Hi, my name is Liz (Hi Liz), it's been two hours since my last Ryan Adams show.

For the first time EVER, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals played in the Sunshine State tonight, at the Florida Theatre in downtown Jacksonville. With a backdrop of two electric blue (literally) Cardinal roses and a giant Cardinology symbol with a gong underneath, the band took to the stage to a standing ovation (and they hadn't even done anything yet!) What followed was not only a great two hours of music, including under-utilized and impromptu songs, but two hours of a good time. Ryan was in a good mood, so the rest of the band was, and it extended to the crowd.

"Beautiful Sorta" (this girl's favorite RA song) commenced the show and brought everyone to their feet, where we stayed most of the night (I can attest to that now, my dogs are barking). The song imitated its name and was beautiful, totally. A slew of hits and semi-obscure, underplayed songs followed. Really tall, really nice lead guitarist Neal Casal even played three (!) of his own penned tunes, including the very pretty "Lost Satellite." Ryan stood out on Oasis'"Wonderwall," a beautiful and stark recreation that left the crowd silent.

The set also included some big name songs including "Oh My Sweet Carolina", "When The Stars Go Blue", and "Come Pick Me Up." A nice nod to Jacksonville came in the form of "The End" a track off"Jacksonville City Nights" which namedrops a Jax (albeit the one in North Carolina, Adams's home state). It was a nice way to acknowledge it was the band's first show in Florida without having to come right out and say it. The city name was met to audible cheers from all over the theatre, despite most of the crowd not even being from Duval County.

I have now seen this band six times in five states and never have I had such a down home, regular old GOOD TIME as I did tonight. The vibe was supreme, happy people in a good mood with the drunks in the back who were quickly shut up. The jokes and banter was free flowing and at the end of a big long set of funny, I thought "Oh right, they're going to play songs again. Too bad." it was visible to the crowd how well those five men work together (the Cardinals include Casal, bassist Chris "Spacewolf" Feinstein, steel guitarist Jon Graboff, and drummer Brad Pemberton) and how much they truly seem to enjoy each other. No tenseness, no drama, no Ryan storming out because someone said the wrong thing. At least tonight, he showed a happier version of himself that while not altogether missing from previous shows I've seen (Myrtle Beach, Memphis, Atlanta, Birmingham, and Nashville...seriously) it was not as prevalent as tonight. This tour is supposedly the Cardinals last in this incarnation, and supposedly Ryan Adams's last before his retirement from music. Whether or not that actually happens is still to be seen, but if it is, and if this really is the last show I see of this band, I'm happy with that. They went out with a bang, brought out songs even I hadn't heard live before, kept the crowd laughing, crying, and singing along for two hours. And most importantly, they gave me the chills that live music hasn't given me for quite some time now. Thanks for everything Ryan.