Ryan Adams’ meltdown @ State Theatre (MN)

Oops….he did it again. The super-talented, semi-stable Ryan Adams lost it at the State Theatre on Thurs night. He was frustrated with the sound monitors onstage. He kept talking to the sound engineer on the side of the stage; near the end of the show, Ryan even picked up and moved two monitors, his mike stand and his guitar pedals.

“We have a new sound engineer,” he said midway through the 70-minute set. “Thank you for your patience.”

He, however, was the impatient one. He announced a “last song,” played it and didn’t return for an encore. When the lights came up, many people booed.

“It was an hour and 10 minutes of the Grateful Dead and the Flying Burritos Brothers,” muttered a baby-boomer sitting behind me. 

Sonically, he was right. Actually, the sound at times was beautiful, though Ryan’s vocals were sometimes obliterated by his band. And it was nearly impossible to see his face in the narcoleptic lighting.

One could argue with the set list. It didn’t have as much from the new “Easy Tiger” as expected. His June show at the Cedar Cultural Center, which was heavy on “Easy Tiger,” was artful, understated and wonderful.

A friend and I ran into Cardinals guitarist Neal Casal in the lobby of the State after the concert. We asked what happened. He said, “I don’t know what the story was. I just play guitar.” Then he asked for directions to Palomino.

Patrick and I decided to head to Palomino, where we encountered Cardinals pedal steel guitarist Jon Graboff. He was as vague as Casal. “What can I say?” Graboff said. “I’m not the monitor guy. Ryan’s the boss.” 

While this unsatisfying show wasn’t as frustrating as Ryan’s notorious drunken meltdown at First Avenue in 2003, Ryan’s lack of concern for his fans at the State Theatre seemed unprofessional. How bout dealing with your issues during sound check, not during the show?

What did you think about Adams breakdown?