I recently drove all the way to Cleveland to see Ryan Adams play. I have been listening to his music for about 2 1/2 years and I was thrilled to see that he is touring again, so when I saw that Cleveland might be the closest place for me to see him (I didn’t see the Toronto date before it sold out), I decided to bite the bullet and make the drive. Thankfully the weather was perfect for the long drive, and the concert was wonderful. Just Ryan Adams, 2 guitars, 3 harmonicas, and a piano.

For pictures, all I had with me was my phone (Droid Incredible) and the venue was VERY strict about no photography during the performance (they had ushers stationed everywhere!) so I didn’t even attempt any pictures while he was on stage, but here are a few pictures to show where I was sitting (3rd row center, picture taken after concert ended and they were packing up), his guitars, and the exterior of the venue (Playhouse Square Ohio Theatre).

I wish I had taken a pen & paper to write down the setlist, but I did not. Thankfully a friend of mine pointed out that there are others in the world who come prepared, so a quick search of ryanadamsarchive.com yielded the following:

Oh my Sweet Carolina
Ashes and fire
Damn sam
Dirty rain
My winding wheel
Sweet lil gal (piano)
Invisible riverside
Everybody knows
Firecracker
Let it ride
Sylvia plath (piano)
English girls
Lucky now
Wonderwall
Improv: Mr. Cat
New york (piano)
Crossed out name
Please do not let me go
Rescue blues (piano)
Chains of love
16 days
Improv: Danzig
—
Come pick me up

“What does this have to do with photography?” you ask. I am writing all of this to say that I am 100% dead serious that I will offer $50 off the balance due to any 2012 wedding couple (already contracted or yet to book) who commits to using Ryan Adams’ “I Love You But I Don’t Know What To Say” as the first dance song.

Live Version: Ryan Adams \"I Love You But I Don’t Know What To Say\"
Alternate Live Version: Ryan Adams \"I Love You But I Don’t Know What To Say\"

It has to be the first dance song, not just played sometime during the reception. If anyone is interested in taking me up on this offer, just email me. I reserve the right to limit if I somehow get a slew of interest, but I know first dance is a very personal decision so I am not expecting to be overwhelmed with emails. Seriously though, I’m serious.

This means I am in the top 5% of Wedding Pros nationwide! The WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ recognizes the top local wedding professionals from the WeddingWire Network that demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism. Unlike other awards in which winners are selected by the organization, the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ are determined solely by the reviews from over 1.2 million newlyweds. I am not the only photographer in Buffalo to win this award this year, but I am one of the only area photographers to have won the award every year since 2009 – Bride’s Choice 4 years running! Thank you to all of my clients who have written reviews for me on the site and helped me win this honor again and again!