Ryan Adams @ Town Hall (Final Night): Just Don't Charge Him With Your Rescue Blues
Setlist: Come Pick Me Up/When The Stars Go Blue/Oh My Sweet Carolina/Love Is Hell/This Is It/Afraid Not Scared/La Cienega Just Smiled//Hallelujah/Wish You Were Here/Judy Garland/Blue Sky Blues/Games/My Winding Wheel/Willow Jane/29/The Rescue Blues
Well, all I have to say is that I'm glad I waited for the last night of Ryan Adams' 3-night run at Town Hall. I knew he'd either bust out my favorites, have a tantrum, or tell some interesting stories. I got all 3!
First off, the setlist tonight was impeccable. Look at that first rush of songs before the break. Now look at the second set. Truly fantastic selections. The people over at Alt Country & To Be Young seem to disagree with me on this one. As you can see, Ryan focused on mostly (nearly entirely) pre-Cold Roses-era tunes, busting out some rarely-played Gold and Heartbreaker numbers instead. I have no complaints. Ryan's voice and cohesion with The Cardinals have never been stronger.
The stories.. well, they were scattered and minimal, I will admit that. On a serious note, Ryan talked about being sober for the last 7 months and how we are all like his kids, which was rather sweet. Earlier in the set, as the hecklers were going strong, Ryan repeatedly joked about the setlist and was sarcastic about the influence the shouters had over his list. By the middle of the second set, he was calling them assholes and checking his watch to see how much longer he had to endure the pain of... well, the assholes.
In spite many people screaming 'shhh!' or 'let him play what he goddamn wants!', Ryan was clearly perturbed and around 10:35 cut the show, declaring that we were a 'great crowd' (sure, Ryan). Although it was slightly disappointing to see Ryan leave so angered and to waste the 25 minutes he could have played before curfew was met, I would rank this as one of my top 5 Ryan experiences (I've seen him in the neighborhood of 10 times over the years).
How could you not love the man? More thoughts on the night, including a blurb on Ryan Adams Crazy Dancing Lady, as she will now be known, over at The Modern Age.
Well, all I have to say is that I'm glad I waited for the last night of Ryan Adams' 3-night run at Town Hall. I knew he'd either bust out my favorites, have a tantrum, or tell some interesting stories. I got all 3!
First off, the setlist tonight was impeccable. Look at that first rush of songs before the break. Now look at the second set. Truly fantastic selections. The people over at Alt Country & To Be Young seem to disagree with me on this one. As you can see, Ryan focused on mostly (nearly entirely) pre-Cold Roses-era tunes, busting out some rarely-played Gold and Heartbreaker numbers instead. I have no complaints. Ryan's voice and cohesion with The Cardinals have never been stronger.
The stories.. well, they were scattered and minimal, I will admit that. On a serious note, Ryan talked about being sober for the last 7 months and how we are all like his kids, which was rather sweet. Earlier in the set, as the hecklers were going strong, Ryan repeatedly joked about the setlist and was sarcastic about the influence the shouters had over his list. By the middle of the second set, he was calling them assholes and checking his watch to see how much longer he had to endure the pain of... well, the assholes.
In spite many people screaming 'shhh!' or 'let him play what he goddamn wants!', Ryan was clearly perturbed and around 10:35 cut the show, declaring that we were a 'great crowd' (sure, Ryan). Although it was slightly disappointing to see Ryan leave so angered and to waste the 25 minutes he could have played before curfew was met, I would rank this as one of my top 5 Ryan experiences (I've seen him in the neighborhood of 10 times over the years).
How could you not love the man? More thoughts on the night, including a blurb on Ryan Adams Crazy Dancing Lady, as she will now be known, over at The Modern Age.
Labels: concert review, ryan adams, town hall
posted by m | 7:24 AM
6 Comments:
It was certainly a memorable experience...
I am glad to have witnessed all three nights. We got a little bit of everything with him, which makes him exciting.
The last time I remember seeing a band more than once in a week I think was U2 a year ago at MSG, and the second time was a little snoozeville.
Too cool we sat next to each other! :)
I was at the show last night and enjoyed very much. Two questions, "judy garland" and "willow jane" where are those tunes from?
new ones!
willow jane is a neal casal tune
"The people over at Alt Country & To Be Young seem to disagree with me on this one."
- are you sure about this? I don't see anybody at TBY complaining about the setlist...though, there are complaints about the way the show ended rather abruptly.
i guess u're right, it's just the alt country people... tby was more upset about the lenghth of the set, which i understand.
wonder what he woulda played in those 25 minutes he had to use.
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