Well, all I have to say is that I'm glad I waited for the last night of Ryan Adams' 3-night run at Town Hall. I knew he'd either bust out my favorites, have a tantrum, or tell some interesting stories. I got all 3!
First off, the setlist tonight was impeccable. Look at that first rush of songs before the break. Now look at the second set. Truly fantastic selections. The people over at Alt Country & To Be Young seem to disagree with me on this one. As you can see, Ryan focused on mostly (nearly entirely) pre-Cold Roses-era tunes, busting out some rarely-played Gold and Heartbreaker numbers instead. I have no complaints. Ryan's voice and cohesion with The Cardinals have never been stronger.
The stories.. well, they were scattered and minimal, I will admit that. On a serious note, Ryan talked about being sober for the last 7 months and how we are all like his kids, which was rather sweet. Earlier in the set, as the hecklers were going strong, Ryan repeatedly joked about the setlist and was sarcastic about the influence the shouters had over his list. By the middle of the second set, he was calling them assholes and checking his watch to see how much longer he had to endure the pain of... well, the assholes.
In spite many people screaming 'shhh!' or 'let him play what he goddamn wants!', Ryan was clearly perturbed and around 10:35 cut the show, declaring that we were a 'great crowd' (sure, Ryan). Although it was slightly disappointing to see Ryan leave so angered and to waste the 25 minutes he could have played before curfew was met, I would rank this as one of my top 5 Ryan experiences (I've seen him in the neighborhood of 10 times over the years).
How could you not love the man? More thoughts on the night, including a blurb on Ryan Adams Crazy Dancing Lady, as she will now be known, over at The Modern Age.
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