Ryan Adams & the Cardinals @ Constitution Hall

Ryan Adams & the Cardinals
DAR Constitution Hall, Washington D.C.
Oct. 30, 2007

It seems appropriate that the stage was bathed in blue light when Ryan Adams and the Cardinals took the stage at Constitution Hall in the nation’s capital on Tuesday night. The choice was fitting because they painted much of the show with one brush and in one color: the jammy, Grateful Dead-inspired sound that has largely defined Adams’ career since the release of his 2005 double album, “Cold Roses.”

Pointing this out is not intended as an indictment of Adams or the Cardinals (Neal Casal, guitar; Jon Graboff, pedal steel, guitar; Chris “Spacewolf” Feinstein, bass; and Brad Pemberton, drums). The level of musicianship on display was excellent, as was the interplay between the band members. Unfortunately, they spent the better part of the show channeling the Dead through long jams, extended intros and outros and songs that took on a feeling of sameness in a relatively short time.

The opener, “Mockingbird,” established the theme with Adams and Casal trading off on pretty guitar licks. “Beautiful Sorta” followed, and briefly brought up-tempo rock into the equation. The tempo change was short-lived. “Cold Roses” – and more jamming – followed. The stage lights projected tall shadows of Adams and Casal on the backdrop, the silhouettes serving as an artful depiction of the Cardinals’ Jerry Garcia-Bob Weir sensibility. The harmony guitar lines in “Cold Roses” were pleasing, but only three songs into the set the approach was getting to be too much of a good thing. Any jam-band devotees in the house probably loved it, but it left me feeling a bit left out of the loop.

Others apparently felt excluded, too, and began shouting requests. Adams, who has been known to suffer the occasional meltdown during a show, ignored them for a while. He then took a unique approach to discouraging the outbursts. Before settling behind the piano to play the 11th song of the night, “Nightbirds,” Adams walked to the right rear of the stage and emerged with a bullhorn. He walked to the front of the stage and made a few requests of his own. “No, no, no, sit that way,” he said. “No, no, fold your arms.” He continued to bark instructions until he felt he made his point that he’s not a jukebox and proceeded with the show.

The message didn’t really take, and the requests continued. Before the end of the first set, Adams brought back the bullhorn, and with it more advice for the crowd. “Don’t let the show happen to you,” he said. “Make sure you control the show.” I didn’t write it all down, but it definitely included something about how this was the 21st century, and everybody had to control everything. In the fans’ defense, the jamming was getting tedious, and the breaks that Adams spent back at the drum riser talking to the band between songs often were long for no apparent reason. In Adams’ defense, the artist should be allowed to present his art in the manner they see fit. And the asshole who kept yelling for Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ’69” should have been thrown down the stairs by the concertgoers in the adjacent seats. Adams is scrutinized more closely than any artist in the Americana genre and probably beyond. He’s got a reputation of erratic behavior, and it’s deserved. But it’s been widely reported that he has sobered up, taken charge of his life and tried to modify his behavior. It’s time for his fans to take a look in the mirror. People clearly go to shows to antagonize Adams, baiting him in hopes that they might be able to generate a grainy YouTube clip and have a fucked-up brush with fame.

After the break, the Cardinals found a way to quiet the catcalls. They turned “Peaceful Valley,” “Blue Hotel” and “Goodnight Rose” into a suite, the songs connected by jams that connected outros to intros, weaving in and out of the tunes and leaving the lyrics as the only indication that they had moved on to the next number. It silenced the requests between songs, but did little to vary the pacing of the concert. Not that Adams seemed concerned with how it would be received.

The Cardinals are a good band, and Adams clearly is happy being part of a band. He didn’t introduce the members individually, offering only a brief introduction: “We are the Cardinals.”

Though there didn’t seem to be enough, there was some variation in the band’s approach. They dabbled in atmospheric sounds like latter-day Wilco. The intro to “Off Broadway,” from this year’s “Easy Tiger,” vaguely resembled U2. Pemberton drove the song with a tribal tom-tom beat, and after a long, dissonant synth note, the Cardinals faded to silence. Varying the dynamics was something they did well, even during the more tedious jams.

“The Rescue Blues,” from 2001’s “Gold,” got a treatment very similar to the recorded version. Adams, who was in good voice throughout the night, pounded out the tune on his red upright piano, and Graboff stepped out from behind the steel to contribute a nice guitar solo.

“Bartering Lines,” from Adams’ solo debut, 2000’s “Heartbreaker,” also benefited from Pemberton’s tom-tom treatment and a stretch of rumbling guitar noise in the middle.

“Shakedown on 9th Street,” also from “Heartbreaker,” was another highlight. The driving, Bo Diddley beat was a welcome change from the more midtempo material, though there still was a jam tacked onto the end that eased into the fadeout. Graboff’s steel work was strong all night, but really stood out here.

“Easy Tiger’s” “Halloweenhead” got a different treatment, bringing the piano rather than the guitar to the forefront. They toyed with the tempo, too, bringing it down and turning the focus to the lyrics.

There were a couple of quirky touches, too, such as the “Evening Joke with Jon Graboff” (a groaner) and the band singing Adams’ birthday song to “Spacewolf,” a bad hard-rock parody called “You Were Born in the Universe” or something like that.

The main set ended with another selection from “Gold,” “Goodnight Hollywood Blvd.”

The encore was a perfect summation of the night. Rather than leave the crowd feeling like it had been treated to something special, the band instead stretched “Easy Plateau” to nearly 15 minutes. When it was over, Adams thanked the audience for coming out to the show, and subtly reminded the fans that he would dictate the song selection and his artistic path.

“We are the Cardinals,” he said. “You are the audience.”

Set list:
Set 1
Mockingbird
Beautiful Sorta
Cold Roses
Off Broadway
The Rescue Blues
Why Do They Leave
Everybody Knows
Please Do Not Let Me Go
The Sun Also Sets
Halloweenhead
Nightbirds
When the Stars Go Blue
Set 2
Peaceful Valley
Blue Hotel
Goodnight Rose
Bartering Lines
Shakedown on 9th Street
Goodnight, Hollywood Blvd.
Encore
Easy Plateau