Ryan Adams @ Hammerstein Ballroom: Halloweenhead
In spite of a supremely generous set length (3+ hours and roughly thirty songs), I left last night's Ryan Adams show sorely disappointed. In fact, out of the near-dozen times I've seen Ryan over the past few years, I would easily place this gig at the bottom of the list. I'm not certain if it was a lack of energy, the reinterpreted versions of Ryan's older tunes and/or a general longing for Ryan's incomparable stage banter, but something seemed slightly off. With that said, some highlights of the evening included flawless renditions of 'Nightbirds' and 'Wild Flowers', from 29 and Gold, respectively, in addition to a spry take on 'Two' from this year's (magnificent) Easy Tiger LP. Enjoy some photos and a live Ryan MP3 below.
Setlist: [Set 1] Peaceful Valley. Blue Hotel. Mockingbird. Beautiful Sorta. The Rescue Blues. The Sun Also Sets. When The Stars Go Blue. Goodnight Rose. Cold Roses. Freeway To The Canyon. Off Broadway. Please Do Not Let Me Go. [Set 2] Bartering Lines. A Kiss Before I Go. The End. Dear John. Nightbirds. Wild Flowers. Shakedown On 9th Street. Everybody Knows. Why Do They Leave. Two. Halloween Head. Goodnight Hollywood Blvd. I See Monsters. [Encore] Let It Ride. Down In A Hole. What Sin Replaces Love.
MP3: Ryan Adams - Oh My Sweet Carolina (live)
Setlist: [Set 1] Peaceful Valley. Blue Hotel. Mockingbird. Beautiful Sorta. The Rescue Blues. The Sun Also Sets. When The Stars Go Blue. Goodnight Rose. Cold Roses. Freeway To The Canyon. Off Broadway. Please Do Not Let Me Go. [Set 2] Bartering Lines. A Kiss Before I Go. The End. Dear John. Nightbirds. Wild Flowers. Shakedown On 9th Street. Everybody Knows. Why Do They Leave. Two. Halloween Head. Goodnight Hollywood Blvd. I See Monsters. [Encore] Let It Ride. Down In A Hole. What Sin Replaces Love.MP3: Ryan Adams - Oh My Sweet Carolina (live)Labels: concert review, hammerstein ballroom, ryan adams
posted by m | 10:25 AM
13 Comments:
I have to agree. It began with a bang and just faded out the entire time. Besides Goodnight Hollywood Blvd. and Wildflowers, the new renditions of the songs werent any good. Overall, the energy was low and I said to my friend who I was with last night that Ryan just doesn't know how to play to his venue. When we were at Town Hall he rocked way too hard and here at Hammerstein, a place and a night to do that, he kept things slow and dull.
that's unfortunate that the energy level wasn't right. at the show here in nashville (war memorial auditorium), the sound was great, the band was wicked tight, and the energy crackled like a downed power line.
you're insane. i thought they sounded the tightest i've ever seen. then again, i was sitting down in the mezz. i bet it would've been hard to stand the entire long set.
I was at last nights concert. It was my first Ryan Adams concert so I have nothing to compare it to, but I loved it. I thought his voice was right on. He is so talented. I am always impressed when someone can play the harmonica and guitar at the same time. What I didn't like was the audience that just didn't seem to be fans but just wanted something to do on Halloween. They were talking and carrying on.
I have seen quite a few Ryan concerts, including last nights in new york and the first stop on his Easy Tiger tour in Virginia (the second night in Charlottesville). The setlist last night was amazing, but the performance did seem off. But lets be real, he's been touring steadily for a month now without any help from booze or speedballs. I just figured he was merely tired. In VA, his performance was perhaps the most amazing concert I've ever witnessed. The entire audience was hypnotized with his raw performance, along with his witty stage banter. So I could forgive him for last night's not-so-stellar show, due to the beginning of the tour.
You could tell Ryan was having a hard time with his in-ear monitor. And something was up with the drummer. It seemed like he didn't know the songs. I don't mind the reworking of old tunes. I know that keeps it interesting for the band, but it seemed like the tempos and feels were all fucked up on almost everything. Shit was singsongy. That was what was killing the energy for me. And there was a lot of jamming which is easier to take if you haven't been standing for hours. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The last few times I've seen him, he's babbled a lot and not played for long. So this was a nice change.
His show on Tuesday night in DC was also off. The band's musicianship and Ryan's voice were fantastic, but the show had absolutely no energy whatsoever. And that couldn't be blamed on a 3 hour set, since he only played for about an hour and 45 minutes (with a 20 minute set break).
There was speculation that he's taking the death of his manager badly, but I've also started to think that Ryan has somewhat "crossed the line" in his ability to deal with large crowds. He can't deal with any type of criticism or audience yelling, so he reacts by completely shutting the audience out.
Definitely not the same Ryan I used to see at Fez and elsewhere back in the day.
Hey,
great pictures. The reason he was off is because his manager died Tuesday night...it was also the person that signed him. If you go to google news, and do a search on Ryan Adams the article will come up.
This was my first ryan adams show but ive been a fan since whiskeytown. The show definitely got sleepy towards the end of the first set and 1/2 of the 2nd but i have to say that his voice and the bands sound were so tight. Even when the set lagged I gave him the benefit of the doubt (though I did not know of his managers death). New interpretations of songs are to me what make an artist interesting.Those songs were beautiful and the harmonies coming out of that band were unlike Ive heard before. He and the band were flawless, not off.
Ryan was probably exhausted. He played three nights in a row: Pittsburgh on Monday; D.C. on Tuesday; and N.Y.C. on Wednesday. So cut the guy some slack. His management probably shouldn't have booked three nights in a row in three different cities.
I attended the Pittsburgh show and he started out slow, but picked up the pace towards the middle and even ran into the audience, sat in a seat and pretended to be an obnoxious fan calling out for "Wonderwheel" and "Cuts Like a Knife." He even played a flawless version of "Come Pick Me Up," if you can believe that. But by the end of the evening he seemed tired and ready to go. He seemed relieved that there was a strict 11:00 curfew after having played for 2 1/2 straight hours.
I got to meet Ryan and the band afterwards outside their tour bus. Ryan was very mellow and he's a very nice and considerate guy one on one. He patiently signed a t-shirt and posed for a picture and was handing out hugs.
I think we expect too much because frankly, Ryan has set the bar so high, he can't always reach it. I don't know how close he was with his former manager Frank Calieri, but the guy just passed away the day before the concert. That also may have had some affect on his energy level.
So cut the guy some slack.
what are you people talking about? were you at the same show I was at? In my 30 years of concert going I dont think Ive ever seen a band so fucking tight as Ryan and The cardinals. You might not have liked all his song choices but get over yourselves. Go see the stones if you want a lead singer with a country voice who plays a predictable set and dances for you. Ryan was amazing.
despite what seems to be some iffy reviews, I still wish I didn't have to sell my ticket. Would've loved the opportunity to see Ryan play on this tour, even if it meant standing for 3 hours (GASP...).
End of the day (or night as it were), it's was an ok show. That said, I'm looking for more than strong vocals and tight playing -- the songs need to work. The vocals were spot on; I question just how tight the show was played -- but I'll concede that as well. I was mostly looking to see if RA has a musical sensibility/voice of his own, or is he just super talented. To me, it's the latter. Anything played remotely up-tempo/extended was simply a Neil Young cover band (but a fine one at that). There were obvious others, but that was the most egregious. The reworks, etc., further diluted his "sound." Those that really dug this show, check out RA's influences, rethink the show, and tell me otherwise.
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