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The L.A. Times Music Blog Review: Ryan Ross Hernandez brings his music and humility to the Hollywood BowlIf you were in the Los Angeles area last Saturday night, the Hollywood Bowl was the place to be, as many fellow celebrities went to see the guitarist perform live. In star-studded audience that included pop starlets Isabel Mejores and Serenity Scott, among many other personal entertainment industry friends of Hernandez, it called for one of the best concerts thus far on RRH's current world tour.
"Thank you all for still being here," was the first comment Ryan made on stage after the opening song that kicked off the massive set list. He didn't just mean physically by the comment that he was performing in front of a sold out crowd. After a lot of personal turmoil that has involved a string of controversial interviews, multiple throat surgeries, and more recently a high-profile break up, RRH was back in Los Angeles doing what has made him famous in the first place; playing music. The expression of gratitude for those in attendance.
That was just the start of a night filled with music, thanks to a 20-song, 140-minute concert experience that culminated this leg of the tour that began on July 4th. His comeback tour continues across the Atlantic in Europe in a week, before returning to the states for a Fall arena tour that begins in mid-November. Despite any outside factors, everyone present saw Ryan Ross Hernandez, the musician. Not the cocky, bad-boy that has landed him in hot waters in the past, nor the singer attempting to turn comedian. It seems as if having successfully overcome his vocal problems that have kept him sidelined for two years, has now bought him a new sense of humility.
The 35-year-old guitarist who turns 36 on October 16th, brought an arsenal of his best guitar work that wowed the fans, along with his seven-piece band that worked amazingly well together. Hernandez tried to build a reputation of his new-found folk inspirations that began with last year's release of "Break in the Clouds," leading to his forthcoming album "Traveling Tales." He didn't play most of hits song, and when he did touch upon his back catalog of music, most came with a hint of folkie, rather than the warm balladeer atmosphere that made Ryan Ross Hernandez famous in the first place.
Hernandez hasn't totally disconnected from the bigger-than-life persona that made him a industry standout, but it's rather toned down and kept more in check than in the past. After getting the crowd clapping and stomping along to his latest single "Going Down to the River," the musician promised that there would be little banter to be dealt with on his part. From there he dove into a old-school version of the once pop-ish "Halfhearted Lover" that had some sensibilities that would've fit in perfectly on a Fleetwood Mac record. And just before playing a new song for the first time, he went on a mini-rant about his future wife, drawn from the inspiration behind the song which Hernandez explained as "the twisted logic of writing about someone you haven't met yet on a deep level, but you know when you take that time it's going to be something real, something truly real. I want a love that makes me sick to my stomach with anxiety about fucking up. That's real fucking love. This song is about my future wife wherever she may be, maybe she's here tonight, maybe she's at home reading a book, maybe she's breaking up with her boyfriend this very minute."
That song is "Standstill for Today," which is filled with hope about his future partner standing by him no matter what, not judging him for his rocky past, but also acknowledging that he has his own flaws that may make her not want to share a bed wih him. He asks this woman if she will take him as he is and won't leave when tiny problems arise, simply seeking a true love.
Hernandez got every woman in the crowd swaying with the slow-burning guitar licks of songs like "Hold On" and "Slow Dancing," while including a small cover of "In Your Eyes" which he assured the males in the audience would "get them laid" later on in the night, and by the female reaction, that might have just been the case.
About halfway through his set, his band left the stage, leaving RRH on his own, with an acoustic guitar strapped on. He dedicated a cover of "Free Fallin'" to all the good girls who have had their heart broken by bad boys, promising them that "it'll get better once you hit your mid-thirties." We're not sure if that was a statement to his own past-doings of heart breaking, opting for a cooler hed and a more sensible heart. Without missing a beat, the Tom Petty cover, which was mixed with Tracy Chapman's anthem "Fast Car," led to RRH's own song "The World Is Black and White," which he sang in past-tense, accepting the fact that he's getting older, leaving his youth behind him. At the end of his acoustic set, a chair was brought out for the singer as he changed to a massive steel, dobro guitar, toying with a few different chords before starting to play "Gray Young's Freewheelin' Tale" which was the first time he performed it live since his vocal surgery and hit every note as it was written, Hernandez trying to hold-back the smirks of confident when his vocals were on-par.
From there on, the band came back on for the other half of their set, which included one of the most heartfelt moments of the evening. After they played "What We're Fighting For" a political anthem which in the current state of America's government seemed relevant to bring back from his 2007 album "Let a Man Be Lost." Aside from the celebrities in attendance, in the front row was his throat doctor, who greatly helped his recovery from his vocal issues of recent years, Hernandez got a bit teary-eyed as he went on another rant: "Around this time last year, there was a large cloud of uncertainty around me. I had just had the surgery, the second surgery that was suppose to remove the granuloma in my throat. And despite belief, there was never any doubt that I would be able to sing again, we all knew that was going to happen again. It had just become a question of when. It could've been six months or it could have been three years, no one knew. So I have to thank my doctor who is right here in front, because without her knowledge, her advice, following everything she said to a tee, I wouldn't be here tonight playing the Hollywood Bowl for the first time in three years. I wouldn't be back on the road doing what I love most and that's playing for you guys. So please join me in giving her a round of applause."
Soon after the tender moment, Hernandez made mention of the tears in his eyes after "Something I Can Be," chuckling as he stated: "men get more sensitive with age, ladies, just keep that in the back of your mind."
As the set kept drawing closer to the end, it probably became more and more real that he wasn't going to play the songs that people would expect him to perform. He skipped a handful of songs that would've surely engaged the fans, but weren't true to the feel the set list was clearly aiming for. He touched upon a short falsetto, acapella cover of Miguel's "Adorn" which led to his own song about a aching desire for someone, which one could say "sealed the deal" from his previous joke.
There was also no mention of the celebrities in the crowd, no thought of any of his famous ex-girlfriends, on October 5th at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, it was all about the musicianship of Ryan Ross Hernandez. There was not a single guessing of who he's dating now and rightfully so. All of that is bullshit that has often made his music be second-fiddle to his love life, a shade which Hernandez clearly wants to shed with performances like this.
It wasn't anymore clear than on the final song, the encore, "Medication for the Blues," which packed a euphoric over 10-minute guitar solo. It was a beautifully built guitar solo, which at its highest and most real moment, landed with Hernandez placing his guitar on the floor and playing from his knees a incredible progression that kept every single person in the crowd in key, attention placed fully on where else is he could take such a passionate solo. Ryan Ross Hernandez proves, mostly through his remarkable guitar playing, that his candor is not needed when he puts his entire body and soul into invoking a feeling in the listener. He might not be in the same vein as current radio artists, which is fine with him and whoever is taking in his music. One final "thank you" and a line up of the band, with Hernandez dead center, as they all bowed and were showered in cheers and applause. Just like that, Ryan made his way off the stage with a smile decked on his face, as a man who has grown-up as both a person and musician. We should all be excited on whatever is the next journey in Hernandez's near-future. Set list: California's Sweet Unknown Going Down to the River > In Your Eyes (Peter Gabriel cover) > Going Down to the River THe Halfhearted Lover Standstill for Today [New song] Hold On, Hold On, Hold On Friend of the Devil (Grateful Dead cover) Driving Away from My Hometown Slow Dancing in a Bed Full of Teardrops Solo AcousticFree Fallin' (Tom Petty cover) > Fast Car (Tracy Chapman cover) > Free Fallin' The World Is Black and White > Homeward Bound (Simon & Garfunkel cover) Gray Young's Freewheelin' Tale Full BandWhat We're Fighting For Show Me Something I Can Be Christian Girl Getting Divorced Staying Love [New song] Moment You Get Around The Art of Getting By Life Is a Ferris Wheel Adorn (Miguel cover) > The Other Side of Desire EncoreMedication for the Blues |
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