Well, it's not often I say this, but wow, I did not enjoy tonight's show.
Ryan Adams's Gold got me through some difficult times, namely the great breakup(s) of 2001. Of couse, that period of my life is way behind me now, but the album and Adams's work still means a lot to me so I was excited to see him and the Cardinals perform at the Kool Haus.
I don't think been to the Kool Haus since Coldplay performed there when Parachutes first came out in 2000. (Or was it when Soul Decision and Prozzak played CMW?) I remember when I was 13 and the building was known as the RPM/Warehouse and my friend Kira would have birthday parties there and we'd get to Rollerblade all around in circles. Things are different from those skating days. The graffiti is gone, now replaced by stainless steel accents and fancy orange lighting. Pop is now $4.
The sound was good at the Haus. Even though we were standing right by the speakers, Adams sounded crystal clear. He even played for two hours, cigarette in hand and a bottle of red wine nearby. Still, despite Adams's rock star cliches and his strong vocals, I was bored out of my mind.
For the love of live music, play something we know. I'm not asking for the singles, I'm a fan who owns all the albums except for Heartbreaker, I would like to hear a few more familiar songs. But instead, he pretty much only played songs from Cold Roses — the album released today — and other unreleased songs.
Soon after the intermission he began playing a mellowed out version of "New York" which brought on the loudest cheers of the night, but before he could finish the first chorus, he motioned for the band to stop and complained that his guitar was out of tune. So what does he do after the guitar situation is resolved? He skips "New York" entirely and goes on to play another one no one knows.
So there it goes, my precious $40 down the drain. Yeah, he encored with "Sylvia Plath" and his cover of "Wonderwall" but it was too little, too late. Ryan Adams and I are breaking up and there ain't no sad song needed.
