Ryan Adams @ iTunes Festival, The Roundhouse, London - 21/09/2014

Photo: iTunes Festival, London 2014

It’s a reticent, almost ill at ease, Ryan Adams that walks onto the stage at the Roundhouse for the latest performance of the iTunes festival.

Adams is, by his own admission, feeling under the weather, a fact he reveals after he and his band have already rattled through the opening four tracks of the set, including 'Gimme Something Good' and 'Stay With Me' from his most recently released eponymous long player, without muttering so much as a word to the packed venue. Any concerns, however, that Adams’ sickness woes would adversely affect the standard of his performance were immediately laid to rest thanks to the velocity and intensity with which tonight’s gig was played.

Following a characteristically meandering, but entertaining anecdote about Jessie J’s performance at the Brit Awards, the ever contrary Adams plays “a song about dead people” aka 'My Wrecking Ball', perhaps the one track of his most recent eponymous album which recalls the mood of its predecessor Ashes and Fire. Similarly the pin drop delicacy of 'Oh My Sweet Carolina' is as lo-fi on stage as it is on record and is the kind delicate lament that you feel Adams could now write in his sleep.

Adams continued to liberally cherry-pick from his exhaustive back catalogue, much to the delight of those who have been tracking his turbulent career which now stretches back the best part of 20 years. Highlights included 'Fix It' which was given a stripped down bluesy swagger thanks to his new(ish) backing band the Shining, and Cold Roses’ 'Easy Plateau' complete with intricate guitar interplay between Adams and the Jaguar wielding Mike Viola.

"You can't even buy this song on iTunes," says Adams, introducing 'The Door' from unreleased album Blackhole, "you'll have to buy it on RyTunes," - before kicking into a scorching rocker from the blacker corners of Adams' heart, a testament to his prolific consistency. He hasn't even had time to release some of his best material.

The set was shorter than fans have become accustomed to, but Adams admitted that this was due to the fact that tonight he was at the mercy of behind the scenes forces.

“They’re only letting me play for as long as it takes a laptop’s battery to run down” he sardonically states in reference to the fact that the performance was being broadcast live online to anybody that was interested. The beauty of tonight’s set is that it demonstrates to fans and newcomers alike why Adams is held up by so many as one of the greatest songwriters and performers of his generation. Whether he’s assuming the role of the broken hearted solo acoustic folk singer, the country-rock gentleman or the abrasive garage rocker, there truly is a Ryan Adams for every occasion. Which begs the question; if this is what the guy can do when under the weather what’s he capable of when fully fit?

Ryan Adams played:
Gimme Something Good
Fix It
Dirty Rain
Stay With Me
Let It Ride
Am I Safe
Everybody Knows
I Just Might
Oh My Sweet Carolina
Rats in the Wall
When The Summer Ends
The Door
My Wrecking Ball
Trouble
Shadows
Kim
Encore:
Easy Plateau
Come Pick Me Up