I was lucky to catch Ryan Adams’ solo show at the Orpheum last night. It was just Ryan, two acoustic guitars, and a piano. His performance was warm and dynamic, with songs ranging from soft ballads such as ‘Dirty Rain’ from the new record, to more upbeat tunes like ‘Let it Ride’. He played about 25 songs in all, touching on a wide range of his collection with an emphasis on Heartbreaker, Cold Roses, and Ashes & Fire.
Ryan showed a self-critical and reflective side throughout the show. He opened with ‘Oh My Sweet Carolina’ and was clearly distracted throughout the entire song. The guitar work and vocals were so subtle and nuanced that the sound of audience members hurrying to find their seats, and others chatting outside the theater, could be heard on stage. It also looked like he was having some problems with the stage monitors, and he kept trying to get the attention of someone backstage. While his execution still sounded near-perfect, Ryan wasn’t satisfied. After the fifth song, he joked about how it’s much easier to play in an obnoxiously loud band, and told the audience he was going to take another shot at the opener, adding something along the lines of, “I can do better. If you don’t want to hear it again, just pretend I’m playing something else.”
After playing over a dozen songs from a chair at the center of the stage, and a few more sitting at a piano off to the left, Ryan moved his water, harmonica, and two guitars over to a third standing mic on the right side. “I need to make sure I work the stage,” he quipped. He then played standing up for another hour, finding a bit more energy in some faster-paced tunes such as ‘Crossed Out Name’ and ‘Chains of Love.’
Ryan also kept a cheerful attitude when confronted with audience distractions, something he’s historically struggled to do. A review from PatriotLedger.com puts it well:
There were times in the past when a Ryan Adams solo show would have been a dicey propositon, as the singer himself cheerfully admitted last night…
“Wow, I can’t believe I got through that so easily,” Adams said after an exchange with a mouthy female admirer interrupted his between-songs remarks. “In the past I might’ve put my fist through the monitor, and cried, ‘It’s their fault, they’re all against me,’ because of that one in the crowd. Now, eh…”
Later, when some other audience members were talking loudly over his performance, Ryan stopped twenty seconds into a song and joked, “Oh excuse me, am I interrupting you?” He then smiled and started the song again.
I was able to record the last song of his set, ‘Come Pick Me Up’. The quality’s obviously not perfect, but here’s what I got:
Ryan Adams – ‘Come Pick Me Up’
Ryan then came back with a four song encore, playing two Whiskeytown tracks, a Ratt cover, and ‘When Will You Come Back Home’ from Cold Roses.
It was the best live performance I’ve seen in some time.