By Colin Young, News correspondent

Billed simply as The Cardinals, alt-country rocker Ryan Adams and his band pumped energy and life into the old, crumbling Orpheum Theatre Saturday night.
Fans packed the Orpheum to witness what may end up being Adams’ last performance in Boston for quite awhile. On Jan. 14, Adams posted a lengthy letter on his blog announcing that after his current tour, he would take a hiatus from both The Cardinals and music in general.
‘I am excited to finish this wonderful time I have had with The Cardinals and whatever new adventures may come after March,’ he said. ‘Atlanta will be my last venture with the band and I am grateful for the time we have had and maybe someday we will have more stories to tell together.’
The atmosphere was not that of a farewell tour, however, when the band took the stage with a reworked version of ‘I See Monsters.’ Adams did not start the show with as much energy as expected, but with such an intent audience, he didn’t have to. Everyone was transfixed anyway.
An early highlight of the show came when the group played ‘Fix It’ off their latest album, 2008’s Cardinology. The song may have been the closest thing to any mention of his coming hiatus.
‘What makes them walk away after all these years? / These years of learning it the hard way by the lessons from the tears / I know its not a game but it feels like losing when someone you love throws you away,’ Adams sang.
The Cardinals then powered through fan favorites ‘Let it Ride’ and ‘Easy Plateau,’ both from 2005’s Cold Roses album, but didn’t limit their performance to classics. The song ‘Two,’ from 2007’s Easy Tiger, took on new meaning after the recent announcement that Adams had gotten engaged to girlfriend Mandy Moore.
‘I wanna go home / But it takes two when it used to take one,’ Adams sang.
Ryan Adams and The Cardinals again proved they didn’t need to play loud or hard to captivate their audience as Adams quietly began to play his version of the Oasis classic ‘Wonderwall.’ The audience was practically silent as Adams’ poignant voice filled every void in the decrepit theatre.
Adams then donned a harmonica rack and played ‘Come Pick Me Up’ from his 2000 debut album Heartbreaker. The song, with its catchy harmonica intro and simple structure, would certainly have been a radio hit if not for one four letter word in the chorus.
In the middle of the set, Adams introduced the rest of the band. Jon Graboff, pedal steel player, was introduced first and the rest of the band then played a short song whose lyrics were simply ‘Jon Graboff.’ This continued for guitarist Neal Casal, bassist Chris Feinstein and drummer Brad Pemberton.
An extended jam helped the group transition between ‘Peaceful Valley’ and ‘Beautiful Sorta.’
In lieu of the standard two sets and an encore, The Cardinals played one long set and an hour-long encore, playing until the 11 p.m. curfew. The encore began with the energetic ‘Shakedown on 9th Street’ and featured an animated Adams who seemed to be enjoying himself on stage.
One crowd favorite from the encore set was ‘When the Stars Go Blue,’ which was originally written and recorded by Adams but has since been recorded by country star Tim McGraw.
To end the show, The Cardinals pulled out the Alice in Chains song ‘Down in a Hole,’ which Adams has reworked and recorded previously. The band fooled around on stage before waving to the crowd and exiting as the house lights came on.
Saturday’s show was solid evidence that despite his strange tendencies and desire to take a break from music, Adams can still put on a great live performance.