Something about Ryan Adams and his music brings out the stranger side in people. When he plays live this goes to the extreme. It’s difficult to pin down exactly why, but the best assumption is that acts like Conor Oberst, Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, and Ryan Adams (to name a few) have all written songs that their fans feel a strong sense of personal ownership over. Perhaps it’s the emotions of the lyrics they connect to or even nostalgia; whatever the cause may be, there sometimes comes a sense of entitlement that when your favorite artist is playing a show, he must be playing for only you and bowing to your every request. Ryan Adams spent a good portion of his sold out show in Austin on Thursday night exchanging banter with these fanatical, self-righteous fans, often speculating aloud as to why people feel the need to scream as loud and obnoxiously as possible for him to play this or that song.
For those of us who are of a sane and rational mind, it makes no sense why you would essentially heckle an artist you not only love dearly, but have dedicated time and money to seeing in the flesh. Remarkably, Adams didn’t let the overzealous fans get to him, and actually seemed to enjoy aiming jokes right back at them. These types of interactions created an interesting contrast between Adams and his band diving into emotional, heartfelt songs like “Dirty Rain” – which was catapulted into a new realm with a massive organ burst and group jam – and the Grateful Dead homage “Magnolia Mountain.”
Flanked by old school arcade games and his oversized Fender Princeton amp, Adams seemed to be set in an Eighties mentality, reworking songs like his alt-country standard “Let It Ride” and “This House is Not For Sale” to match the more Springsteen meets Bon Jovi meets Petty sound of newer songs like “Stay With Me.” Fittingly, he even dedicated the airy, atmospheric U2-esque “Shadows” to the hoverboard. In comparison, “New York, New York” – one of the songs that put Adams on the map – was played acoustically with hushed vocals that lacked the whimsical, poppy feel of the studio recording.
Between every song there were always the fans, most of whom felt the need to scream at Adams to play “Come Pick Me Up,” which is by no means his best song but seems to have struck a nerve with those who take pride in cheating on their partners and wallowing in bad relationships. Adams did ultimately give into the armchair groupies when he closed out the night with the tune. Chances are, this song would have come at or near the end of the show regardless of the fans interrupting every song to yell for it. Two attention-wanting fans were so loud that Adams jokingly suggested they should start a punk band together before dedicating new tune “My Wrecking Ball” to them. The band did showcase their tightness with explosive collective rocking on tunes like “Oh My Sweet Carolina” and “Trouble.”
Covering a range of material spanning his catalogue, Ryan Adams managed to still deliver the goods to the sold out crowd. Though it may not have topped his 3+ hour performance – which included an acoustic and electric set – on Austin City Limits the night before, even those who felt the need to annoyingly yell out song requests were left satisfied. Between the near constant press attention, willingness of fans to worship his every move, and his ability to continuously surprise with his music, Ryan Adams has become sort of the Jack White of Americana. It is a good thing that Adams has connected with larger audiences over the years and has created so many songs that resonate with legions of followers, but maybe next time he comes through Austin those followers can shut up and let the man play.
Photos by Arthur VanRooy