They Have Bragging Rights
Concert: Ryan Adams and The Stills

       To simply call this concert amazing is an understatement. It was the best concert I have ever been to; that is also an understatement. Ah, yes Ryan Adams and The Stills have breezed through our city branding their mark in our minds. We are Ryan Adams and The Stills's territory; they own us. Well, they only own about a thousand of us and a few more. Everyone in that group of a thousand wants to crawl back into the crevices of his or her memory and live the magical night all over again. We only see clips of black hoods, the flash of disco ball lights, and the brim of a black felt hat. It's all gone; we only have the ticket stub to prove the existence of this event.
       The Stills were scheduled to perform an hour and fifteen minutes after the doors opened. I was doomed from the very beginning as I drove by the venue and the entrance was vacant; everyone was already inside awaiting to be impressed. If I don't arrive early, general admission works against me, because I am quite vertically challenged. The hour and fifteen minutes passed very slowly, as my legs started to shake from excitement or possibly fatigue. The time had come and three figures with black hoods appeared on the stage. I recalled that The Stills did not have three members and the black hoods were a little intimidating. This wasn't The Stills. Maybe The Stills got caught up in the snow storm and were late to the venue, I thought, as they announced themselves as "Whorenett" and stated that they created the band about ten minutes ago. This is a joke, bring on The Stills. "Seasons of the B****" was claimed to be their first song and the lyrics revolved around the title. The frontman had a slight accent and was screaming through the echoing mic, as the guitarist provided the only notes, and the drummer kept the rhythm. It was indeed amusing and surprisingly catchy; I currently have "Seasons…" stuck in my head. They sped through two or three more songs and fled off the stage. By the way, the drummer looked strangely familiar. Blue eyes and dark hair, maybe it was…no it couldn't have been *wink*.
        Another break, and I wanted to sit down, but it was too crowded so I kept looking at the stage hoping The Stills would arrive. They finally came on and began with "Lola Stars and Stripes". They played most of the songs off their debut album Logic Will Break Your Heart. At first there was only a sparse number of heads bobbing, but as they progressed through their set, the head bobbing became infectious, and there were colonies feeling the rhythm and the soul in the music. I glanced at the balcony, and saw a familiar face sitting with his back leaned against a wall with his arms laying across his knees peering down at the stage. It was none other than Ryan admiring The Stills from above. Unconsciously, a small smile crept across my face and I began to become absorbed in the gliding sound waves. "Gender Bombs," "Still in Love Song," "Killer Bees," "Animals and Insects," "Let's Roll," and "Ready for it" were all included in the set. Their set ended all too soon and Adams had already retreated backstage, but not before The Stills complimented Whorenett. I then realized that the frontman of Whorenett was the drummer, and the guitarist was The Stills's frontman, but the drummer is still a mystery to me.
        Thirty minutes until Ryan Adams. I confessed to another Adams fan that I did not like the album Rock n Roll simply because it was different from Heartbreaker and Gold. There were a couple of tracks I liked, but I felt that I couldn't get into them. Something was in the way; Ryan's performance dismantled that barrier effortlessly. I became a hypocrite; Rock n Roll is genius. Adams couldn't have taken the stage any sooner as my leg shaking condition worsened. He began with "1974," and the mood of the audience immediately changed. Everyone was in a feel good mood forgetting the suffocating smoke, the pain of looking over the shoulders of a tall person, the crowdedness, the uncomfortable heat, and the uncontrollable shaking legs. He continued with the first track of Rock n Roll "This is it." On the record there’s feedback in certain parts of the song. When going to a concert, one listens for a peculiar sound, note, or measure to see if the performer can pull it off on the spot. Adams and his five-piece band have the capability to create that immaculate studio sound. "Wish You Were Here" followed several other Rock n Roll songs and he ended up playing it a total of three times. The second time was probably a mistake, and the crowd demanded an encore. So with a chuckle and a smile, Adams fulfilled their request. Adams added small quirks in each repeat as the audience got more into the song leaving them wanting one more encore. Adams moved on with "Do Miss America" with all the band and Adams sharing a mic. It was a nice version of the song, differing from the "rockier" version on the album. He ripped through several more songs on Rock n Roll including "Anybody Want to Take Me Home" in which he asked the crew "Can you turn that thing on" as he pointed to the disco ball hanging from the ceiling. Adams looked so earnest as he sang while the disco ball lights reflected off the walls of the stage, making it seem more spacious yet consoling at the same time.
        At first, Adams rarely talked to the audience, but when he did, he talked a substantial amount. He cracked good-natured jokes about his soundman, David Cross, the girls in front of him, the extremely tall and displeased looking young man, and the lady with the "large" hair like Robert Smith. At one point, he invited that displeased young man on to the stage, because he wanted the young man to enjoy himself, instead of sulking in the audience. Even when his banter was not exactly witty like "You guys in the back have the home advantage because you're at the bar, but I am the bar. Haha. And you can't fall off a wagon if you are the wagon. Haha" his sarcastic laugh in between his sentences just struck the funny bone's most sensitive section. He even asked "Does anyone have a graph of the movement of the tectonic plates while I have been wasting about fifteen minutes of your time?" He ended his set with the final track of Rock n Roll, "The Drug's Not Working". His set was over. Not quite yet.
        Fans planted their feet on the floor refusing to leave before he came onstage for an encore, even if they missed pertinent public transportation. People began to doubt his reappearance and eagerly looked at the stage. Adams came on stage with a harmonica and an acoustic guitar swinging on his back and played some songs off Heartbreaker including, "Call Me on Your Way Back Home" and "Bartering Lines.” People called out for "Wonderwall", "Wildflowers," and even "Everything from Gold." He fulfilled the "Wonderwall" request and part of the Gold request. Adams was accompanied by a band member playing piano on "SYLVIA PLATH.” He put on his best choirboy impression looking so hopeful as he described his dream girl. A couple more acoustic songs ensued, with admitting to forget how to play "You Will Always Be the Same," but played it beautifully after a couple seconds of practicing, and locking his cigarette in his guitar. During these songs, everyone was in awe watching Adams strumming his guitar with varying amounts of intensity. There was only the sound of Adams's voice and his guitar, and scattered amounts of cheering. He stated he was "bored with this" and called his band up.
        He confessed his need to climb on something and contemplated climbing on the young man still sitting on the stage, but he just ruffled that youth's hair and headed toward the speakers. He sang "Shadowlands" on top of the speakers giving those often ignored people on the balcony a front row experience. He climbed on the balcony from the speakers and attempted to escape backstage, but was thwarted by the lock on the door, so he lounged on a chair admiring his band as fervent fan. He crowd surfed during "Burning Photographs" as the crowd shifted to support the rock star. Suprisingly, he walked through the crowd in my section and I had the chance to mosh with Adams for several long seconds. I moshed pretty hard, considering I dropped my camera, and my new Stills EP case cracked. All worth it. Adams left the stage, and it was all over.
        I was heading towards the door star-struck, but was stopped by cheering. Adams and his band were onstage for an unexpected second encore. He played his first single off of Rock n Roll, "So Alive" crowd surfing, climbing speakers, and singing to the crowd. He ended the song singing in front of my section. We all sang back to Adams, "I'm on your side" and pointing to Adams letting him know that we would be on his side even if this was the very last song. For a brief moment I forgot that I was on earth, in the United States, in a venue with a thousand other people. All I saw was Ryan Adams, and all I felt was bliss. And with a flip of switch the venue's blinding lights came back on, and it was all over just like that. Just like that. Just like magic.