The Ryan Adams love for me developed about 5 years ago. Every week about 10 of my friends would get together to watch the O.C. at Alex russin's apartment, he lived in the same complex as Decker, Chris Thomas, etc...so basically everyone would smoke weed besides me, and we'd watch and eat, then play nba live. On one of the season finales, they used Ryan's version of oasis' wonderwall to intensify the feeling. My jaw dropped. All of us were like, what the fuck is this? I went home and downloaded it that night. That cover was on Love is Hell pt. 1, a disc that i then went on to listen to THOUSANDS of times. it was my staple sleep cd. I never even gave any of his other records a shot. i didn't pay attention to him touring or anything. I did however buy Heartbreaker for my mom. My mom fell in love with Ryan, proceeded to get every record he owned and meticulously google search his name. It wouldn't be uncommon for her to bring up his romantic life in a conversation..." Ya know he's dating Parker Posey, fuck her, he's too cool for her." This was my mom i'm talking about. The epitome of cool.
Anyhow i'd say my love for his entire catalog fully developed upon moving to Richmond in 2006. I'd spend alot of time at my friend Kong's apartment who is quite the Ryan aficionado himself. If it weren't for him, i'm not sure i'd "feel" the man the way i do today. We would spend friday nights playing Madden and blasting these live bootleg sets that he downloaded that were just fucking phenomenal. It seemed totally ok for two middle 20's year old men to turn down bars and parties for a night full of video games, good food, coffee and ryan adams. We called that Men's Night. not quite a Manly Night, but fuck it, i wouldn't have changed a thing and to be honest i'd give up a portion of my monthly pay to continue that tradition. Kong has since moved to Venice,Ca and we keep in touch meticulously through blackberry messenger, mostly in discussion about you know who.
Adams is a musician who shines tenfold live vs. recorded in my amateur opinion. After discovering alot of his older albums through the songs i came to love on the live sets, my knowledge of his career and his influences grew vastly. I've seen him 3 times at this point in my life, once opening for Oasis, the other two being alone. There was an intense sense of urgency to see him on this tour, as he announced it will be his last with the Cardinals, and that he was quitting music for awhile. About a week after that announcement, cnn.com ran a story saying "ROCKER RYAN ADAMS ENGAGED TO MANDY MOORE". wtf. i saw this coming. Adams posted pictures on his blog and i noticed her in one of them, actually lookin cool as hell but i was still slightly confused. So that happened.
We get to the show in almost perfect timing, take our seats in a nice sized older theater. After about 30 minutes the song "OOOH BABY DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT'S WORTH, BLA BLA HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH" starts blasting from the PA as the lights draw. People screaming, i'm laughing. He proceeds to rip into "I See Monsters". i glance over at my mom who is somehow sobbing and i feel this full sense of joy, love, happiness, warmth all at once. it was some kind of explosion of sensory emotions. The atmosphere became totally euphoric and i was reminded why i listen to this man every single day. He played roughly 3 hours and was simply amazing. My mom cried almost the whole time. I made sure to pick up a sticker for everything i feel needed to be branded...guitars, computer, cars, etc. All in all i'd say it was one of the best live music experiences i've ever had and if you're reading this and somehow have the opportunity to see him before he disappears for awhile, please do so. i don't think he'll be gone for long, but you never know.
1 comment:
ryan adams is amazing. i think some people under-estimate his talent and his relevance.
please tell your mom that ryan is currently engaged to mandy moore. personally...i think he can do better. she's been with EVERYONE.
:)
i love the relationship you have with your mom and music.
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