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Romantic & Eccentric Singer, RYAN ADAMS Rocks The Wiltern With A Mix of Classics And New Country Rock Jams.
Posted On 06 Jan 2015
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Tag: All Access, All Access Music, All Access Music Group, arcade, arcade games, Asteroids, Concert, Concert Review, Country Music, country rock, Dirty Rain, Fall Out Boy, Fender, Frenzy, Grammy, Grammy Nominated, Grammy nomination, Heartbreaker, Jenny Lewis, Live Music, Los Angeles, Magnolia Mountain, Mandy Moore, Mike Viola, New York, Producer, Ryan Adams, singer, Singer-Songwriter, Songwriter, Stay With Me, The Voyager, The Wiltern, When The Stars Go Blue, Whiskeytown
Romantic and eccentric, singer-songwriter, musician and producer, Ryan Adams rocked the The Wiltern on December 18th, which marked the end of his North American tour behind his new self titled album. Coincidentally, his show also marked the last concert for me before the new year and what a fine show it was. It should also be noted that the album just earned a handful of Grammy nominations as well.
Adams, who is best known for his prolific solo career, and as a former member of alternative country band, Whiskeytown packed as many songs as possible into his two hour set. The band delivered a wonderful mix of classics and new country rock jams.
The singer, backed by his four-piece band that included guitarist, Mike Viola was positioned in front of the stage and bookend-ed by two massive Fender stacks that featured vintage arcade games like Frenzy and Asteroids that lit up behind Adams. It was as if Ryan and his band were transported to the arcade in the movie, Tron. It was a pretty sweet stage, I must say.
The band flowed seamlessly. The night prior was unfortunately plagued with some technical difficulties, but this show went off without a hitch. The band, pausing rarely between songs which included, “Stay With Me,” “Dirty Rain,” and a groovy version of “Magnolia Mountain” complete with organ sweetly complementing Adams’ voice.
The singer pulled from his music catalog that he’s built since 2000, when he released his acclaimed solo debut, “Heartbreaker,” in which he sang a beautifully stripped down version of said song. I was happy to bask in the delight of him strumming along to his post 9/11 self-consiously anthemic 2001 semi-hit, “New York, New York,” and my favorite, the tender ballad, “When The Stars Go Blue.”
Another highlight of the evening came in the form of singer-songwriter, Jenny Lewis, who joined Adams on stage for the number, “Oh My Sweet Carolina” and whose new album, The Voyager, Adams produced.
