He's had that megaphone for a while to deal with less than stellar audiences. He used it at the Seattle show back in July when people started shouting out various songs while the band was between songs/tuning etc.
I'm sorry, but if you can't STFU while the guys tune for the next song, then stay home and listen to the CDs. I can see if there were 5 minute gaps between songs, but come on.
The PDX show he & the Cardinals did was probably the best show of his I've seen to date. He was chatty, played an awesome setlist and the crowd showed respect for the musicians.
Unfortunately, since so many people have this sense of "Well, I paid $XX, so I
deserve to hear [insert song as it sounds on the CD" entitlement, he'll have to get used to people yelling like assholes instead of respecting the band and the direction they want to go that particular evening.
/fangirl semi-rant
Anyhoo, check out
Ryan's YouTube channel to see the movies he's made while the band is on the road. I'd rather see him tool around with a digital movie camera than use drugs, so I'm all for this.