Local Review of Ryan Adams Show
August 2nd, 2007The reviewer is too kind. o
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August 2nd, 2007 at 3:11 pm
Oh wow, I’m so sorry to read that. I saw Ryan a couple weeks ago and the show was just fantastic. Ryan and the band sounded great, and even though a lot of his chatter was nonsensical or hard to make out, much of it was very funny and he seemed to be in great spirits. Even brought out a cake for one of the band members and improved a funny birthday song. I thought all of that meant he had put his obnoxious stage persona behind him. I guess it’s not so. (But I think you can find the Somerville show from 6/29 on archive.org if you want to listen to that and pretend you saw the good one.)
August 2nd, 2007 at 3:13 pm
That sucks. There are few things as disappointing to me as having your high hopes for a show dashed by bad attitude.
August 2nd, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Yeah, I was there and had your same reaction.
Here’s a more frank take on the concert from that same reviewer.
http://blogs.sltrib.com/nightlife/
August 2nd, 2007 at 5:37 pm
After that show, I now feel much better about ripping both Love Is Hell Albums from my friend.
August 2nd, 2007 at 5:47 pm
Man, sounds awfully professional compared to several Ryan shows I’ve seen here in NYC. He comes on an hour late, is falling off his piano bench, slurs his words, forgets lyrics, you get the point. I’d take tame from him at his point.
August 2nd, 2007 at 6:15 pm
And I wanted to go…glad I didn’t. I would have been peeved I was out the money. Sorry your luck wasn’t better but at least I didn’t have the same luck. I guess I’ll listen to his music at home instead of live.
August 2nd, 2007 at 8:24 pm
I LOVE Ryan Adams albums. I HATE Ryan Adams live. I’ve seen a handful of times and the last 2 were so disappointing I’ve vowed to NEVER SEE HIM LIVE again. It’s as if he despises his fans. I mean, the dude puts out an album every 3 months and I buy it. And he can’t be cool enough to play a good show? To at least fake a sliver of appreciation? No, actually, he cannot. The dude is a genius, but the dude is a dick.
But, oh, oh, oh how I Loooove Cold Roses. SUCH a great album.
August 2nd, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Like the wife would say… That son of a BITCH.
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:45 pm
This makes me glad I didn’t go see him in PDX. The last time I went he was so f*cked up he couldn’t even finish an hour’s worth of songs and then puked off the side of the stage. I figured that since he was sober that wouldn’t happen again but sobriety doesn’t bring a personality. Plus it doesn’t sound like he did a good variety of his catalog.
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:02 pm
I wonder if he’s using again. He played some shows in Northern California and it was like he was two different people performing at each show. How sad.
August 3rd, 2007 at 9:23 am
To be fair, 90 minutes isn’t exactly a short show. From my experience, it’s anywhere from average to slightly-better-than. Metric recently played a show here that was either half an hour or 45 minutes long, depending on who you asked. This doesn’t mean Adams’ stage behaviour was excellent: more than enough people in the comments alone have spoken to that. When he played the Edmonton Folk Fest two years ago, he was… erratic to say the least. Music was great, though. It’s interesting to look at people’s reactions to similar actions by different artists. Jack White, for example, has been convicted for assault, accused of more, badmouthed others publicly and - yes - kicked people out of concerts for questionable reasons. But the bad press from any of that is fleeting; when he releases an album, everything goes back to the music. Adams wears sunglasses and it gets put in the newspaper.
August 3rd, 2007 at 9:41 am
James, to be fair, we all paid good money to hear a great musician play live. We held up our end. We were patient and didn’t boo or heckle.
Ryan Adams put on a shitty show, regardless of how long he played or what he wore. End of story.
I heard (couldn’t see) the White Stripes at Bonnaroo. They played hard and loud and got into it. I can look past erratic behavior if a few gems are played. Mr. Adams acted as if he hated the audience, hated his band and hated himself.
August 3rd, 2007 at 11:51 am
Oh, and I’m not doubting that. I can’t argue with your negative experience, I’m just playing devil’s advocate. I am definitely more forgiving with Adams than most people are and was lucky to see a good performance of his. I was more just commenting on media attention separate from Blurbomat, where Adams’ press (good or bad) tends to be filtered through the “bad boy” reputation and White’s (I just used him as a popular example, especially given his and Adams’ acrimonious relationship in the press) rarely mentions more relevant bad boy material/criminal convictions.
But ultimatey, Adams isn’t doing himself any favours. If every performance was like the one on the Henry Rollins Show (if you haven’t seen it, I recommend watching it at ifc.com), he wouldn’t have the huge uphill battle and he wouldn’t piss off loyal fans.
August 5th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
that blows. i’m a fan and he’s someone i would usually want to see in concert. now, not so sure considering what tickets usually cost.
August 7th, 2007 at 5:08 am
I used to know Ryan back in NC before anyone gave a shit about him. He’s always been a dick. It’s always driven me crazy with all the talented musicians I’ve known, that this was the one that made it. I don’t know, at some point, telent is negated in my book by just being a crappy person.
August 7th, 2007 at 10:19 am
We saw Ryan at the Paramount in Austin, and we had about the same reaction as you. I’d seen him two years ago and loved the show. My fiance, an even bigger fan than me, had never seen him. It was a blow for us both. A waste of money, really.
I’d seen him in a bar in Austin about a year and a half ago, and had my chance to talk to him. But there was something about him that just kept me at bay. Probably the attitude that he displayed at the Paramount concert, one of apathy.
To be fair, he and his band sounded better than the first time I saw them. But his stage presence was, to be nice, lacking. So the show was boring.
August 8th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
I just saw Ryan in Memphis last month. I thought the show was good, but he did not say ONE word. No “Thank you”, no encore…. I think he’s amazing, but it really wasn’t exciting. I don’t think anyone got out of their seat once.