article HERE.  At the end of the article Adam discusses missing Michael Franti – For those that don’t know – Recently Michael’s appendix ruptured and he’s had to cancel some shows while he recovers. He is scheduled to rejoin the Circus at the 8/6 Biloxi show. Send him some well wishes at his twitter! (better late than never right?)