So we're off to see the Wizard - well not really but we are at least seeing where he lives. It is Monday night in London which is a day off for the Wizard of Oz musical and a perfect opportunity for someone else to use the Palladium theatre for musical entertainment. Enter stage right Mr Ryan Adams - the alt-rocking, cat loving native of North Carolina.
Ryan pretty much hits London in some shape or form a couple of times a year. The last time I caught him was at Cadogan Hall following the release of his latest album Ashes & Fire and it was a pretty decent solo performance so the bar has been set pretty high.
I am quite surprised about how good my seats are - I have never been to this venue before and, generally speaking, the balconies in London's theatres overhang the back of the stalls. Tonight my seats are in the first row of the lower balcony which I notice overhangs the stalls around the 12th row - result!
The other thing I take note of (given that I am going to see Chris Cornell here in June) is that there is a big gap between the stage and the first seats in the stalls due to the orchestra pit. The result is a bit of a reduction in the intimacy between the artist and the audience but this is what happens when you play venues which are purpose built for musicals as opposed to music.
The opener for tonight is Jason Roberts who declares that he is from Glasgow, Scotland. His set can be described as a number of Scottish tomes set to music which are not necessarily in themselves very musical. They involve tuneless songs of very long stanzas which use phrases like "my bonnie lassie" and which are accompanied by an acoustic guitar which is pretty much made to sound like a lute - man just lose the capo and lute up - it will be a lot more interesting!
Ryan comes on at 8.30pm on the dot -he is just so punctual now! His weapons of choice consist of the twin tricolour guitars, a piano and trusty harmonica. There is a seat with a mic and also a standing position with an additional mic and I always wonder if Ryan's seated posture (which looks completely uncomfortable) just can't be sustained for the whole show :)
He starts with Heartbreaker track Oh My Sweet Carolina. This song is a favourite of mine and it's more than enough to focus the audience's attention. I anticipate that Ryan will be swinging between old and new material tonight and the second track (being the title track from Ashes & Fire) confirms this.
Ryan is a great lyricist, but any punter attending his show needs to be aware that Ryan's muse is pretty much permanently stuck in a dimension which caters for what Ryan himself describes as "miserable bastard music". It doesn't make it any less appealing to me, but then I'm happy to get my misery guts on when required.
Ryan gives us a gorgeous Dirty Rain and Winding Wheel and then heads to the piano for Rescue Blues. Knowing that the subject matter is a little dreary Ryan manages expectations by introducing the next song (Please Do Not Let Me Go) as "another basket of fucking sunshine". Well at least he's got a sense of humour about his misery!
Firecracker - a song apparently about a guy getting drunk and trying to touch someone's boobs - is next. He is in very good form and sounds fantastic and the audience are enthralled.
Of particular comment is his harmonica skills. During Why Do they Leave? the sound resonates throughout the theatre. It's such a small but underrated instrument - tonight it is clear that in the right hands it can really pack a punch.
We then come to the point in the night where Ryan's posture needs correction. He's had enough of his seated Grandpa pose and makes a production of moving all his shit from the chair over to his standing position. We then are treated to a rousing English Girls Approximately - yeah now we are vaguely rocking!
A few songs later Ryan is back over at the piano heading into my personal highlight of the evening which I will call 'Ode to Mr Cat'. Ryan is a big cat-lover (just check out his twitter account) and frankly hearing his off the cuff scat to his 'soft as fuck incorporated' cat makes me wish I could have my own little fluff-ball. It really is funnier than it sounds!
After this brief PC (Pussy Cat) interlude we are hurled back into the joys of Ryan's great back catalog with New York, New York. I said shit, this is a good song - and it doesn't lose anything with this performance.
From the well worn and remembered, Ryan then gets out the cheat sheet (allegedly because he has 'filled up his RAM with bullshit') for Cold Roses tune When Will You Come Home. That one is even better than its predecessor. Stripping everything from these songs other than his voice and guitar really showcases the depth of Ryan's songwriting skills - and yeah he has been known to let his ego get the better of him on occasion (both on and off stage) but if he was to be judged on the music alone it would be hard not to put him up there with some of the best.
'The crazy man with his fucking depressing songs' ends the main set with one of his signatures - Come Pick Me Up. It feels like we're the obedient pet and we've been given a treat - I don't care I'm gonna take it!
Ryan comes on for the encore and declares that at least he is going to leave here happy and launches into Bob Mould's Black Sheets of Rain. It's a one song encore but we really don't need anymore than what Ryan has dished out. The Wizard has conquered the Palladium again - nice one Ryan - see ya next time!
Set list:
Oh My Sweet Carolina
Ashes & Fire
If I Am A Stranger
(Ryan Adams & The Cardinals cover)
Dirty Rain
My Winding Wheel
The Rescue Blues
Please Do Not Let Me Go
Do I Wait
Firecracker
Everybody Knows
Sweet Lil' Gal (23rd/1st)
Why Do They Leave?
English Girls Approximately
Chains Of Love
16 Days
(Whiskeytown song)
New York, New York
When Will You Come Back Home
(Ryan Adams & The Cardinals cover)
Lucky Now
Come Pick Me Up
Encore:
Black Sheets Of Rain
(Bob Mould cover)
No comments:
Post a Comment