Thursday, January 26, 2012
Concert Review: Ryan Adams at the Ohio Theatre
Posted by Michael Gallucci on Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 8:37 AM
“My friend thinks you need to take it up a notch,” yelled a woman to Ryan Adams halfway through his set at Playhouse Square's Ohio Theatre last night.
What followed was a long, hilarious rant by Adams, who pointed out the obvious fact: if you wanted guitar solos, explosions, fancy lighting — or just drums, for that matter — you came to the wrong show.
It was an intimate performance, with just the singer-songwriter and no band, playing stripped-down versions of his songs on acoustic guitar and piano. Judging by the rest of the audience's reaction to the exchange, it was clear that most people were pretty content with the format.
It would be hard for anyone to argue how incredible the sound was in the theater. Every note and every detail of Adams' delicate voice was captured perfectly in the mix.
If you've ever been on the fence about Adams' vocal skills, last night's show would have convinced you that he's the real deal. It also helped that the concert was in such a classy joint, since there weren't any distractions to contend with. You could hear a pin drop in the place.
Adams played for two hours, covering a huge chunk of his solo catalog, plus a couple of tracks from his work with the Cardinals. While he did play a handful of cuts from his latest album, Ashes & Fire, the majority of the show focused on fan favorites.
Highlights included a reworked piano version of Gold's “New York, New York,” a haunting cover of Oasis' “Wonderwall” (from Love Is Hell), Cardinology's passionate “Crossed Out Name,” and terrific renditions of Heartbreaker's “Damn Sam (I Love a Woman That Rains)” and “Come Pick Me Up,” the concert's closer.
New material, like "Dirty Rain," was well-received too.
For a dude who writes some seriously sad lyrics, Adams exhibited a pretty good sense of humor onstage last night. Between songs, he'd often make self-deprecating jokes about the mood and tempo of his material.
He also played some impromptu jams about his cat to lighten up the mood. His personality was almost just as engaging as his music. That woman's friend was certainly mistaken: Adams' performance was nothing short of great. —Eddie Fleisher
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Comments (6)
Showing 1-6 of 6
Ugh. That woman was right. I had a great seat (5th row) and would consider myself a true fan but I had to leave. It was really dull.
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I enjoyed the show very much. The acoustics were just incredible, even the lead-in Jason Isbell commented "this place sounds amazing". I agree there were some people in the audience that came to see a different show, but I wasn't one of them. I loved the acoustic format and the concert. Ryan Adams is a true talent though admittedly a little eccentric and mercurial.
CLE used to rock obviously didn't deserve to even be in the same building as Ryan Adams - it's people like that who make me sick. I'm sure this idiot wanted too "dance" and act like an asshole and be loud and look at her (i'm guessing it was a chick) iPhone and take pics and text her stupid friends all night....Sooooo glad you left. Go listen to some corny no-talent pop music. It was a beautiful show and it's too bad you don't appreciate true artists at work. You're not a true fan. Please stay home the next time he comes to town. You are a disgrace.
Hey too cool, wanna-be hipster Ryan Wilkins, it was my opinion. I've seen him three times before and loved him. I just needed a little more...
You consider yourself a true Ryan Adams fan and you HAD to leave?!?!?!
You, sir, are not a true Ryan Adams fan. Did you only discover him in
the last two or three years? Even still...
This was Ryan Adams at his most Ryan Adams. This is the Ryan Adams
your slightly older cousin told you about. This was the Ryan Adams
every oldest Ryan Adams fan have been waiting to see again since the
early 2000's. This was Heartbreaker Ryan Adams.
This was easily one of the greatest performances I have ever seen and
probably ever will see.
I thought it was absolutely phenomenal, often i hear an artist that sounds great but i wonder if they really sound that good live, and this performance without a doubt even topped anything ive heard recorded. It was a very intimate show and i feel lucky to have been there.
