Ryan Adams plays the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara
Ryan Adams has made a career of being a sort of
modern-day Gram Parsons. His music has always shaded toward country in one way or another. His songs have a tendency to be beautiful and a little dark – even to the point of being brooding. He has been grasped enough by the mainstream to end up on late-night talk shows and even the movie “This Is 40”. However, he has always remained kind of on the edges to the point that maybe he’s not a household name.
Earlier this year, Adams released his self-titled album, and it’s a lot of what you’d expect from a Ryan Adams album. It kicks off with “Gimme Something Good” an alt-country song that would be a great introduction for someone to whom he is not a household name. The guitar in this song sounds a lot like the guitar in a Drive-By Truckers song. It tells a good story, and it’s easy to sing along with. Also like Drive-By Truckers, the song is well-polished, but manages to maintain a little grit.
The next song “Kim” is a great example of how Adams has followed in the footsteps of Gram Parsons. This is a song filled that is filled with a lot of raw emotion. Despite being a sad song, it is not only well-done, but also incredibly beautiful. Adams is just one of those rare artists that can take pained emotions and turn them into something amazingly beautiful.
Adams is currently touring to support his new album, and will play the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara on Wednesday, October 3. You’re probably thinking “Yeah, but it’s Santa Barbara. That’s kind of a long way to go for a show – especially on a Wednesday night.” While it’s true that this gig is a good drive from Los Angeles. However, this is his only date in southern California on his current tour. If you really want to see him, you’ll have to make the drive. Besides, if you know southern California well enough, you know what time you’ll need to leave to prevent this from being an odyssey. Furthermore, is there a bad time to visit Santa Barbara? It seems like any excuse to get to that coastal town is a good one. You could even make this into a mini-vacation in the middle of the week if you don’t want to drive back to Los Angeles after the show. Tickets for this show range from $25 to $55, plus fees.