not Bryan

...as the title of this post hints- please don't confuse the details of what i'm discussing with anyone by the name of BRYAN. the guys name is RYAN ADAMS, not the dude who had that lovesong type hit back in the early nineties.

so... with that little bit of housekeeping out of the way... here goes!

this past wednesday evening, emily and i had the unbelievable opportunity to attend a ryan adams concert in northampton at the renowned calvin theatre! we're both huge fans of this dude, and neither of us had seen him live, so we were surely excited for this event. it's always fun to see live music with my lovely girlfriend- both of us appreciate the talent and hard work that goes into good music, and ryan adams is at the top of both of our lists!

a rainy, dreary night was cast upon the "happy valley" as this area is affectionately known by locals. to the two of us, this was pure bliss- a perfect backdrop to an exciting evening like this- we both love rain, and almost prefer it to the "nice" days...
...anyway, not to get off topic...

opening adams' set was rachael yamagata, a singer/ songwriter that creates emotionally charged, from the heart songs, with a beautiful and ranging voice that captivates all within earshot. emily's is in love with her live voice, which was markedly different from that which she displays on the album. this was an awesome set, from a purely talented artist who knows what she wants and does it well.
next was mr. adams- a quiet, unassuming entrance to the stage that triggered a roaring ovation from the crowd. boy were we excited- this was going to be huge! not only were we excited to hear him live, but also to hear the new tunes (new album, Cold Roses due out tuesday may 3) as well as to witness the manner in which ryan interacts with the crowd and just his general stage demeanor and delivery in general.

this isn't a review- i'm not that talented, (haha) so i'll skip the arduous process that is better off left for the critics.
what we were mostly impressed by was the complete change in the "old" songs. every song that was previously released on an album was played completely differently than was recorded for the album- this was sweet, we enjoyed it thoroughly. it makes sense for all involved- ryan and his band (the cardinals) don't get sick of playing the same straightforward songs every night, and we the fans get to hear something fresh and unique. to be honest, if we wanted to hear the songs as we knew them, we could pop in the disc at home or in the car... this was a cool move by the band. most of the stuff they played was new, which has us amped for the album next tuesday- can't wait! unfortunately we had to leave a bit early-> sleepy-head me had to get some sleep; for that 3:43 rise and shine comes so soon- eh, that is my life in the summertime! all in all, we had a superb time. both the opener as well as the headliner was worth the price and time and effort we put in- that's all ya can ask from a live gig! we'll go again, for sure. one of the funniest things all night was what we called, "the mob boss and his wife". there was this guy a few rows ahead of us that looked very italian and "mob worthy"! his wife and he were apparently and obviously drunk and were dancing and groovin' all over the place. they were a littled miffed at the intermission that ryan was playing things so differently from the albums, and continued to say, "come on, play us some tunes we know.... it's good and all, but play us just a tune we know" to the people behind them. as em and i both uttered to eachother, luckily we were a few rows back, otherwise we would have been in their line of fire! great night, great music, great date, aaaaaand it rained! can't ask for much better than that right...!?

'til next...