Uh-oh. Way to go, L.A. Weekly.
Expectations were high that we would see a new, fresh, friendly, together Ryan Adams when he returns Tuesday for a sold-out solo gig at the State Theatre, the site of one of his notoriously erratic Twin Cities concerts.
Word was the 37-year-old country-rocker -- one of his generation's most prolific and gifted songwriters, no matter his behavior -- cleaned himself up during a recent hiatus that coincided with his marriage to actress/singer Mandy Moore in 2009. They're still together, by the way (who'd have ever guessed they'd outlast Ben Gibbard and Zooey Deschanel?).
Most promising of all, Adams just put out one of his mellowest, most carefully refined, happy-sounding (if a wee bit geriatric) albums, "Ashes & Fire." The disc didn't exactly promise the most rousing or coolest of Adams' shows. But it at least suggested a cool-headed performance.
Then Los Angeles' alt-weekly went and ran its interview with him last month, possibly ruining it for the rest of us.
The Weekly writer asked questions that instigated huffy, irritated answers. The discussion ended with Adams hanging up the phone and sending in a rebuttal accusing the interviewer of altering the wording of his questions.
However the wording, many of the queries were utterly fair, like whether or not his marriage and sobriety led to a happier-sounding record. What wasn't fair was a subsequent live review in one of the weekly's sister papers, the Seattle Weekly, in which the writer slagged audience members for not letting her take notes on her phone during the show (huh?!). That prompted another unhappy response from Mr. Adams, this time via Facebook.
Not surprisingly, Adams was none too eager to talk to journalists for the rest of his tour, which concludes in Minneapolis. So we can't say what his present state of mind is. Response to his shows on the East Coast last week suggested he was in good spirits and chatty between songs. Minnesota fans, however, know all too well what can happen when Adams gets to talking.
