After waiting in a line that wrapped around the block and all the way down the shady alley past the abandoned warehouse-- something I've never seen in all my experiences at 9:30-- we headed up to the balcony again, figuring it was our best shot to get a good view of Ryan and the band in this very packed house. We secured a fairly good spot, only to discover we'd landed ourselves behind this 40-something crowd out for what was sure to be their "re-living our youth" Saturday night. We didn't realize the extent of this problem until the show started. These folks had a nice front-row spot on the balcony rail, which would have been fine if they'd just enjoyed it and let the rest of us peer over and in between their heads. But in an aggravating turn of events, these old folk had to lean over, talk loudly at the beginning of, during, and in between songs, to one another. And if they weren't talking, they were dancing awkwardly and/or fidgeting so that maintaining any sort of consistent view of the stage for anyone standing behind them was next to impossible. After the first set, however, I decided I wouldn't let them ruin the experience for me and was able to mostly block them out. At this point I also decided that no matter how cool I ever think I am in my 40s, I will never be able to attend a show without being ridiculed by young 20-somethings. What a shame.
Now, onto the show review. Ryan & the Cardinals came onto the stage shortly after 11:30 and immediately started rocking out. Ryan looked like a young Adam Duritz, his hair desperately needing a comb, partially held back with a barette, looking on the verge of dreads. Any big Ryan fan knows that he's an unpredictable force on stage, and this was only confirmed when we'd heard that the night before at the Philly show, he'd walked out toward the end of the show because the fans were talking too loudly during his acoustic set. So we were unsure of what tonight would be like and what kind of mood Ryan would be in. That said, he was in terrific spirits all night, often making jokes and engaging in fun banter with the audience. I got nervous when some dumb drunk fools behind us started yelling "F*** Parker Posey!!!" after the third song, but I'm guessing Ryan either didn't hear or didn't choose to acknowledge it (probably the former). Even when another boisterous fan yelled "You're going to save Rock and Roll!!!" Ryan joked back and said "No I'm not. The Bravery or The Killers will do that-- oh wait, no they're going to save fashion, that's right." And he humbly added, "You don't need me to save Rock and Roll, it'll be fine on its own..."
The crowd reacted well to Ryan's performance of about 5 or 6 songs off his upcoming releases later this year, and he was even apologetic about it, saying "Sorry if you haven't heard some of these before, but in a little while we'll get to some of the stuff you know better..." Then he proceeded to tell us that after this new chunk of songs, he'd go into sets of 3, starting with Cold Roses, then Heartbreaker, Gold, and Love is Hell... Brillance, I tell you. And here I thought the guy didn't care about what the fans wanted. He ended up giving us more than we could have asked for!
The new songs were great, but the show really started when he launched into the Cold Roses set, playing "Magnolia Mountain," then a beautifully slowed-down version of "Let it Ride," still easily my favorite song off the double disc set. It hasn't gotten old for me yet, and I still love it more and more every time I hear it.
The Heartbreaker set was equally jaw-dropping, as Ryan played more crowd favorites-- "To Be Young," one of the most original and vintage Ryan songs that totally got the crowd going, as well as other album gems "My Winding Wheel," and "Oh My Sweet Carolina." Under the influence of drugs, booze, life, or otherwise, Ryan played with so much heart and soul, and the crowd hung on his every word. During "Oh My Sweet Carolina," I can't remember ever hearing the 9:30 club more hushed and fixated on every note as I did when Ryan commanded the stage with his heart-wrenching rendition.
For his Gold set, I was pleasantly surprised to hear Ryan play "When the Stars Go Blue," and by the time he started "La Cienega Just Smiled," I could have left and gone home happy. At a certain point, I found myself completely amazed that Ryan could chain smoke his way through the entire show, even occasionally singing with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, and still make it sound like absolute perfection. The man is good at what he does.
Here's a nice photo, courtesy of a fellow RA fan, not me... (the 5'1 perspective isn't exactly favorable for snapshots):
But seriously, I can't remember the last time I went to a show and had songs that I considered perfect off a CD sound far superior in concert. I didn't know it was possible, but Ryan truly proved what a live show is all about-- he's a true musician, knows how to put on a show and give the crowd their money's worth. No other artist I know can so effectively rock out and get a crowd on their feet, and at the next moment completely silence a packed house while whispering a ballad that causes goosebumps. I hadn't felt so inspired and all-around pumped up by a performance since the good ol' days when I used to watch DMB jam out for hours in the late '90s. Let's not forget to give a nod to Ryan's fabulous band, who deserve tons of credit for a lot of the energy and performance, particularly JP Bowersock and some of his amazing solos on guitar.
After the Gold set, Ryan went into the "Song Lotto," a new element he's trying to introduce into his shows in which fans are allowed to submit a song request into a silver box, and before his last 3-song set, the "Green Ghost" (actually steel guitarist Jon Graboff covered in a green sheet) picks a song out of the box. In this case, the song was "Dear Chicago," an excellent selection by a very lucky girl named Adrienne. Ryan proceeded to invite her up onto the stage, then serenaded her with a gorgeous rendition of the song, another one of my favorites and a pleasant highlight. The girl, not surprisingly, began to get emotional, and Ryan adorably chimed in, mid-song, "Oh please don't cry, please don't, or I will..." It was magic, and every fan in the audience was envious for that moment. It was also nice to see Ryan go the extra distance and connect with one of his fans like that, particularly because he has this kind of hardass reputation as being such an uptight guy with respect to his showgoers.
Ryan wrapped up the show with his Love is Hell set, performing "Love is Hell," "Please Do Not Let Me Go," and finally rounding out the show with an awe-inspiring version of "I See Monsters," complete with some crazy distortion on his electric guitar.
He played for almost 3 hours, came out and gave a big bow with his bandmates, got down on his knees to give thanks to the audience, then walked off the stage. It was absolute perfection... I'm still on a high from the show and likely not coming down from it for a while!
Here's another excellent pic:
After shouting my praise from the rooftops for this guy, I hope some of you have gotten into it! I was happy to have Huan join me at the concert last night-- it was one of our first music-sharing experiences since our DMB days, and he really enjoyed it... I think he's the next official Mr. Adams convert. For those of you who I haven't convinced yet, I hope this post helped! But seriously, as prolific as this guy is, he doesn't release a bum album. Between all his amazing Whiskeytown stuff, and the wide-range of sound he covers over his six solo discs, I'm constantly enamored with his work and am continually impressed and amazed at just how good he is. Last night's show only further solidified it for me.
With that, I close...
Lie to me
Sing me a song
Sing me a song
Until the morning comes...
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