Saturday 18/02/06 Ryan Adams @ The Philharmonic, Liverpool

As tonight’s show was sold out, it was clear that his fans were eager to see the legend that is Ryan Adams back in Liverpool. After his incident in 2004 that involved a broken wrist, or what he described as a ‘Skydive’, and then the cancellation of Manchester last year, Adam’s had some serious sucking up to do. So walking meekly onto the stage with a small nod rather than the gusto of a rock star, it was clear tonight was going to be a humbling experience for him.

Beginning with piano ballads to settle the anxious crowd, the entire philharmonic was at his mercy never taking their eyes off him for even a second, but it wasn’t until he picked up his acoustic, wrestled with his ultra comfy chair and broke into his beautiful rendition of ‘Please Do Not Let Me Go’ that the crowd finally forgave him of leaving them for so long. His voice confident and on form broke through any hesitations that anyone had of him not playing his best tonight, even though clearly suffering from a chemical or alcohol induced hangover, he was going do this one right.

Sampling a little from his latest album '29' and switching from guitar to piano, not to mention being attacked by a crazy moth, it was obvious that tonight was for his fans as the more obscure tracks came to light this evening, choosing to ignore the dickhead hecklers as his hangover was clearly getting the best of him, and speaking to the crowd as if they had just come over to his house for tea, Adams would not be swayed from playing what he felt was right for tonight, as ‘She Wants To Play Hearts’ from 'Demolition' and ‘Call Me On Your Way Back Home’ from the scarcely live played 'Heartbreaker' showed themselves in all their heart-wrenching glory.

After a small intermission, it was now that tonight’s proceedings really got underway. Joined by fellow Cardinal band member Brad Pemberton on percussion, and armed with a banana and an electric guitar (to the light-hearted shouts of “Judas!”) a more rock n roll approach was afoot, as fans were treated to old and new as Adams punched out classics such as ‘To Be Young Is To Be Sad Is To Be High’, ‘Cold Roses’ and 'Shakedown On 9th Street’ to the cheers of old-school fans, engaging in light-hearted banter with the crowd and sharing his love for Slayer and distaste for McDonalds.

Revealing two new songs entitled ‘Two’ and ‘Two Hearts’ obviously dedicated to a new lover by the name of ‘Lyndsey’, the crowd were yet again bowled over by this man’s ear for a beautiful ballad. Clearly tired from a bender the night before, Adam’s focus was faltering as tunes flittered in and out of his head as songs were abandoned for others, or stopped midway just to give him the opportunity to talk with the crowd and apologise and crack jokes about his fall last time he graced the stage in Liverpool, indicating that beneath his rock star façade was a guy with less arrogance than expected. With a farewell and a promise that he would be back soon, Adams’ said goodbye with ‘My Winding Wheel’, leaving the punters with a lump in their throats and wanting evermore. One can only hope his next appearance will be as coherent. We wait with baited breath.