MOG

Ahhhh...charming drunkenness at its very best. Last nights show, or "rock and roll concert" as Adams enjoyed reminding the audience of, was surprisingly… extremely entertaining. And I don’t mean I wasn’t expecting a good show, but Adam’s shows have been known to vary; from over the top rudeness and tired rants throughout a show to sweet and innocent like demeanor throughout a set (just read some pitchfork reviews, if you trust those guys, but they have an obvious bias; I have a love hate relationship with them, mostly love). Ryan Adams and the Cardinals played two sets, around three hours long. In total I don’t know how many songs that was but likely over 20... which I usually would never go for, but he had a childlike (in a good way) approach to the show and his interaction with the crowd was pretty great, clean songs (playing wise), they appeared to enjoy every minute, so it made for a nice evening to see musicians/artists having fun; non pretentious fun. He made the expected references to living in LA and the streets, but even that was well received and helped create a more intimate like atmosphere through the evening. Music: he played a lot of great songs “Goodnight Hollywood Blvd,” “Wonderwall,” “Why do they Leave?” But skipped on Sylvia Plath, LA Cienega Smiles, and a few others to my chagrin. Wonderwall was great, as expected…but with his Cardinals arrangement some of his earlier work like “rescue Blues,” “come pick me up” sounded different…I miss the banjo. I must say his voice has improved a lot over the years, he sounded amazing through both sets, hit high notes etc…his spazzy shimmies and such also helped entertain, as did the following rants: 1. His doctor visit for prescription glasses and how one of the lenses was upside down; he was secretly summoning the Children of the Corn throughout his visit. 2. The screen on his mobile phone being scratched and not being able to read a thing from text messages. A mock txt conversation with the crowed on his advice to not Paint the house Kelly Green 3. Inviting and pressuring Jon Graboff to share a joke…went like this, “I was walking down the street near my home in new york and some guy approaches me and says, “hey man, I have all your records, and now I want your TV and stereo.”

It was a great show. He seems really happy, and his band interaction is fantastic. I’ve been to so many good shows this past year but I can’t think of a band that appeared happier than Ryan Adams and the Cardinals did last night. Do what you can to catch him live; especially in this stage of his career, he was hilarious last night. The transitions between songs varied from smooth to not smooth when he decided to talk, but it was good. Very human.

He also played “Sarcophagus." heavy metal, he had the stance and everything, it was sweet. Hugs.