It’s not everyday that a performer earns one of the largest cheers of the night by telling a crowd member, “Fuck you from the bottom of my beautiful heart.”
While it may seem funny for people in the crowd to yell out for “Summer of ‘69,” the 1984 hit from Bryan Adams at a Ryan Adams show, Ryan Adams shared during his concert at the Les Schwab Amphitheater in Bend, Oregon, that he has dealt with the joke his whole career, and the joke has run its course.
“There’s always one prick at the show who’s going to yell for it,” Adams said. “But I still love you and I’m going to give you all I’ve got.”
Adams spent a fair amount of time engaging with the crowd, gauging the areas where the people were the most “turn’t up,” and playfully begging a shrieking young girl in the front row to put her vocal chords to better use in a Lita Ford cover band. One man shamelessly barked like a sea lion between songs and asked for Adams to dedicate a song to his mom. The request was misheard by Adams, and he instead dedicated the song to the man’s “bone.”
The set contained songs from across Adams’ prolific career, beginning with “Gimme Something Good” from his eponymous album of 2014. Early in the set was an extended “Dirty Rain” from Ashes And Fire that tested the abilities of the comically large twin stack Fender amps onstage.
The vast assortment of stage decorations included two full size retro arcade games, a classic Dr. Pepper vending machine, a stuffed tiger, pirate swords dangling from mic stands, cat cutouts perching on the amps.
The band played faithful renditions of many of Adams’ hits, including “To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High),” “New York, New York,” “Nobody Girl,” and a duet with opening act Jenny Lewis on “Oh My Sweet Caroline.” Also included was a “Norwegian metal” version of the Whiskeytown classic “16 Days,” which was aided by an overabundance of fog that engulfed the entire stage.
Adams played a solo acoustic version of Oasis’s smash hit “Wonderwall,” which won the crowd’s trust and had the majority of people singing along with a version that rivals the Oasis original.
The concert began 40 minutes earlier than scheduled as Jenny Lewis, in her rainbow themed suit, strapped on her acoustic guitar and took the stage, along with her five piece band. The sun was still high in the sky to the left of the stage, blinding portions of the audience, but Lewis commanded the stage as the band alternated between Rilo Kiley classics, and her more recent solo material.
Ryan Adams joined the band for two songs, playing guitar and kicking the bass player. The highlight of Lewis’s set was the final number, “Acid Tongue”, an acoustic ballad in which her band locked arms behind her as they sang harmony.
Jenny Lewis plays WOW Hall on May 26 with guest Nikki Lane, after she and Adams both play Sasquatch! this weekend.