Goodnight Rose: reflections on Ryan Adams' last tour

Ryan Adams, one of the most prolific songwriters of the past twenty years, recently married pop princess Mandy Moore, and in turn, has been rumored to be settling down and taking a break from music.

Ryan Adams has been one of my favorite artists since I was going into high school, and I was lucky enough to get two tickets and see him at the beautiful Fox Theater in Atlanta on March the 20th for his last show of the tour.

The eclectic crowd waiting outside looked like children about to open Christmas presents before the gates opened. The venue was breathtaking, and its pristine layout only added to the anticipation that the show that lay before everyone was about to be of historic proportions. One could literally feel the energy coming from all of these things culminating, leading to a electric atomosphere.

My expectations for this show were extremely high, and on the drive to Atlanta, I began to build up an anxiety that my hopes were in vain, that Ryan Adams was going to "go through the motions," and that I would leave the theater disappointed.

I could not have been more incorrect.

Ryan Adams is notorious for his brash, almost confrontational stage presence, yet when he spoke to the audience he seemed cheery and that helped spread a very positive vibration through the crowd.

The setlist was colossal, and spanned every era of his time spent with the band he has worked with for the past several years, The Cardinals as well as his years as a solo artist.

Here is the setlist:

Set 1:

• Magick
• Let it Ride
• Two
• Everybody Knows
• Beautiful Sorta
• Mockingbird
• Dear Chicago
• Blue Hotel
• Cold Roses
• Natural Ghost
• Easy Plateau
• Bartering Lines
• Fix It
• Magnolia Mountain
• Please, Do Not Let Me Go
• Peaceful Valley
• Freeway to the Canyon

Set 2:

• When the Stars go Blue
• Sink Ships
• Oh My Sweet Carolina
• Grand Island
• I See Monsters
• Come Pick Me Up
• Rescue Blues
• Wonderwall
• Goodnight Rose

I also thought I would add a Youtube video of one my most memorable moments during the show, "When the Stars Go Blue":