Crows make the best of adversity

One of the best measures of a band’s character is how it handles something going wrong in a concert.

Counting Crows met such a test with mettle Tuesday at the Universal Amphitheatre when drummer Ben Mize was taken ill about half an hour before the show’s conclusion.

Mize and four of his bandmates left the stage, leaving flustered singer Adam Duritz and guitarist Dave Immergluck to play a personable version of obscure ‘60s folksinger Jackson C. Frank’s “Blues Run the Game.” After departing momentarily, Duritz returned and explained that there had been a “medical problem” and that Mize was done for the night. (The illness didn’t prove serious; Mize rejoined the group Wednesday at the Wiltern.) And with that the group went into unplugged -- and unplanned -- mode, throwing out the set list and stepping into uncharted waters, including their first-ever acoustic version of “Perfect Blue Buildings” from their 1993 debut album. Midway through the song, Randy Guss, the drummer for opening act Toad the Wet Sprocket, slipped behind the kit. Duritz, surprised, turned around and with a big grin gave Guss the OK sign.

Not to wish ill on anyone, but this band might benefit from something unforeseen every night. As much as the group works to tap into the mystique of such heroes as Bob Dylan and Van Morrison, there’s a staid predictability to both the music and lyrical imagery. Having to cover for the missing drummer took the band out of its game and put it into the moment.

Toad the Wet Sprocket has been out of the game entirely for five years but has recently reunited. Tuesday’s crisp set made the case for the Santa Barbara foursome as the inventor of this particular game, having streamlined R.E.M.’s approach, buffing off the arty edges and pointing the way for Crows, Matchbox Twenty and many others.

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Counting Crows

Where: Star 98 Not so Silent Night, with Norah Jones, Moby, others, Shrine Auditorium, 665 W. Jefferson Blvd., L.A.

When: Saturday, 7 p.m.

Price: Sold out

Info: (213) 749-5123