Tour blurb:
"Multi-Grammy nominated, singer-songwriter Ryan Adams is coming to Glasgow Royal Concert Hall as part of a long-awaited return to the UK.
The concert will feature Ryan, his guitars and a piano in an acoustic tour-de-force – playing songs across his awe-inspiring catalogue. During Spring 2022’s East-Coast US run, he performed a stunning 168 songs over five nights in shows that averaged two hours and forty minutes.
Alone on the stage, this show will be an intimate showcase of Ryan’s lifelong dedication to songwriting in which his abilities are highly adored by artistic peers and cherished fans alike. Bewitching vocals and captivating guitar playing-combined with a new setlist at each show - ensure that this performance will be a truly unique and unmissable occasion for all of those who appreciate the craft and performance of Adams’ unique soulfulness."
I must confess, I didn't know much about Ryan Adams before this gig. A mate offered me a free ticket and I accepted. I didn't spend much time familiarising myself with his work, bar a couple of streams of one of his live albums. I was going in cold.
I knew from the spiel that it was going to be a long show with no support act. Just him, his guitars, a harmonica and a piano. The staging was stripped back too: a few rugs, his instruments, a chair, a piano stool, a couple of tables and some side and standard lamps to provide illumination. It gave the impression he was busking in his living room.
Beforehand we didn't know what time he was coming on stage. The ticket said 7pm, the website said 7.30 pm and it was only when we arrived that we discovered it was 8pm. Which gave us plenty of time to people-watch in the foyer beside the upstairs bar.
The venue operates a £1 deposit system for the cups. A senior team member put up a couple of posters indicating refunds would only be made in the Exhibition Room after the show. This did not deter one female customer who insisted on receiving hers there and then, having finished her drink. This prompted my mate to chance his arm for his refund too. The staff member was quite prickly with him but, as she'd just set a precedent previously, she relented but only after moaning at him that she wasn't supposed to do it because they were too busy (as the other three bartenders stood idly by, awaiting business).
Inside the auditorium, my mate got chatting with the elderly man beside him, who expressed a deep love for Ryan's music, going way back. The man mentioned that his wife, beside him, also loved Ryan. I didn't realise how pickled the pair were until Ryan started playing and she attempted to sing along, neither knowing the words nor able to hold a tune. At one point, as Ryan tuned his guitar, she even attempted to match the notes, sounding like a discordant echo.
The man was just as bad. His confidence was bolstered early on when he shouted out during a quiet moment, "How you doin'?" to which Ryan replied, "Good...bit busy...I'm at my work," which raised a titter from the audience. After that, the man couldn't shut up, either droning along to the songs or engaging his wife in conversation like they were watching him at home. This wouldn't have been a problem at most gigs, but this one was so intimate that everyone in our block could hear them. They were spoiling the experience.
At the intermission, the pair got up to visit the loo and, in her marinated state, the woman took a tumble, bouncing off the back of the seats in front, landing at my feet with a thump. I didn't help her up, partly because I didn't know if she was injured and partly because it was self-inflicted. She must have hurt herself though because the pair didn't return for the second half. This was probably a good thing, not just for our sanity. I doubt she could have managed the stairs again in a downward direction without a gravity-assisted visit to the stalls (we were up on a side balcony).
(After the show, an usher immediately scoured the row and located the woman's mobile phone. Why pay for tickets for an artist you admire and then get so inebriated you lose your phone and miss half the show? It doesn't make sense to me!).
During the interval, I heard a familiar voice and discovered a former colleague was sitting with some friends in the row in front. He's a huge Adams fan and was most annoyed by the couple's constant noise. They were considering a move to another location like others had done to get away from them (the gig wasn't a sellout so there were a few spaces). That sounded like a great idea so we did it too, transferring to seats in the row behind further along, not knowing at the time that the couple weren't coming back.
Although most of the set sounded similar to me, not knowing the songs, I did enjoy Ryan's cover versions, particularly Wasted Years, originally by Iron Maiden (his version of Powerslave seemed an odd choice to play acoustically). I appreciated Ryan's humour and the way he interacted with the audience. When someone shouted out while he was talking to the audience, he shouted over him, apologising for shouting over him, repeating the apology every time the man spoke until he finally got the message. I warmed to Ryan's relaxed charm. He's good company and gave good value with a set that lasted nearly three hours (including intermission).
Did I enjoy it? Yes. He is a talented musician and songwriter.
Would I go back? Probably not (unless he was performing a set of heavy metal covers - that I'd pay to see).
Ticket Price: £50.40.
Setlist
Set 1:
Oh My Sweet Carolina
Ashes & Fire
Everybody Knows
16 Days (Whiskeytown song)
The Rescue Blues
My Winding Wheel
Dear Chicago
Dirty Rain
Two
New York, New York (On piano)
Answering Bell
Trouble
Why Do They Leave?
La Cienega Just Smiled
Some Might Say (Oasis cover)
Gimme Something Good
Wasted Years (Iron Maiden cover)
Powerslave (Iron Maiden cover)
Set 2:
To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High)
When the Stars Go Blue
To Be Without You
My Wrecking Ball
Am I Safe
Firecracker
Prisoner
Carolina Rain
The End (Ryan Adams & the Cardinals song)
Lovesick Blues (Elsie Clark cover)
English Girls Approximately
Don't You (Forget About Me) (Simple Minds cover)
Kim
Outbound Train
Cast No Shadow (Oasis cover)
Come Pick Me Up
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| He's waving goodnight, not doing a highland fling. |
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| The queue for cup refunds snaked around the hall. It looked like a few thrifty scavengers were trying to recoup the cost of their ticket |
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