Ryan Adams took to the stage for the first of two sold out shows on his current ‘Heartbreaker’ solo tour.
He played an intimate and stripped back set, surrounded by just a few house lamps due to his current medical condition.
The first half of the set he played songs from his now 25 year old album, and inbetween songs he took a moment to speak to the audience, telling stories from around the time of making the album and also from his life and current medical issues.
After the reports I heard about the Belfast gig, I wasn’t sure what to expect in Dublin. Maybe it was the crowd, maybe it was the venue, but whatever it was, there were real flashes of greatness throughout the set, where Adam’s voice sounded just as good as the album.
Of course the gig had its own issues, weather it was the slight air of apprehension from the crowd because they didn’t know how the gig was going to be, but by the second song things seemed to have relaxed and you knew you were in for an interesting and laid back evening.
It was at the end of the first song he stopped playing and spoke directly to me, inviting me up on the stage to sit behind him and take some photos. He was nice about it, but I also knew this was probably to get me out of the way as I was the only photographer there.
At first I didn’t know if he was serious, but the stage manager came out and ushered me onto the stage. Now personally, I’ve been a huge fan of his for years and, despite more recent events in the media, I’ve always been able to seperate the art from the artist, so to me getting to share a stage with Ryan Adams in any capacity was a huge deal for me. Apart from ‘Heartbreaker’, ‘Easy Tiger’ and ‘Cardinology’ have been two albums that have been there in one way or another with me for years, and I consider him a modern songwriting genius.
I took my shots and scattered, as it’s more intimidating than you think having an entire venues eyeballs on you, and sat down to enjoy the rest of the show.
A couple of times he took the stage manager and the ‘merch guy’ on stage to play a song with him, telling the crowd they were his new band ‘The Devils’, and they were pretty good!
By the end of the first set, Adams mentioned himself how much he was enjoying it and didn’t want it to end, so decided to have an impromptu Q&A about the making of the album, which was very well received.
He then proceeded to the interval, and instead of leaving like most would, he used his cane to dance at the back of the stage before sitting down on ‘my’ chair.
It was then that I noticed how nice the lighting was so I decided to be cheeky and ask the stage manager if I could take his portrait.
Before I knew it I was back on stage again in the middle of a photo shoot with Ryan Adams while everyone made their way back to their seats.
He then got up and said he would sit on the stage if I helped him, then gave me his cane to use to get up onto his piano stand so I could also get in some of the crowd, which he then got off the stage and climbed into, asking everyone to gather round him ‘like we’re a gang’, which they happily did.
Then, just as quickly as it happened, I was back in my seat and the second set began.
Genuinely one of the strangest situations I’ve been in since I started shooting gigs, but definitely one I’ll remember the most.
Now I’ll always have my story about my time with Ryan Adams, and it seems that the true mark of his genius is that everyone else does too.
Other highlights were when he asked for a decision between hearing ‘Two’ on guitar or piano (piano won, no matter how hard I clapped for guitar) and when he performed a very ‘Ryan Adams’ version of ‘Dirty Old Town’ which gave it a whole new feeling and energy, and had that distinct ‘Adams’ vibe.
Love him or hate him, agree with him or not, there’s no denying it takes someone special to make everyone have an opinion on them.
Ryan Adams photos & set-list:
Set-list:
To Be Young – Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High
My Winding Wheel
Amy
Shakedown on 9th Street
Oh My Sweet Carolina
Don’t Ask for the Water
In My Time of Need
Call Me on Your Way Back Home
Do a Song in Between (Spoof song made up on the spot)
Bartering Lines
Damn, Sam – I Love a Woman That Rains
To Be the One
Sweet Lil’ Gal -23rd/1st
Born Yesterday
Why Do They Leave?
Set 2:
Shame, Shame, Shame (Jimmy Reed cover)
Gimme Something Good
Dear Chicago
Two
Desire
Dirty Old Town (Ewan MacColl cover)
I’m Waiting for the Man (The Velvet Underground cover)
Come Pick Me Up
Photos & Words – David McEneanery @experimentzero