Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa, January 16

Alt Country’s reigning king was in Bob Wills country Wednesday night, and Adams did the old Playboy proud. Cain’s Ballroom is a godsend to Oklahoma, guaranteeing that we continue to get great acts, and, seating just under 2,000, that we’re close enough to really see them. I was accompanied by brother-of-Priest for this show, and we were both excited. Due to work and bad traffic, we didn’t get to Cain’s until 7:30. To our surprise a solo singer with an acoustic guitar was already on stage (the show wasn’t set to start until 8:00, and with no opening act). The sound was similar to Adams’, and, figuring it was a local recruited to open at the last minute, we headed for the merch table. T-shirt in hand, we made our way to the floor when we were floored by just how much the guy sounded (and looked) like Ryan Adams. As we took seats, the guitar picker started a hilarious dialogue about being an out-of-work comedian trying to make it in the music business, then headed into the next tune. As everyone but me and my brother had realized, this was Ryan Adams doing a five-song acoustic set of previously unreleased material. And we were buying shirts….

The “real” show kicked off at 8:00 sharp with Beautiful Sorta off Cold Roses, Adams first album with the Cardinals. They followed with Peaceful Valley then Goodnight Rose off the next two Cardinals albums, respectively, before doubling back to the title track from Cold Roses. The band, which Adams considers himself a member of, not his backing band (their label sees Ryan as the draw and refuses to let them release without his name in the title), was sharp from the beginning. Adams handled lead and rhythm duties, as well as playing an upright piano and a Hammond. The other band members provided two more guitars, drums, and a slide guitar. It’s only fair for me to mention that I’m more of a Ryan Adams fan than I am a Cardinals one. Adams’ songs range from slow blues to mid-tempo slide-guitar dominated country to punk-tinged Rock. My favorite numbers are from the first and last category, while this concert was heavy on the middle.

The first set continued with Mockingbird off Gold (good) and a searing version of rockabilly standout Shakedown on 9th Street (off Heartbreaker, my personal favorite). Other standouts included The Rescue Blues, Wildflowers, and Stars Go Blue (no, kids, not written by Tim McGraw), which he described as being inspired by dating actresses in New York, something he didn’t suggest (allusion to Parker Posey? Winona Ryder?). The sixteen song set ended at a disappointing 9:20, but, after a five minute ovation for an encore, the band came out and smoked through ten more songs, finally pulling the plug at 10:40. This was my favorite portion of the show, which featured improvisation and extended jams on several songs. After starting back in with Easy Plateau, they headed into Jacksonville City Nights standout The End, which Adams dedicated to his “a**hole dad” (who Adams never knew). The opening line “I don’t know the sound of my father’s voice, I don’t even know his name…” was made that much more poignant with the revelation. Other standouts from the encore included Halloween Head (one of my brother’s favorites), and final duo Sweet Caroline (another favorite) and Oasis cover Wonderwall (for which Adams received a Grammy nomination in 2004).

Overall the show was like a Ryan Adams album, rambling and disjointed at times, but marked with moments of undeniable genius and haunting beauty. Adams can sing a heartbreak better than anyone in the business and can handle an axe with the great ones. His howl was undeniable on songs like Hard Way to Fall and Stars Go Blue, but it’s the urgent poignancy he brings to his lyrics that suddenly catch you like a razor that made this show a triumph. Overall, he churned through 31 songs and sang for over three hours. A great show. For a full playlist click here