TUCSON, AZ - March 10--Ryanhood began the trek moving from Boston to Tucson almost immediately after bidding farewell to their home base of two years with a spirited twin set of performances at the legendary Club Passim in Cambridge, MA. On Friday evening, March 10, Jennie and Blake from Tucson, Arizona's 92.9 The Mountain introduced Ryanhood to kick off their Studio C CD release party at about 7:30 by announcing that Cameron had arrived in town around 4 p.m.

The show was billed as a party to celebrate the release of The Mountain's first CD, with proceeds to go to charity. Ringside was touted as the headliner. It was only the Saturday before the show that Ryanhood publicized the show on their website, and on Monday that DJs started mentioning there was an opener. Tickets sold out by Monday night. There were definitely some Ryanhood fans who were disappointed at the lack of ticket availability, so hopefully we'll have a Ryanhood show in Tucson again soon!

This show wasn't your typical Ryanhood performance in Tucson. The set was shorter since they were the opening act, the audience was all 21+, and not everyone in the room knew Ryanhood's music. There seemed to be a great mix; many of the people there were fans and excited to hear Ryanhood, but a fair number of people who enjoy similar music but weren't yet aware of how much they may love Ryanhood! I think it's safe to say there were many new Ryanhood fans after their set. Even with the short amount of time to prepare for the show and Cameron's exhaustion from the drive, the show met the high standards Ryanhood fans have come to expect.

The show started off with "Stopless," which now seems to show up first on set lists fairly often. The set list was meant to pack as much punch as possible in a short time, so we got "Sad and Happiness" from the CD of the same name, "Army," "Gardens and the Graves" and "Welcome You Into My Head" from Forward, "Stopless" from On the Radio, and as-yet unreleased songs "Alright" and "Nothing But the Real Thing," as well as the Jimmy Eat World/Postal Service medley so many of us have heard. "Can I Kiss You?" was on the original set list, but at the end of "Nothing But the Real Thing" one of the City Limits employees gave Ryanhood their 5-minute warning. There were definite boos and yells from the crowd upon hearing that Ryanhood would have to end their set soon; even the ladies near me who didn't know Ryanhood beforehand (and were extremely excited to see Ringside) were upset that the Ryanhood portion of the show was almost over!

It's interesting to hear the subtle changes in songs as they keep growing. I have repeatedly said that Ryanhood keeps getting better, and Ryan and Cameron look at me as if I have three heads. But all the little changes they make to their older songs, combined with their skill in writing new songs, makes the music keep improving—hard as it may be to believe! The charisma and presence Ryanhood has on stage and their ability to entertain an audience always remains strong as well, and is part of what really makes them stand out to a crowd.

Setlist:

Stopless
Army
Gardens and the Graves
Such Great Heights/The Middle
Sad and Happiness
Welcome You Into My Head
Nothing But the Real Thing
Alright

For those of you who haven't seen Ringside or aren't familiar with their music, they definitely put on a good show. I recommend checking them out at ringsideband.com. Ringside is normally made up of Scott Thomas and Balthazar Getty. Balthazar is also an actor, and was stuck in LA shooting an episode of Alias. To make up for this, Scott had Brian Bell from Weezer. There was initially a mini-studio C, where Jennie asked Scott some questions and he played mainly acoustic guitar, with a little help from Brian. Then they plugged in for the full concert. It was a good time, and I have been having fun with the mini boxing gloves they give out when you buy a CD!

I hope to see you all at a Ryanhood concert soon and don't forget to share the Ryanhood love,

*Report submitted to RVT-RHReader on Saturday, March 11, 2006