Ryan Adams skewered for Atlanta performance
I consider myself a very casual fan of Ryan Adams, and certainly not a rabid one. As such, I chose to see Magnetic Fields last Friday rather than attend the Adams show at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre. It seems a good thing I did, as Adams reportedly walked off stage after 45 minutes after complaining of illness, only to be serenaded with boos. Some reports from the scene have not been kind.
From AMG's Atlanta Music Blog:
The Cardinals gig featuring Ryan Adams didn't last quite as long as most people would have expected on Friday night! The band were playing at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Duluth. The band took the stage around 8:45pm, but left less than an hour later after Adams lost his voice. It had apparently been getting steadily worse throughout the night, but in typical Adam's fashion, the gig ended abruptly leaving the crowd bewildered and looking for refunds.
From Creative Loafing's Crib Notes:
So either he’s an asshole or an artist. The girl sitting next to me called him a “bitch.” As in, “we paid, I’m enjoying the show, now don’t stop entertaining us because of your so-called problems you whiney little bitch.” I tend to be an Adams apologist and say he can’t help himself. The price of enjoying his art is that we’re going to get nights like last Friday.
I tend to think he should have had the band jam and spare his voice, or have offered at least an apologetic explanation, but I wasn't at the show. Were any of you there? Any thoughts on the matter?
Update: Ryan has posted an apology.
posted by Rich at 2:48 PM
6 Comments:
It's the audience, not the performer, who needs to suck it up. Things happen; people get sick. I wasn't there and I don't know if he has a history of doing this, but when you go to a concert, you have to be reasonable about the fact that something could go wrong, and that nobody's intentionally sabotaging the show, least of all the guy singing into the microphone.
I've been to a couple shows where the singer/frontman has been sick; I once flew to Chicago for a show and found out, upon arrival, that the singer had laryngitis. (He sang, not well but the best he could, for 50 minutes, and then his voice gave out. Bless his heart.) I've never seen an audience get pissy about a performance blown due to sickness. Crappy/uninspired playing yes, but a genuine medical problem? Anybody who boos a sick performer should not invite themselves back to another show.
3:09 PM
I attended the show and there was warning given during the set. It was not as abrupt as most convey. He made mention of his voice waning and commented that he would attempt to continue to the best of his ability. He even passed vocal duty for a song to take a break. After a few more, he made the call to stop the show. He was very apologetic as were the other members of the Cardinals. He also apologized to the rest of the band. This was no where near the typical Ryan Adams reaction/show termination of his storied past. There has been a flurry of discussion regarding the show on the Ryan Adams Archive as well.
3:12 PM
More importantly, how was the Magnetic Fields show?
4:58 PM
Brad from the band addressed the Atlanta show on their tumblr.Alas...
http://cave.cardinology.com/post/55124483/atlanta
8:49 PM
I was at the show that night.
Ryan and the guys played for an hour and ten minutes before calling it quits. Most of us were surprised that Ryan's voice had gone out, because of how good he had sounded since the show began. There were moments, though, during songs, where I could see Ryan was frustrated on the video screen--seeming to swear to himself because of it, in between lines.
He was very apologetic, as mentioned above, and went as far to express that he was "humiliated" by having to walk off stage.
I understand people were upset. The tickets were pricey. Ryan usually plays for a lot longer. But, really, give the guy a break. He wasn't an ass about it. He apologized a handful of times. For the hour and ten minutes he played, it was a really good show.
People get sick. And if you've ever had to sing with a cold (or even a sore throat), you probably have some idea of what it might be like to be on the last leg of a tour and have to end a show early because of your waning voice.
1:05 PM
Sara, I was less enthused by the Mag Fields show than I wanted to be. I enjoyed it enough, but didn't feel compelled to write about it.
The comments here make the Ryan thing sound less awful than it seemed from AMG and Crib Notes. That's good, I guess, even though a lot of people were upset.
1:36 PM
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