Ryan Adams has concluded his tour of Australia and New Zealand by telling his overseas fans “I might not see you again.”
Trouble started brewing near the beginning of the tour, when the US singer-songwriter stormed off stage at Melbourne’s Hamer Hall on October 12th, leading to criticism from some in attendance.
New Zealand didn’t offer much of a reprieve for Adams.
As per the NZ Herald, fans were equally dismayed by Adams’ “weird” performances in Aotearoa.
“The music was great but his drunken rants showed he is obviously very unwell and needs help. I’ve never seen a performer behave like that before and I hope someone keeps him safe tonight,” one person noted on Reddit.
Another person claimed crew members at the show “were also appalled by his behaviour.”
In an Instagram post yesterday, Adams shared the set list for his final ANZ tour stop, at Auckland’s Bruce Mason Centre, but it was the accompanying caption which proved most noteworthy.
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“My very last show overseas,” he wrote. “What a dream. God bless you #auckland… I might not see you again but I’ll keep making these records and books because I love it…. And I love you.”
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In an earlier Instagram post, Adams also appeared to disparage Australia, writing “Thanks AUS. See you never.” He also alluded to health issues affecting his tour performance, writing “I get so much done with the audience takes the no flash/ health hazard phone flash thing seriously. Still can’t see out of my left eye.
Adams was touring Australia and New Zealand to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his solo debut album, Heartbreaker.
The musician, to his credit, addressed the complaints about his Melbourne show in a social media post the following evening.
“I am so wildly embarrassed and disappointed about last night,” he wrote.
“The LED camera flash on I phones and Androids going off in what to me from stage is a pitch black environment. I have no way to expect the flash. And what happens over time when there are so many, is I have an ocular seizure and I don’t know where I am, I don’t know what my guitar is and I panic and become disoriented. The saying ‘fight or flight’ applies here…. You want to run, you want to make yourself not have a seizure. Last night I unfortunately had to go through that several times in front of 2,500 people…. Which breaks my heart. Because I was crushing that show.
He concluded: “I love you all and I’m so sorry. You did nothing wrong. It’s normal to take photos and it’s normal to use a flash. I’ve had this my whole life and it’s been a real struggle because I love playing music for you live and I just can’t play with my eyes closed all night.”
