Ryan Adams and the Cardinals
Victory Gardens Theater (a.k.a. The Biograph)
Chicago, Illinois
June 19, 2007

Lineage: Sonic Studios DSM-6 => Bass roll-off => IRiver H120 => WAV => Magix Audio Cleaning Lab => WAV > FLAC Frontend (Level 8) (Align on sector boundaries & Verify)

Audio Cleaning Lab was used to split tracks and reduce audience interference between songs. No further processing has been done.

Track listing:

Disc one (42:54):
(1) Please Do Not Let Me Go (4:08)
(2) Dear John (4:58)
(3) Nightbirds (3:55)
(4) Carolina Rain (5:44)
(5) How Do You Keep Love Alive? (3:23)
(6) Let It Ride (4:02)
(7) Elizabeth, You Were To Play That Part (3:08)
(8) The Sun Also Sets (4:05)
(9) Blue Hotel (6:09)
(10) Oh My God, Whatever, Etc…. (3:16)

Disc two (51:20):
(1) Goodbye Hollywood Boulevard (3:08)
(2) My Winding Wheel (3:37)
(3) Games (3:05)
(4) Two (3:14)
(5) I Taught Myself To Grow Old (4:00)
(6) Band introductions (4:08)
(7) Starlite Diner (3:15)
(8) Everybody Knows (3:43)
(9) Halloween Head (3:14)
(10) Encore break (4:22)
(11) Blue Sky Blues (4:48)
(12) Down in a Hole (6:06)
(13) Goodnight Rose (3:45)
(14) Exeunt (0:48)

Checksum file is included. Sorry, no artwork.

My comments:

Excellent Ryan Adams show from a very intimate and historic theater in Chicago. I can't comment too much on how this show compares to other RA dates, having never heard any of his live material in the past. What I can say, however, is that this was a remarkable, mellow performance that captivated the audience from start to finish ... the song selection was amazing as well. This is probably the best show I've seen in a couple of years -- definitely not what I expected, having heard legends of how erratic he can be onstage.

The recording was made in the 2nd row next to the PA. Through headphones you will probably hear that there is more amplified sound on the left, with more of a "natural" feel (non-miked) from the stage ... I was literally less than 10 feet from the band. I was very pleased with the recording, although it's hard recording an acoustic show -- by comparison to the music, the between-song clapping is often pretty loud on this recording. I did my best to bring down the levels anywhere where it wouldn't be noticeable and wouldn't affect the music. I think I was reasonably successful, although I'm sure others could do a better job tweaking. (With the minimal editing I did, at least you won't blow out your speakers.)

A few words about the venue -- this was the first-ever rock show at the "Victory Gardens Theater," formerly the historic Biograph movie house in Chicago. John Dillinger was killed by the FBI in the lobby, and this probably contributed to its landmark status. When the theater closed a couple years ago, it was converted to a much smaller (capacity: 299) studio space for local theater companies. The sound was outstanding -- hopefully this will be the first of many shows held here.