Wrapping up a gorgeous, slowed-down, countrified version of "New York, New York," Ryan Adams took one of his many breaks to explain himself. Or something.
"Geographically speaking, that song was about this very place," he said, before joking, "Not that it could have been a metaphor or something. Not possible; I was so drunk back then."
Adams likes his metaphors -- and, in these days of his relatively new sobriety, his Diet Coke, apparently. He likes metaphors so much, in fact, that on the first of his three sold-out shows at Town Hall, he dressed up as one, keeping his mop of unkempt hair, thrift-store blazer, school-boy tie and ripped jeans and adding the flashy, silver-spangled platform boots that not only made him look like a wobbly giant, but a '70s glam rocker from the knees down.
The outfit kind of describes what he and his band The Cardinals sound like these days, especially in the still-unreleased song "Arkham Asylum" and the way he has redefined his early songs, especially "To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High.)" Adams still is an alt-country singer at heart, with plenty of things to say and lots of melancholy ways to say them. But his new music has a glam-rock kick, thanks to some slow, churning guitar riffs and the use of the more rock-oriented register of his voice. [More...]
SETLIST: Magnolia Mountain / Please Do Not Let Me Go / Dear Chicago / Peaceful Valley / Mockingbird / Tears of Gold / Nightbirds / Cold Roses / New York, New York / Arkham Asylum / Kiss Before I Go / Let it Ride / Bartering Lines / To Be Young / Blue Hotel / Beautiful Sorta / The End / Expressway to Yr Skull / Wharf Rat / Shakedown on 9th Street / I See Monsters
PHOTO: Ryan Adams at Town Hall by Ari Mintz/Newsday
Though he is clearly pursuing this hybrid in the rough sound of "Beautiful Sorta" or his raucous cover of Sonic Youth's "Expressway to Yr Skull," Adams still manages to balance it with his alt-country center. He toughened up "Peaceful Valley," from last year's "Jacksonville City Nights" (Lost Highway) album, with stronger rhythms, for example, but left in the dramatic pauses for the sweet a capella breaks that show off The Cardinals' poignant harmonies.
Opener Sean Lennon took a similar approach in his short set of songs from his new "Friendly Fire" (Capitol) album. During the impressive "Falling Out of Love," he builds on a pretty Rufus Wainwright-styled ballad and creates a massive wall of sound only to break it down again.
One surprise Adams threw into his set was a cover of the Grateful Dead's "Wharf Rat," which he dedicated to Phil Lesh -- not because his improv skills are lacking or his jam-band tendencies were secret but because it was so long.
After all, Adams' attention span is not very long, though that remains one of his most endearing qualities. His Monday evening stage banter included riffs on text messaging, sitting vs. standing at shows and why David Schwimmer's post-"Friends" career won't work. ("No one's going to believe you're a soldier," he said. "They're going to be wondering when Chandler's going to come in and borrow the 'Annie' soundtrack.")
"You can take away the booze," he explained during one rant, "but you can't take away the crazy."