2/5

When Ryan Adams threatens to “fucking kick the ass” of an audience member using flash photography, it turns out to be the most impassioned moment of the evening.

The punter gets a mouthful because the North Carolina singer-songwriter suffers from Meniere’s disease and a flash could trigger his vertigo.

Sadly the passion of his invective is absent for most of this two-hour set, which opens with recent single Gimme Something Good. A 1980s rock anthem that has worrying similarities with his Canadian near-namesake’s output, Adams struggles to engage with material that covers the breadth of a 15-year solo career spanning alt country-blues and punk rock.

The similarities to other artists continue as he runs through last year’s self-titled stadium-rock album. Tom Petty comes to mind on Dear Chicago and Shadows, while the Hammond organ sound on the likes of Dirty Rain recalls Blonde On Blonde-era Bob Dylan.

These songs — urgent and exciting on record — fall flat live, with his four-piece band’s extended ramblings on Magnolia Mountain being craftsman-like rather than emotional.

It’s not until the acoustic Oh My Sweet Carolina, during which support act Natalie Prass adds Emmylou Harris-style vocals, that he comes alive and shows how electrifying he can be as a performer.

There’s a touch of inspired humour when, towards the end of the set, he takes up an audience heckle of “concierge” to improvise a track about complimentary hotel DVD box sets.

These glimpses of audience connectivity are frustrating reminders of what’s been in short supply during the set from an artist who’s well-recognised as being an erratic live draw.