As above,I was at the Leeds gig last Monday 18th September at 02 Academy....
I arrived early,queuing in the rain....
Was hoping to bag a signed vinyl 7 inch. There was none this time.As I managed to get a signed gold 7 inch of 'Give me something good' , at the 2015 gig (same venue).
Anyway this gig I had an unreserved balcony ticket. I was on my own this time and managed to squeeze in,next to a nice couple,on the end of the far side of the balcony. Looking down to the front of the stage...really great view...
The support band were really good. a female singer called Karen Elson ,with a really awesome female fiddle player (was hoping she might jam with Ryan on a song later,but sadly didn't happen).
At just before 9pm the house lights dimmed ,the gig was absolutely packed out and the atmosphere was electric..hoping and praying to see which Ryan turned up this time....
2015 Ryan was not very engaging,pretty flat atmosphere and was a bit disappointed,but he wasn't in a great place,divorce and his meniere's disease...
Well this time he came out wearing a custom flying 'V' and just rocked... his 'unknown band' were absolutely brilliant?
great keys player... they played stuff from Gold, cold roses, cardinology,heartbreaker,easy tiger ,ryan adams self titled and prisoner... there was something for everyone..
One of the best gigs I have ever been to.
he certainly made up for 2015...
24 songs in and half way through the last song, just before 11 pm. I sadly had to dash for the last train home...
6 days later ,I am still thinking about it...
the set list and a Yorkshire evening post' review are available online...
Apologies for the long post... you either love him or hate him.... I am sure you know which camp I am in...!
Cheers Mark.
Comments
I actually wish he'd engaged with the crowd a bit more...he's good at it. Unlike Dave Grohl who I saw at the O2 on Tuesday and who (much as I like him) needs some new banter!
Tons of guitar interest at the Ryan show and a spectacular tone throughout
See if this works ...my phone isn't the best..
Our very own Dan @4114 custom effects. Supplied a couple of flux capacitor delay's to ryan the other year... and it looked like he is still using one
They were a few people moaning on the way out ,that he didn't play their favourite song....
One guy said"he didn't play Halloween head" (ryan played it the night before lol).
for f $$$$ sake ..he has more unreleased stuff than he has put out literally over 500 songs to chose from... I didn't even answer the kid... just chuckled to myself...
If you can come out of a gig of that calibre and moan ,you really need to lend your ears to someone who appreciate's great music. I.m.o.
Plus he drives a 911. Id say thats grown up.
After that he settled back into the accomplished, but ultimately rather unthrilling vibe of before, with polite, but not particularly ecstatic applause after each song.
When I think back to the Cold Roses tour, where I also saw him at the Corn Exchange, it's like a different person. Yes, he's had a chunk of life since then, including health problems. But The Cardinals, especially Neal Casal, really brought out the best in Ryan. They weren't 'yes' men and he's made it clear that he found the tension in the band exhausting. But the music they created together was absolutely sublime. Even typing this, the memory of the Cold Roses chorus, the whole band singing harmony acapella, makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
Yes I agree the daft stuff of scrapping whole recordings and wasting money,but there ya go
Kind of get where you are coming from.. the cardinals/cold roses era' is pretty much the ultimate lineup... would be like comparing original guns and roses to now...
I got into Ryan about 2005...
My favourite albums are ,in no particular order....
Cardinology (not everyone's favourite)
Cold roses.
Heartbreaker.
Easy tiger.
Ashes and fire.
Follow the lights(ep)
Demolition.
Rocknroll.
Gold.
Unreleased stuff...
the suicide handbook.
Darkbreaker.
Exile on Franklin street.
And love his take on 1989.really great sound and vibe.... I believe he recorded the Strokes album 'is this it'.
Not a great lover of self titled album (prefer the live versions,apple live session)
And not so keen on prisoner ,love the first 5 tracks.(very smiths esque)....
Some great opinions and thoughts here... thanks for all replies.
There is a soundboard recording of ryan and the cardinals from 8th November 2008 from ambassador theatre Dublin.... brilliant sound and top notch playing.. also the bbc4 recording of the cardinals is kicking about.. you can watch it on youtube mp4 ... I am after any recent recordings of this current tour...?
Support was terrible, it was the guitarist from RA band with RA on drums.....
He was sulky, moody, no engagement and plain bloody awful guitar work.
What a knob.
Id been listening to his first 2 albums pretty much non stop for months and was so excited to see him.
Saw him at the RAH, and was pretty great!
First time I've seen him live and don't really know his stuff that well so was a good experience.
My dad and bro have seen him a number of times, and said he was quite grumpy at Leeds this year..
If people thought he was grumpy at Leeds this year ,they would of walked out 2 years ago.... Everybody has their opinions on Ryan.... if you expect him to act like a knob and he doesn't it's a win
I think his music would be boring if he walked the line like everyone else... there is always an edge to him.... I actually prefer the bsides of his latest Prisoner album.there is a melancholy,heartache and sadness to it... and definitely 'The Smiths ' vibe... but all great points and thanks to everyone for contributing to this thread...
Cheers
Mark.