Ryan Adams and The Cardinals
Her Majesty's Theatre
Wed 22 August


Prior to chatting with Adams before his tour, I must admit his reputation for fickle behaviour had made me feel a bit nervous; yet I was soon set at ease by his honesty. On that occasion, high upon the agenda were media hype and his wish to just be a member of a band rather than being singled out for individual criticism - be it good or bad.

And it is his wish to be just another band member, which may explain what to some - members of the media included - may be read as diffident or difficult behaviour. Firstly it should be noted that for Adams, the music holds never than less a number one position and towards this, the band was presented towards the back of the stage and with muted and dark lighting. Some may complain that it was difficult to see him and his fellow musicians, though of course he can equally argue it's the music that's important here. Similarly co-guitarist Neil Casal talked more to the audience than Ryan who'd come down with a fever and therefore decided to play through - without interval - so he could get off stage earlier. However it should be noted that none of this interfered with the musical integrity of the show.

From the opening Goodnight Rose (the only selection from the new album, 'Easy Tiger'), it was immediately apparent we were witnessing a unique songwriter and vocalist at the peak of his powers with equally great and supportive musicians who were more prepared to let the music do the talking than engage in banter with the audience. Regardless of Adams' malaise, he consistently turned out strong and affecting vocal performance and with Casal, several long yet inspired guitar jams that were equally inspired by the Dead and Neil Young. Here was a performance totally directed by the musicians rather than plugging the latest disc.

So if you were expecting to hear favourites from 'Gold' and the new one, you may have been somewhat disappointed. Yet, the audience was happy with what Adams delivered. There was one track from 'Gold' (Wild Flower), an impressive take on Love Is Hell's I See Monsters as well as a few tracks from the underrated double album 'Cold Roses' including the Grateful Dead influenced Magnolia Mountain and the title track. Like Bob Dylan, here was an artist who consistently changed his repertoire nightly, though I guess you could credibly ask where were the piano based ballads and acoustic numbers? But Ryan Adams obviously takes no prisoners and holds high confidence in his abilities - regardless of the more regular dictates demanded by major record companies and the fans.

Brett Allen-Bayes

Pix: Tanya Jenko