Ryan Adams, Cadogan Hall - review - Music - Arts

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However, on a good-humoured evening only one fan was lightly ribbed for phone usage. As he left he thanked "all the people who had a gadget-free experience".

Indeed, this was as low-tech as it gets, with the singer-songwriter alone on a stage lit by a dim streetlamp glow, creeping between acoustic guitar and piano in a relentlessly slow-paced set that covered plenty of the finest moments of a bountiful career and highlights from a wonderful new album, Ashes & Fire. At one wild moment, he stood up. "I'm gonna rock your face off," was his undeliverable promise.

With more songs than a hymn book to choose from, he picked well. Of the new songs, Do I Wait was delivered with real emotion, while Dirty Rain's simple, bluesy lines made it an instant favourite. Adams's best known hit, New York, New York, was barely recognisable on the piano.

It was a quiet night but a beautiful experience, made all the more personal for the lack of opportunities to tweet about it.

Ryan Adams
Cadogan Hall
Sloane Terrace, SW1X 9DQ