Last night was simply one of the most amazing shows that I've ever seen. Ryan Adams made his stop in Louisville, KY (a.k.a. the Derby City) at Headliner's Music Hall. The Bluegrass state welcomed him and his band to a smoky, crowded stage with sheer joy.

Don't try and confuse him with the summer of '69 Canadian, Bryan Adams. Ryan is the former lead singer of the alt-country band, Whiskeytown. He is celebrating his second solo effort from the Lost Highway record label, Gold. His release is one of the year's most eagerly awaited CD's after 2000's critical darling, Heartbreaker.

It's kind of difficult to describe Ryan Adams. His style ranges from blues and rock to country and folk. All I know is he is truly to best thing to hit my CD player in years. His lyrics are so sad but true. His music really moves you. Seeing him live is incredible. You can see his influences range from the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, to Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris.

Ryan Adams was charismatic and full of energy. Favorites from his performance, although too many to really name as they were all awesome, but highlights were "To Be Young (is to be sad, is to be high)," "Nobody Girl," "Touch, Feel & Lose," and the current single "New York, New York," which had a special meaning with an American Flag as his stage backdrop. The slow ballad 'for the ladies' was "La Cienga Just Smiled," which was also featured in the closing of the season premiere of Felicity. His encore of "Come Pick Me Up," was out of this world, with him belting out every bit of his heart and soul into his harmonica. Ryan also tried out an amazing new song, "Desire" which was written for a Canadian cutie. (Possibly Alanis Morrisette from all the thank you's to her from his CD??)

Maybe I've just been hungry for some music with substance. Or maybe his lyrics are striking a cord with me. Gold, in my opinion is simply the best CD of 2001. All I know is Ryan Adams is going to be a huge star. He already has a huge fan base from Whiskeytown followers, and plugging from Elton John couldn't hurt. I know I can look back at his standing room only show last night at Headliner's Music Hall and say I saw him right before he hit the big time. And damn was he fine.