As one of the most prolific musicians of the 2000s, Ryan Adams has been through a lot — kicking coke, heroin and booze in the last year or so; releasing 9 albums (not including a box set soon to come out with 5 unreleased albums from this time); as well as maintaining relationships with his relatively new band The Cardinals (getting together circa 2004), which is likely a task as he has always been known to be slightly difficult to get along with.
Well, here's a lengthy, yet riveting profile of Adams in Decatur, GA-based Paste Magazine. Adams has always been a great interview wherever I've seen him speak, and this article does not disappoint.
Most of The Quail's editors went to see Adams at The Fox Theater in Atlanta a few weeks ago, and were left with a slightly bitter pill afterward. Though I think we'd all agree that the music, for the most part, was quite excellent, Adams' stage presence left something to be desired.
The first half of the show was fantastic, and then he mumbled something into the microphone and left. We were too far away to hear if he had actually denoted it would be an intermission, so there was much confusion throughout the theater, and many people left at that time.
When he returned, the energy from the first set seemed to have lost its luster, and on top of that, Adams spent most of his time engaging in antagonistic banter with a heckler. He didn't encore, which was fine by me because I find encores to be contrived more often than not, but with the second "set" (of about 6 songs) was lackadaisical, and I would have been happier had he just left after the first half of the show.
Anyhow, Adams addresses his feelings about stage performance in the article, and though he is a unique talent, he can come off as a world-class prick. I don't think this is any groundbreaking statement, because a lot of people feel this way about him, but I want to raise the question: what do we expect from musicians as performing artists?
He addresses the way he approaches live shows:
“Just from having been a person in my 20s who partied,” Adams says, “I can identify with the Bud Light crowd—the rock drunks who go to shows just to be wasted. I hear them, and I don’t really feel bad for them, because they’re on their own trip. [But] when we play live, we’re trying to find some possibility of transporting to another emotional zone, and that’s just not in some people’s vocabulary. Maybe somebody is in the audience who just listened to Rock N Roll, or just listened to Heartbreaker, and they come to the show and they’re like, ‘Why is it so dark?’ It’s like, ‘Oh my God, rent a Bergman film you f— head! Light and Shadow!’” But sometimes it’s hard to think through that because those are people, and they need something, too.”
Judge for yourself how you feel about this, but I for one, as a musician, can identify with him. I simply enjoy playing with my band, and I like performing live; however, I find myself easily annoyed with the "traditional" rock crowd, one who expects you to do the same things as every other band.
Adams continues by clarifying: “People might take this the wrong way, but the minute I start considering them, I lose my job. The only way the art I make is gonna be good for anybody else is if I keep it between me and the canvas and what hits the canvas.”
Again, I hear him 100%. However, for many (if not most) in the Atlanta audience, the art he made wasn't terribly good when compared to the breadth of incredible recording he has released over the past decade. Resulting from his show and his general attitude about performing, I'll probably never go see him again. I will, however, continue to enjoy thoroughly everything he records, because it's some of the best music I've ever heard.
This brings me to the bottom line, which is something I struggle with as a musician: people expect performing artists to be "theirs," and the show to cater to their every need. I understand this is a result of the emotional high we can all receive from being at a great concert, and some bands/musicians are better than others at evoking these feelings.
In the end, I am with Adams: I think the performer should be allowed to perform however he/she/they wish. I'm not mad at him for playing a show disappointing to me; I just probably won't see him again. But, as a performing artist — where most of a musician's livelihood is made — where is the line between doing it for yourself and engaging with the audience? Should it matter?
Friday, November 2, 2007
Ryan Adams doesn't like you. Should he have to?
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3 comments:
anyone that knows anything about Ryan Adams knows he's a dick. So if he wants to play bad shows that's fine, and perhaps eventually people will stop going. I think jeff tweedy does it better, acknowledging the crowd when he wants, but he's very into performing and performing at a high level. he also seems to enjoy engaging the drunk ass at the show. but in the end tweedy still puts out a great live product.
I would agree 100% about Tweedy. He happened to be in a cheery mood when we saw him in Paris, and the show was incredible.
I'm imagine it might be the same way with Adams, though it seems that he often wants to go out of his way to fuck with the crowd instead of just letting it go. If he really is painting on a canvas as he suggests, wouldn't he rather ignore this?
It is one thing to perform for your own sake, or the sake of the art. But when you agree to perform, and you expect people to pay good money to get tickets, you do owe them the courtesy of entertaining them. I probably won't shell out for another Ryan Adams' show; if he won't do me the courtesy of playing an entertaining show after I pay for a ticket, I won't pay for another ticket.
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