Saturday, 29 Sep 2007
Set List: Goodnight Rose/Games/Wildflowers/Peaceful Valley/Cold Roses/Everybody Knows/Rescue Blues/Two/Mockingbird Song/What Sin/Beautiful Sorta/Dear John/A Kiss Before I Go/The End/Freeway to the Canyon/Bartering Lines/When The Stars Go Blue
Encore: Sylvia Plath (solo piano)
Professional, jovial, talkative; three words I doubted I’d be using to describe last night’s Grateful Dead Ryan Adams concert at the Barrymore Theatre. After hearing mixed reviews about this week’s show in Milwaukee and then reading about the so called “meltdown” that occurred two nights ago in Minneapolis, it’s safe to say that everyone walking through the doors last night was anxious to see what the night would hold.
Not surprisingly there are two sides to every story, and the first evidence of Ryan’s point of view came shortly after “Cold Roses” when someone in the audience yelled, “Thanks for coming to Madison,” to which Ryan replied, “It’s great to be here, you have no idea.” That’s not to say that the sound crew has worked out the kinks that are the crutch of his unhappiness lately, during “Two” Ryan supplanted the lyrics, “No good ever comes from it, honest” with, “If we had good sound guys, we could play a good show, I promise.”
From a fans perspective the sound was brilliant all night, and a big thank you to everyone in the crowd. There was no shouting during or after songs, which I think goes a long long way into getting the best out of Ryan Adams these days. It’s nice to know that at his next stop he won’t be referring to us as a “beer hut” like the previous night’s venue in Minneapolis.
There were plenty of highlights of the show (and no, seeing Mandy Moore in the bathroom doesn’t make the list) including a beautiful version of “Rescue Blues” off of Gold, and a smoking and very dead-influenced version of “What Sin.” A lot of people (ourselves included) were pleased with the decision to end the set with “When Stars Go Blue,” only to be topped by a delicate solo version of “Silvia Path” for a fitting and lovely ending for the two-hour show.
We happily dropped down $20 for a great Oscar Mayer Wienermobile inspired concert poster that will serve as a nice memento of a night that is definitely worth remembering.
Myspace: Ryan Adams
September 29th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Mandy Moore was picked up at the airport this afternoon.
September 29th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Rescue Blues is off Gold fwiw
glad your show was great and glad i didn’t bother with the Mpls show (which the State Theatre is SO not a “Beer Hut” sorry Ryan
September 29th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
How do you know that?
September 29th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
The crowd was completely annoying with how many of them got up to get drinks the entire set. This was a concert not a bar and I don’t think a lot of people understood that. I don’t blame him for leaving early.
September 29th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
please tell me that last post was a joke.
September 30th, 2007 at 10:19 am
I was at the Milwaukee show and feel cheated .Not only was the sound not all that great but I found a picture of his original setlist where he was to play “Amy” and “O My Sweet Carolina” but decided to be a baby and skip them I suppose when people were shouting. It’s a concert…that’s what you’re suppose to do. Plus hearing “Sylvia Plath” live would have made my night.
September 30th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
So glad to hear it.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:56 pm
To Julie: “Shouting” is “what you’re supposed to do” at a Ryan Adams concert? I really, truly don’t think so. Perhaps you should stick to Nickelback and Britney Spears. You get what you get with Ryan, and it certainly does not help to antagonize him. The babies at Milwaukee were mostly in the crowd…