The Ryman is a great place to see anyone -- it's just an incredible sounding room. My first show there was back in '99. All of the artists who contributed to the "O Brother, Where Art Thou" soundtrack put on a concert there (incidentally, this was filmed and later released as "Down From the Mountain" -- great disc if you ever get a chance to see it). But the thing that blew my mind was that there were three big Neumann mics in the center of the stage, and that was it. No amps, no pickups on the guitars, no individual vocal mics -- just those three large diaphram mics and that was it. And it sounded absolutely incredible.
Another reason it was a heck of a first show is because between the performers on stage and the celebs in the audience, it was a #$@% who's who of the screen and music worlds. I've always had a thing for Holly Hunter, and the chance to see her mingling a few feet away in a pair of faded black jeans was almost more than I could take.
