Ryan Adams Brings ‘Prisoner,’ ‘Wonderwall,’ and More to L.A.’s Greek Theatre

Joseph Baura

Los Angeles is always buzzing with anticipation whenever Ryan Adams makes his way to the city. It was a little less than a year ago that Ryan Adams held a stellar performance at the famed Greek Theatre, and now having released his latest album, “Prisoner,” Adams made his way back to give fans another electric performance with some new tracks to show off. The North Carolina bred rock star has been one of rock-n-roll’s premiere acts since his beginnings in the early nineties with the band Whiskeytown. However, after truly finding his bearings as a solo act and releasing his album, “Heartbreaker,” the birth of the Ryan Adams that we know and love today truly came to fruition. Since then, Adams has released a staggering 15 albums, many of which experienced great success, produced for artists such as Willie Nelson, Fall Out Boy, and Jenny Lewis, and has collaborated with the likes of Norah Jones, Weezer, and Counting Crows. Now an Los Angeles native, Adams’ return to the Greek Theatre was not only an encore performance for a town of eagerly awaiting fans, but it also served as a homecoming of sorts for the artist himself.

With the crowd already aching with excitement, Adams took to the Greek Theatre stage which was riddled with a display of large speakers, amps, and a carefully placed collection of old television sets. The stage dressing just oozed a feeling of the 1980s; a feeling that I’m sure Adams was going for. As soon as the first song, “Let It Ride,” began to drip from Adams’ guitar, the fans erupted in cheers that could have sent the whole mountain side of the Greek sliding down towards the 5 freeway.

Throughout the performance, Adams let his known charm and personality shine through, bantering with the crowd about how he was excited to be back home in L.A. and commenting on how great the marijuana was on this part of the country. With his band, which was named the Unknown band, at his back, Adams got into several songs that he created with The Cardinals, a band that he famously made after taking a break from his solo work. Fans got a taste of songs like “Magnolia Mountain,” “Fix It,” and “Peaceful Valley,” which garnered an extremely welcoming response from the crowd.

In between songs, Adams continued to banter with the crowd, making jokes with audience members in the front row, and even getting a few quips in about his band members on stage. One of the highlights of the evening was when Adams got into his touching rendition of Oasis’ “Wonderwall” where in which Adams could have arguably put the original version of the timeless classic to shame. Adams touched on other fan favorites, this time of his own creation, in performing songs like “Prisoner,” “To Be Young,” and “When the Stars Go Blue.”

With the night winding down, Adams brought out one of his openers, Karen Elson, to the stage for his final song, “Come Pick Me Up,” a throwback from his debut album. As the closer, fans gave a raucous applause in approval of what was a well executed journey through Adams’ accomplishments thus far.

Ryan Adams brought a stellar performance once again to the Greek Theatre on June 3.