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Ryan Adams is inconsistent in what seems to be most areas of his life. He takes chances with his music, and it usually bodes well for him and his fans. But when you catch him live, you never know which Adams you’re going to get. You might be able to tell just by reading his blog beforehand, when it hasn’t been deleted. Of course, if it has been, which is the case right now, you can suspect it’s not going to be a show full of laughs and wicked jams.

A dishelved Adams and his fine Cardinals took the stage to a half empty (or half full, depending on how you look at it) crowd at the John Labatt Centre in London, ON. Right off the bat I could sense their chemistry was off. For the first few tracks I felt like they were not only warming up to crowd, but also themselves. They continued through their set, which at times included eight minute interludes which demonstrated their tightness as a band (ZzzzZZzzzZ but come on, I didn’t come to see a jam session). Meanwhile, Adams hadn’t looked up once, nor did he say who they were.

Beer-guzzling Londoners just looking to hear “What’s The Story, Morning Glory?” must have been puzzled as to who these guys on stage were, because Adams didn’t address it, nor did a banner. I could hear a girl behind me say “Um, this guy is so weird, like, he hasn’t said a word.” I agreed with that sentiment; he was being weird. He powered through his songs, and as more extended interludes continued, I realized that not only did he not want to be on that stage, but he didn’t really want to sing either. Or that’s at least how it seemed.

Being an Adams superfan, I was disappointed with the setlist and its lack of variety. He mainly stuck to his last two records, except when he surprised me with When The Stars Goe Blue and Let It Ride, the latter being the only top 10 Adams song of mine that he played.

So here is their setlist…

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, December 15, 2008 @ John Labatt Centre, London
Cobwebs
Crossed Out Name
Everybody Knows
When The Stars Go Blue
Off Broadway
Fix It
Goodnight Rose
Let It Ride
Natural Ghost
Magik

Now, here is the list I could have only dreamed of hearing. Of course I understand they were playing an arena show, so some of the quieter songs maybe wouldn’t have filled the room as well. I also recognize the fact that it wasn’t their show and they were playing to a tough crowd that obviously wanted to rock out. I didn’t hate their song selection, I just didn’t love it as I usually do. I just figured if Wilco could have ripped shit up at the ACC the week before, playing a variety of their songs before opening for Neil Young, Adams and his Cardinals could have done the same before Oasis. Where was the passion?

Dance All Night
Go Easy
Let it Ride
The Hardest Part
Tennessee
Halloweenhead
Come Pick Me Up
Oh My God, Whatever, Etc.
Winding Wheel
Dear Chicago
To Be Young
I See Monsters
Anybody Wanna Take Me Home
Blossom
Beautiful Sorta
World War 24
Easy Plateau
Down In A Hole
A Kiss Before I Go
Woderwall
Goodnight Hollywood Blvd.

For me, and other friends that caught the show, he really missed the mark. I received one text after the set reading “Adams sucked, eh?” Well, not exactly. When he did sing, he was perfect, just as the band was. He wasn’t drunk, thus forgetting lyrics, as he has done in the past, and he played for a solid hour. So, it wasn’t a complete waste to drive 2 1/2 hours from Toronto to catch them play, but it did leave me wondering if he is OK. It’s no secret Adams suffers from depression, and I won’t speculate as to whether or not that played a role in the odd hour I witnessed. But I will speculate that perhaps something went awry prior to the show to put him in such a mood that caused him to throw off his guitar and storm off the stage the second he played his last note.

And let’s discuss the obvious: Wonderwall. Adams was nominated for a Grammy for his amazing cover of the Oasis song, so of course, wouldn’t it makes sense for the two acts to come together and play it, as an unusual treat to fans of both acts? Adams didn’t dare touch the song, and I suppose if I were playing before Oasis, I might want to avoid it as well. Still though, I can’t help but think it would have been a high point of my year in concerts.

Adams, if you’re reading this, I kind of expect a higher caliber of performance when I come to see you play. I’m not really pissed that you played a somewhat boring set, I’m upset that you made me feel like I did something wrong by wanting to see you play. As Jennifer Aniston says, that’s kind of uncool.

Posted on Tuesday, December 16th, 2008 at 11:45 am by antonella and is filed under Concerts & Events.

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