Ryan Adams and The Cardinals, Royce Hall, Wed. Jan 30 2008
Synopsis: Wednesday night at Royce Hall, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals turned in a great show, disappointing only in its lack of antics, breakdowns, and audience harassment. The show was comprised of two parts, the first being a mostly upbeat collection of Cardinals tunes (heavy on Easy Tiger), with a few old Ryan Adams songs (heavy on Heartbreaker), one Oasis cover and an impromptu faux-metal riff called “Sarcophagus.” After a brief intermission, the band returned for a second set of longer songs that included jam interludes, and one song featuring Neil Casal of the Cardinals on lead vocals. No encore, but the set was long enough not to warrant one.
Audience looked like: KCRW fundraiser date night. Not quite Silverlake, not quite Venice, the crowd was late-20s to mid/late-30s, co-ed, white, happy to be there. Notable exceptions included dad with approximately 8 year old daughter in front of me, and old dude in Canadian tuxedo with long white hair and matching beard.
High points: Every song was really great. The guy may be a nutjob but he certainly is talented. I am a fan since the Heartbreaker days, but this was my first time seeing him live and I was very impressed. The set (background of cacti and light-induced sunsets) was appropriate, and they covered a lot of material.
Low points: Bad banter all around. Too much of it, nothing was funny. But, as previously mentioned, no one entered a downward spiral ending in prematurely leaving the stage, so it was not a deal-breaker. Also, the two screaming girls sitting directly behind me.
Personal hero: Whoever managed to smoke a joint undetected in Royce, where everyone was seated the entire show and there were a lot of ushers and security guards moving around. Covert!
By the numbers:
References to Jessica Joffe: 1 to an ex-girlfriend with an English accent, 1 song (“Goodnight Rose”) dedicated to unemployed Stanford grads.
References to Adam Levine of Maroon 5 wearing a vest with no shirt underneath: 1
My friends said: one thought it was great, two really liked it but were very tired by the end (3 hours sitting in an auditorium on a Wednesday night will do that to you), and one liked it ‘til he made a crack at Josh Ritter.
FURTHER READING
» Ryan Adams Does Not Suck At Wilshire Theatre
Hey! I am so glad that my boyfriend and I are considered a “personal hero” for being undetected with the joint. Considering that I had bought the worst seats (that were off to the left side of the stage) that went right next to the EXIT sign–we left those seats for better and got kicked out of each of those. In consequence we decided to stand in one the aisles light up the joint and drink the rest of the Natty Ices that we brought along. The concert was awesome and we have been waiting to see Ryan Adams and the Cardinals for about two years now.
It’s awesome to be a “personal hero” for someone who has been mine for so long…
I was at night two and the experience was quite similar. Had an absolute blast regardless of the shows being held at Royce. Not that I have a problem with the place, but it’s just not a good setting for a band as musically diverse as Ryan Adams and the Cardinals. A solo show…sure, but when one wants to rock out, one cannot while sitting in a seat.
We still did the best we could, though.
I am almost positive the two screaming girls were my friend and I. ummm, excuse me. We were are a CONCERT, not the Walt Disney Concert Hall watching an operatic performance. He is a genius and I am SO glad we moved to the very back where we could stand and appreciate the show!
I found the banter to be hilarious, but I’m a fan of the absurd. I’d buy a DVD of Ryan Adams talking about how he appreciates women’s fall fashions and his opinions on houses painted Kelly green. The man is floating in a stream of consciousness and who are we to tip his raft.
It is awesome to hear Ryan was consistent over the two nights. I have been a fan since Heartbreaker and have seem him a number of times in various locales with various results. I didn’t see him this time around, however, based on the strength of Easy Tiger, one can only hope he will continue to record and play live long into the future.
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