Sadly due to some technical snafu and an 11 o'clock curfew they did not play "Elizabeth You Were Born To Play the Part" or "Oh My Sweet Carolina" (which I would likely kill my own grandmother to hear live, were she not already dead), but one cannot really complain about a setlist that includes a nice mix of songs ranging from their latest to the depth of his catalog.
The audience likewise was magnificent - standing, shouting and singing a long with gusto. It is truly quite a scene to see several hundred people singing the chorus to "Come Pick Me Up." Well they were magnificent except for the douchebags directly behind me who couldn't help but make a loud running commentary on every song, and the couple directly in front of me who made out for the first set and then slipped away for their own bit of Magick at home, or the back seat of his car.
But I've vowed not to let the idiots ruin any more concerts, and I certainly didn't let them blow this one. For nearly 2 1/2 hours the Cardinals proved that when they are on, they are one of the greatest bands making music today. Shuffling from acoustic weepers like "Two" (it made my wife cry despite the motley room full of people) to gargantuan epic jams like "Goodnight Rose" they blew the roof of the Brady and reminded one fan of why he was there in the first place.
On 8:34PM
Let It Ride
Two
A Kiss Before I Go
Evergreen
Fix It
Peaceful Valley
Everybody Knows
Why Do They Leave?
Rescue Blues (Ryan on Piano Entire Song)
Cold Roses
Natural Ghost
--Set Break--
On 9:36PM
I See Monsters
Freeway to the Canyon
(Band Intros)
Goodnight Rose
Beautiful Sorta
Like Yesterday
Wonderwall
Born Into a Light
Come Pick Me Up
When the Stars Go Blue
(Evening Joke)
Grand Island
Games
Easy Plateau
Bartering Lines
Magick
Article comments
1 - Glen Boyd
I thought Ryan Adams said he was retiring....
-Glen
2 - Mat Brewster
He's finishing this tour, then retiring.
Then in 2010 he'll release 12 albums and play 300 gigs.
3 - MarkSaleski
i heard he's going to be doing some small club dates with joaquin phoenix.
4 - Mat Brewster
As a rap group no doubt.
5 - Glen Boyd
Ryan's definitely a crapshoot live. I saw him ome year where he was so screwed up he played songs twice after forgetting he'd already done them. Then he finally just gave up. Six months later I saw him with the Cardinals and he pretty much floored me...
-Glen
6 - Mat Brewster
I mentioned songs that didn't get played and I don't think I made it very clear as to how I knew they didn't get played. Someone saw the setlist and both "Carolina" and "Elizabeth" were on it. I had a picture of the setlist, but either Flickr or MT was giving me trouble and I couldn't make it appear in this post.
7 - Josh Hathaway
Not a bad set list although he missed a lot of what I'd call my personal favorites. I do love what he did with "Wonderwall." I wouldn't have minded hearing that one at all. That would have been a highlight. He's playing three or four shows in the area. I really need to try and hit one before he 'retires.'
8 - joe
whatup
9 - joe
San Antonio, March 4, 2009, 'Cryin' Ryan Adams. One of the worst shows I have ever seen by any artist - and Ive seen a whole lot of shows. Let me say I have been a huge Ryan Adams fan since Whiskeytown - hes in my top 5 fav artists. Ive seen him 5 times now. Yes, its aaalways a crapshoot, because hes such a self-centered, overly sensitive artist. There were technical problems after the 4th song. The show stopped for 20 minutes. They came back and sat on stools the rest of the show! Uninspired versions of almost every song. They sang about 15-17 songs, left the stage and NO ENCORE. What a little wuss. They played BORN INTO THE LIGHT twice!!! He gets soooo upset over just a very, very few people in the crowd who say stupid stuff. Hey Ryan, what about the 99% of the fans there who love and support you - you little crybaby. Approx an 1 1/2 hr. show. Good riddance to your touring. I will stick to my cd's and never pay to see him again. His shows pale in comparison to Jeff Tweedy's/Wilco shows.
10 - joe
Oh, forgot. A fan yelled "Magick" like 3-4 times and Ryan yells back "how bout I play what I want!". Love his recordings, but have lost all respect for him as did everyone I went with. Was gonna buy his book, but have totally lost interest in the dysfunctional little boy.
11 - Tyler
I saw the same show in San Antonio on March 4th and thought it was a great show. Ryan Adams does have an inner ear problem and that could have been the technical problem. I did enjoy the pre-technical problem songs better than the post-techical problem songs, but my wife said the opposite. I was bummed about the no encore, but he played for almost 2.5 hours. With regards to the people shouting out in the audience, I thought he had fun with it. I never thought he was mad. I personally was getting tired of all the shouting though. I was surronded by people who couldn't put away their cell phones and had were talking way too loud due to having too much to drink. All in all, I thought it was a great show.
12 - joe
Tyler - I agree that the 'fans' there were disrespectful. Glad you enjoyed the show. San Antonio is not known as a great music town for sure (sorry if youre from there..:). And, yes, people all around me on the 4th row were talking, texting, yelling. At least noone yelled "Summer of 69!". Thank God. I love Ryan, but he is so fragile. In the last several months I have seen modest mouse, lucinda williams, wilco, tv on the radio...and those shows kicked a$$. I had high expectations from seeing the last several setlists. In many of the January/February shows thay were playing like 25 songs and a few times TWO ENCORES. Anyway, will always love his music.