I’ve never been the biggest Ryan Adams fan. That being said I do like a few of his songs a WHOLE lot. These include “To Be Young”, “Stars Go Blue”, “New York, New York”, and a couple off of his new album “Prisoner” and “Do You Still Love Me”.
I didn’t know what to expect but my buddy Kyle bought me a ticket on pre-sale and for 45 bucks it seemed totally worth it. The venue was Paramount which is an absolutely amazing venue. Trust me, you smoke some weed or do some shrooms before you go and you’re gonna be staring at the ceiling wonder where the hell you are. The architecture is so amazing you may think you’re in a Catholic Church.
One downside to the venue is the drinking situation. You can only drink outside the concert hall. This means your forced to make awkward talk with strangers while shoved together like cattle, or make awkward talk with your friends while shoved together. That being said, drinks aren’t overly expensive (Here’s looking at you Moore Theater).
We came in the theater a bit earlier than I’m used to to get a good spot. I was up towards the left of the stage. Ryan Adams came out and kicked it off with “Do You Still Love Me?”. Honestly I was immediately blown away. For one he started with one of my favorite songs and for two the musicianship was out of this world. The backdrop was killer and everyone was singing along. After that badass song he went into “To Be Young”, so basically just a 10 out of 10 for getting the show going.
The next songs were all songs I knew, although I can’t remember the order exactly. It was neat seeing it live because he’s one of the few acts that sounds better live. He plays it different as well which I’ve always admired because if I wanted to hear it like it is off of the album, I’d just listen to the damn album. One song that stick out to me is an amazing rendition of Prisoner. It had a softer start than normal and then evolved into a straight up rocker with some killer guitar.
My favorite part of the show was when he completely improvised a new song in front of the huge crowd. He was singing about if Bruce Springsteen sang his autobiography through the teleprompter. It sounds confusing, and it is…but it was so good. I’m going to attach a link to the video here for you to watch. You gotta see this. Moments like this are so memorable, and truly make Ryan Adams a must see live show.
After that awesome break it was back to more hits. He ended the show with “Come Pick Me Up” which he apparently wrote in a closet at the Tractor Tavern in Seattle. How cool is that?
Anyways thats my summary of the show. I’ve had a great year of seeing shows, on top of many other great years, and this song will always stick out in my mind. All in all a great experience, and it’s definitely made me much more of a fan.
Peace and Love and Ryan Adams. Take Care!