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Apples in Stereo The
Holmes Brothers |
Ryan Adams & The
Cardinals
After a couple of minutes they were back out to play a decent version of Magnolia Mountain and wifey was waxing nostalgic for her hippie days and Grateful Dead concerts. I’m guessing the sound problems were fixed because the vocals were clearer but we also moved towards the front as I decided it was time to ditch the beer and hit the flask. Being an all-ages show, all drinking was relegated to the back of the venue and we wanted a closer look. Right off the bat I noticed how the crowd noise was quite loud and it was a little hard getting into the show when you’re so packed in with everyone else. They closed the set with what’s probably my current favorite, “Cold Roses.” It was as rocking as expected. The set break was very short and Ryan and the band came back on with “To Be Young (Is to be Sad, Is to be High)” and followed with a bunch of songs I wasn’t too familiar with. I was always more of a Whiskeytown fan but this recent album Cold Roses is bringing me back in. There was some banter back
and forth with the crowd and something was said about Evander Holyfield.
Go figure. Ryan also commented on how the hot, sweaty club tonight reminded
him of a gym except that he had never been in a gym before but this was
how he imagined it was like. The disconnect with the audience began to spiral out of control as he attempted a few solo numbers on the piano. The swigs of wine became more frequent and the crowd noise, unfortunately escalated. He began a long rant trying to setup and explain his next song “Nightbirds” that became somewhat incoherent. That Mitch Hedberg tribute on Ryan’s webpage was starting to make sense. He abandoned that song midway as it became obvious that the crowd wasn’t going to quiet down enough see what they were paying $25 for. He tried his best to pull it together at the end with a spirited “Easy Plateau” as well as an unknown song to finish the two hour plus show. Noticeably left unplayed was “Let It Ride” as well as anything from Rock N Roll. Not a terrible show but not the one I wanted to attend. I wanted to get lost in the music. A few tugs off the one-hitter helped but a number of factors were preventing that tonight and I think Ryan could see it first and foremost as he abandoned us and we were stuck picking up the pieces. Cold Roses is his first solo album that I feel gives certain direction to his songs. Whether it’s the right or wrong direction we’ll have to wait and see as he has two more albums out later this year. How appropriate that what began as an exciting, anything-can-happen Friday show ended with the last song being played, the lights abruptly turned on and us being quickly ushered out of the venue and into a cold, rainy, lonely night in Millvale. Write a song about that Ryan. And open your eyes when you sing it to us. |
