Clearly, a cleaned-up Ryan is a more reliable Ryan, which is certainly a good thing. That reality makes me feel even worse about making this observation: This show was almost too flawless. Though the previous enfant terrible’s clearer headspace no doubt played a big part, what impressed me the most were the Cardinals, his long-running backing band. Hell, I’d go to a show just to watch them. Effortlessly improvising while gracefully and methodically warming up the room with each of the set’s 18 songs, the five players seemed to be operating as part of the same central nervous system. Witnessing a band communicate so seamlessly was impressive, right down to the atmospherics they conjured to smooth over Adams’ multiple tuning breaks.
It was a restrained, tantrum-free affair overall, with subtle lighting changes throughout the set and an affable and uncharacteristically quiet Adams keeping the between-song banter to a minimum, save for a few missives directed at noisy audience members and a brief discussion of the Moore Theatre’s supposedly haunted history. The simply dressed stage was augmented by a solitary jack-o’-lantern, a teasing prop that seemed to indicate that we would eventually be treated to “Halloween Head,” one of <i>Easy Tiger</i>’s more raucous numbers. No dice—in fact, the offerings from that record were puzzling. With the exception of the brazenly <i>Harvest</i>-influenced “I Taught Myself How to Grow Old,” Adams skipped over most of the album’s strongest tracks, including “Rip Off,” “Two Hearts,” and “Goodnight Rose.” The emphasis instead was on the <i>Cold Roses</i> and <i>Jacksonville City Nights</i> era, which seemed to please the reverent audience but sorta started putting me to sleep. Too bad, because if I had stuck around for the encore, I would have heard him do a cover of Alice in Chains’ “In the Hole,” which was, by all accounts, stunning. Unfortunately, when it became evident that he wasn’t going to share a single track from <i>Heartbreaker</i>, I began losing interest. All that said, I commend the kid for getting his act together, finally.
Ryan Adams and the Cardinals Friday, July 27 The Moore Theatre
Set list:
Games Please Do Not Let Me Go Magnolia Mountain Off Broadway Cold Roses Oh My God Whatever, Etc. The Sun Also Sets This Is It Nightbirds Easy Plateau I Taught Myself to Grow Old Wildflowers Carolina Rain What Sin Dear John Two
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