a free form jazz odyssey in front of a festival crowd

So here’s something i think about often. As a music type of guy (some might say music snob) I often pre judge a lot of music. And sometimes, i’m dead right (hmmm, most of the time). But then again, sometimes I am proven wrong, and I genuinely enjoy that. One such example is John Mayer. I saw him once in concert with my sister and was all like “this is just pop gaaaahbage” But then, 2 years later, I saw him at a benefit show opening for Tom Waits….and was mildly impressed. THEN, he released this most recent album, and I was just blown away. Now, i’m an avid reader of his Oh So Hilarious Blog- www.johnmayer.com/blog.

But sometimes, there is this weird third category between right and wrong. This musical Limbo, unlike the dance where you go under a horizontal bar, but where you are unsure if oyu love or hate an artist. For me, there is very little middle ground. The artist I am talking about, is of course none other than the one and only Ryan Adams. No, not the “Summer of 69″ guy. The indie rocker alt country whuteva guy. Lets examine the background.

I’m not sure why i had a prejudice towards this guy. I think i heard he talked shit about Jeff Tweedy, my one true musical love. Maybe I just didnt like that “new york” song he had. who knows. But suddenly, about 5 months ago, i bought the Heartbreaker album, and did not listen to anything else for weeks. My mind was officially blown. Spontaneous implode/explode. Just a beautiful album. I hate when people post lyrics and crap, but i’m going to give you the chorus from “come pick me up” here goes:

Come Pick Me Up
Take Me Out
Fuck Me Up
Steal My Records
Screw All My Friends
They’re all full Of Shit
With A Smile On Your Face

Now, this is seriously a beautiful song. You could picture The Band (of dylan fame) performing it, and you would never question the profanity. I even nearly dropped 3000$ on one of his guitars. It was a beautiful guitar on its own…but imagining he played it on Heartbreaker romanticized it just a tad. (side note- I just read an interview with the producer of Heartbreaker, who said there was no compression or eq used on the entire mix. This is fucking mind blowing, and makes me feel instantly inferior as an engineer)

SO. I feel like “damn homes, i was so wrong about this guy! I LOVE HIM!!!” But then…i got one of his recent albums…and was kind of eh. Still a good album, just not the same. But really, not everything can be a smash hit, ya know? So i gave him a pass. THEN, i went to see him last week at Town Hall. this would be the test. Could he pull it off live? His 1 song at the dylan tribute was impressive, but a whole show is a different story.

Norah Jones opened the show, and theres another one! Blew me away. Just a perfect, beautiful voice. Then, mister adams took the stage. Wearing Pleather Moon boots, and a little ponytail on the top of his head…looking a little under the influence. Then the kicker: NOT ONE FUCKING SONG FROM HEARTBREAKER. really man, what the hell. I know, I know, i’m not the “play the hits” guy. But this time, really. He treated it like a grateful dead show. Lots of drawn out jams, just going nowhere. He mumbled a lot between songs, then left without an encore.

Now, i’m in Musical Limbo. I dont know what to think. A guy makes one of my favorite albums ever, then takes a weird ass turn, and wants to be in a jam band. I need to think this one over for a bit.