The Tabernacle set the scene Wednesday for a night of great alt-country rock. Ollabelle , a New York City-based band, opened the show. Inspired by the traditional country singer, Ola Belle Reed , the six musicians combined traditional gospel, blues, bluegrass, and country sounds for their contemporary audience.

Ryan Adams snuck on stage and played a few songs with Amy Helm, the soulful lead vocalist, and the band. He later called Ollabelle “extremely great,” like his “own private friend who’s deep.”

Next, the crew prepared for Adams’ grand entrance and transformed the stage into a scene from a high school prom. Silver over-sized balloons and a disco ball created a fun retro atmosphere. Ryan Adams and the other five members, “ The Cardinals ,” walked onto stage in monk-like robes. Of course, Adams distinguished himself from the rest with a Halloween mask adorning his face and a dark hood covering his just-got-out-of-bed hairdo. He revealed his conservative pantsuit under his cape and announced to the crowd, “I hope this wasn’t a church before because I’m about to start cussin’.”

Ryan Adams is a pretentious musician. But there is reason for this. He is good. He opened his lengthy set with the crowd pleasing hit “To Be Young,” which to be frank, rocked the socks off the crowd. He followed with two hits from Rock n Roll and Love is Hell.

One thing is for sure, Ryan Adams is not boxed into one genre. Whether it’s rock or heartfelt soul, Adams performs well on all fronts. After the first smashing three hits, he started the melodic and soulful track, “When the Stars Go Blue.” The song abruptly ended with the breaking of a guitar string and the lighting of a cigarette. As soon as Adams puffed on his first cigarette, members of the crowd followed suit and started flaunting their smoking habits.

During the set, his transitions between songs were somewhat clumsy and unnatural. He revived his disjointed performance by pulling out his harmonica and shouting to the crowd, “I should’ve brought my cowboy hat.” He then played a new ballad, “I Wanna See You Smile,” which highlighted his dynamic voice. His performance of “Oh My Sweet Carolina” did his fans proud. Emmylou Harris , his usual partner on the country-blues track, was missed. He continued with some old favorites, “Chin Up, Cheer Up,” and “Why Do you Leave?”

Adams’ recovering wrist gave him noticeable trouble through out the show. As his tension and frustration escalated, he demolished a silver balloon with his weapon of destruction, a cigarette, and yelled jokingly at a fan, “Don’t make me get N.C. on your ass.”

The crowd went wild as the lights faded so that only Ryan Adams and his acoustic guitar were in the spotlight. Without the distraction of “The Cardinals,” he moaned “Sylvia Plath,” “Dear Chicago,” “Amy,” and “New York, New York” solo. He revealed his tender side by engaging in light-hearted banter with the crowd and by discussing his nervousness about singing in front of people. He pushed his egotistical attitude aside and showed his appreciation to the Atlanta crowd. He ended this set with “La Cienega Just Smiled,” “Look at Me, I’m Crazy,” and “Come Pick Me Up,” which fans persistently requested.

For his encore, Adams played eight prolific songs that he wrote while taking a break due to a broken wrist. Even though pauses in the middle of songs and short explosions of frustration were distracting, the audience could not ignore his graceful country influence and heavy melancholy tone. He claimed he will never record these last songs, but they were the best all night. He closed the show by covering “Wonderwall.”

After this final song, I realized the ambiguous relationship between Adams and his fans. While most people love his tender falsetto, not all fans admire the man behind the music. On this Wednesday night, Ryan Adams won the hearts of Atlanta with his beautiful songwriting.

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