just saw Ryan Adams

[AllyDee]

boy, what a great show

opened with "I See Monsters," played nearly 2.5 hours with no break, and banter/crowd interaction was hilarious



Go see this tour if you can

[Janet]

Color me jealous!

[aMillionDreams]

I can't wait to see him next month.

[axround3r]

ill be seeing ryan with my dad at the Wellmont in Montclair NJ tomorrow. We are so excited, we just hope ryan will be in a good mood. = }

[Penny Lane]

ugh....i want to go to the wellmont so badddddd----no car and trains don't run close....cheap tix on craigslist, too :-( i'm sure it'll be great!

[bold99]

boy, what a great show

opened with "I See Monsters," played nearly 2.5 hours with no break, and banter/crowd interaction was hilarious



Go see this tour if you can

I was there also...a friend and I just went down without tickets.  It was really funny hanging around scalpers for a hour or so.  We ran into the band at least 3 times, Ryan walked right past us and not a single person recognized him and the scalpers actually asked the band they were selling any tickets having absolutely no idea that they were the band.  I thought that was hilarious.  about 5 minutes before the show we got some one to sell us great seats at face value.  Monsters opener was amazing...came out with a blast....whole show was awesome.  I don't think i've ever seen Ryan is such a great mood.  The whole band was having a blast.  I loved the band intro songs and the Banter.  Highlights for me were Fix it and a killer Peaceful Valley Jam...Wonderwall was also great...I love that version, the buildup in that song is amazing the way he does it.  Great Show.

[bold99]

setlist.

I See Monsters
Everybody Knows
Fix It
Let It Ride
Two
Easy Plateau
Kiss Before I Go
Wonderwall
Come Pick Me Up
Band Intros
Peaceful Valley>
Beautiful Sorta
Evening Joke
Freeway
Goodnight Rose
-mushroom trip banter
Grand Island
-set break
Shakedown
Rescue Blues
OMG etc..
Stars Go Blue
Magick
Sweet Carolina
Off B'way
Born Into The Light
Down In A Hole

[AllyDee]

sorry, for clarification, I was at the show in New Haven on Friday, not Boston



jealous you got Peaceful Valley!

[Penny Lane]

boy, what a great show

opened with "I See Monsters," played nearly 2.5 hours with no break, and banter/crowd interaction was hilarious



Go see this tour if you can

I was there also...a friend and I just went down without tickets.  It was really funny hanging around scalpers for a hour or so.  We ran into the band at least 3 times, Ryan walked right past us and not a single person recognized him and the scalpers actually asked the band they were selling any tickets having absolutely no idea that they were the band.  I thought that was hilarious.  about 5 minutes before the show we got some one to sell us great seats at face value.  Monsters opener was amazing...came out with a blast....whole show was awesome.  I don't think i've ever seen Ryan is such a great mood.  The whole band was having a blast.  I loved the band intro songs and the Banter.  Highlights for me were Fix it and a killer Peaceful Valley Jam...Wonderwall was also great...I love that version, the buildup in that song is amazing the way he does it.  Great Show.

wow--that's a great setlist...that's similar to the others and the one from the last Boston show, right? down in a hole as a closer is great! i'd love to hear him do la cienega...does he ever do that? i'm jealous. i bet homeboy is in LOVE again that's why he's happy.

[bold99]

sorry, for clarification, I was at the show in New Haven on Friday, not Boston



jealous you got Peaceful Valley!

oh my bad I though you went to Boston.  Here is a review of the New Haven show with setlist.  I'm jealous you got La Cienga and Bartering Lines.

Review: Ryan Adams and the Cardinals in New Haven
Hartford Courant, United States


By
Eric R. Danton
on February 21, 2009 1:26 AM

There was a time when an on-stage mishap would have wrecked Ryan Adams' concentration and derailed the whole show.

Not this time.

Adams and his band, the Cardinals, opened their winter tour Friday at the Shubert Theater in New Haven with a 2 1/2-hour show that teetered briefly on the edge of chaos midway through when Adams' guitar was tuned incorrectly for "La Cienega Just Smiled." After venting his frustration with a pair of off-mic shrieks and a petulant blast of guitar noise, the singer and songwriter managed to laugh it off -- and nailed the song on the second take.

It was a blip in an otherwise impressive show, and even a handful of inconsiderate louts in the crowd couldn't spoil the mood.
Adams and the band laid back in a deep musical pocket, producing occasional showers of sparks on songs spanning his prodigious catalog, from last year's "Cardinology" to his 2000 solo debut, "Heartbreaker."

On shyer nights, Adams takes refuge in the extended instrumental passages on his jammier tunes. Although he included a couple of those toward the end, much of the set focused on tight, aching songs, sometimes with a rootsy tint. Opener "I See Monsters" bloomed from casual yet considered and somber into a fuller rock sound, and the band glided easily through "Fix It," Adams and Neal Casal trading punchy soul licks on guitar.

Adams donned a harmonica in a holder for the tear-your-guts-out tune "Come Pick Me Up," and sang in hushed tones on the opening verses of "Oh My Sweet Carolina," before the band fleshed out the poignant, heartbroken song.

He tinkered here and there with musical arrangements, too, giving "Let It Ride" a more contemplative feel than the recorded version, and replacing piano with guitar for the rolling chords that open "The Rescue Blues."

In addition to his graceful guitar parts, Casal played organ on "The Sun Also Sets," added sweet harmonies on "When the Stars Go Blue" and took the lead on a pair of songs from his 2006 album "No Wish To Reminisce," as Adams sang back-up and played guitar.

The band stretched out in the extra-long middle section on "Goodnight Rose," then stretched even further on "Easy Plateau," following the song from straightforward verses through winding improvisation that eventually dissolved into "Bartering Lines" to close the show.

Set list
1. I See Monsters
2. Two
3. Everybody Knows
4. When the Stars Go Blue
5. Fix It
6. Let It Ride
7. Magick
8. Wonderwall
9. Come Pick Me Up
10. Grand Island (Neal Casal sings)
11. Meadowlake Street
12. Freeway to the Canyon (Neal Casal sings)
13. Oh My Sweet Carolina
14. Evergreen
15. The Rescue Blues
16. The Sun Also Sets
17. La Cienega Just Smiled
18. Natural Ghost
19. Goodnight Rose
20. Born Into a Light
21. A Kiss Before I Go
22. Easy Plateau
23. Bartering Lines
---------------------

[bold99]

boy, what a great show

opened with "I See Monsters," played nearly 2.5 hours with no break, and banter/crowd interaction was hilarious



Go see this tour if you can

I was there also...a friend and I just went down without tickets.  It was really funny hanging around scalpers for a hour or so.  We ran into the band at least 3 times, Ryan walked right past us and not a single person recognized him and the scalpers actually asked the band they were selling any tickets having absolutely no idea that they were the band.  I thought that was hilarious.  about 5 minutes before the show we got some one to sell us great seats at face value.  Monsters opener was amazing...came out with a blast....whole show was awesome.  I don't think i've ever seen Ryan is such a great mood.  The whole band was having a blast.  I loved the band intro songs and the Banter.  Highlights for me were Fix it and a killer Peaceful Valley Jam...Wonderwall was also great...I love that version, the buildup in that song is amazing the way he does it.  Great Show.

wow--that's a great setlist...that's similar to the others and the one from the last Boston show, right? down in a hole as a closer is great! i'd love to hear him do la cienega...does he ever do that? i'm jealous. i bet homeboy is in LOVE again that's why he's happy.

Set was a little different than the last Boston show...no Cold Roses or Magnolia Mountain although we were right next to the sound guy and I think they were supposed to play MM but they had a curfew.  I think this show was better than the last one.  The new songs sounded great.  He played La Cienga in New Haven.

[bold99]

Review of the Boston show...I really hope that he reconsiders the Cardinals...this is one great band.

Adams engages rock fans
By Christopher Blagg
Sunday, February 22, 2009 - Added 41m ago



Being blissfully in love rarely bodes well for an artist. Rejection and loneliness prove much better feeding grounds for great songs and performances. When recent reports surfaced of quixotic rocker Ryan Adams becoming happily engaged to singer/ actress Mandy Moore, fans girded themselves for the worst. Seems their fears were unfounded.

In front of a rhapsodic capacity crowd at the Orpheum Saturday night, Adams put on a veritable tour-de-force of a show, easily putting to rest the happiness-makes-for-mediocrity myth.

When the occasionally petulant, oft-irascible and always unpredictable singer-songwriter comes to town, it is anyone's guess what kind of show will go down. On this night his mood was obvious from the start, as an energized and incredibly lively Adams tore into songs with the excitement of a giddy adolescent. At the end of tunes such as the rumbling country-rock of "Let It Ride" and the riff-laden, slightly funky "Fix It," the singer punctuated the songs with vigorous, non-ironic fist pumps.


Perhaps his excitement stemmed from having such an incredibly tight and inventive backing band, the foursome ably turning on a dime at the wishes of their frontman. From the straight-up roadhouse honky-tonk of "A Kiss Before I Go" to the Grateful Dead-inspired psychedelic jam of "Easy Plateau" to a sublime, stripped down interpretation of Oasis' "Wonderwall," the Cardinals proved to be as pliable and generous as any songwriter could wish for.

All that being said, it was Adams, with his remarkably emotive voice and dazzling melodic gifts, for whom the crowd (a unique mix of indie hipsters and wayward hippies) saved all their whoops and hollers. For his part, Adams was on his best behavior - no fan taunting, moody rambling or awkward rants to be found.

Second set highlights included the punkabilly rave-up of "Shakedown on 9th Street," the pedal-steel accented, harmony-soaked "Oh My Sweet Carolina" and a faithful closing cover of Alice In Chains' grungy screamer "Down in a Hole." It was truly an exceptional show, Adams perhaps making up for past concert indiscretions.

In a strange twist, earlier this year Adams hinted on a blog that he was thinking of taking an extended hiatus from the Cardinals and music altogether (with Mandy Moore playing the Yoko role?). You have to think that after this show he's reconsidering that wisdom.

RYAN ADAMS & THE CARDINALS

At the Orpheum, Saturday night.

[tower]

I'm looking forward to the Louisville show!  Been a couple years since I've seen him.

[ALady]

"I See Monsters" is a killer opener.  So geeked for Saturday!

[bold99]

"I See Monsters" is a killer opener.  So geeked for Saturday!

That song killed as an opener.  Totally came out with a bang.  I can't believe he hasn't recorded that.

[ALady]

It's on Love Is Hell Part 2.

[el_chode]

I was at the Wellmont last night, also it was my first Ryan Adams show.

A few comments:

- Expected it to be very serious, was more than impressed with his playful nature and energy when NOT playing songs
- Even the slow songs had energy you could feel
- The non-slow songs were unreal
- Extremely professional
- Incredible sounding
- I had no idea they jammed out
- The crowd left early for some reason
- Probably because I've never seen such an old crowd full of old oldsters. It made a Wilco show look like Warped Tour
- Wow

[classicrocker623]

Went to Boston show, was floored, ALMOST gave me the feeling of a Jacket show. It cannot be stressed enough how tight the band is, and Ryan's voice sounds the best it ever has.  The guitar interplay between Neal and Ryan was nothing short of magical.  One minute, I thought I was at a Dead show, the next it felt like Jacket magic.  The way they expand all their already awesome studio recordings into full-fledged jammy rockers is brilliant. It would be a real shame for him to quit while at the top of his game, even if it is just to love Mandy the sweet sweet way she deserves. Highly recommend seeing him to any Jacket fan, this could be the last chance you get ahhhhhhhhh

[bold99]

It's on Love Is Hell Part 2.

Oh yeah I always forget about those albums.

[bold99]

Went to Boston show, was floored, ALMOST gave me the feeling of a Jacket show. It cannot be stressed enough how tight the band is, and Ryan's voice sounds the best it ever has.  The guitar interplay between Neal and Ryan was nothing short of magical.  One minute, I thought I was at a Dead show, the next it felt like Jacket magic.  The way they expand all their already awesome studio recordings into full-fledged jammy rockers is brilliant. It would be a real shame for him to quit while at the top of his game, even if it is just to love Mandy the sweet sweet way she deserves. Highly recommend seeing him to any Jacket fan, this could be the last chance you get ahhhhhhhhh

Funny you say that about a Dead show.  My friend who I went with and who I to Dead and Dead related shows with said the same thing.  Also have you noticed that the Peaceful Valley Jam sounds remarkably like "The Other One" Jam the Dead do?  There was also a jam at the end of Goodnight Rose where they got all spacey and I could've sworn they were going into Terrapin Station.  I'd love for Ryan to do some of the Dead stuff he used to do like Wharf Rat and Bird Song...but anyway the Boston show was amazing.

show is up on the archive btw..  http://www.archive.org/details/cardinals2009-02-21.akg391.flac16