ACL @ 40: Ryan Adams

When in Austin, Ryan Adams does as Austinites do: He jogs in the vicinity of Town Lake, looks casually for bats (which he swears were “power-washed away”), eats tacos, and hits a skate park. He even reads the Chronicle, in which he discovered locals Clit Eastwood. “I bet they suck – in the best way possible,” he said Wednesday at an Austin City Limits taping.

Sporting his standard denim jacket and bird’s nest mane, the North Carolina native began an epic, two-part performance unaccompanied and acoustic, revisiting 2000 solo debut Heartbreaker with poignant opener “Oh My Sweet Carolina.”

“If you thought that was impressive, you haven’t heard anything yet,” he quipped, requesting more reverb from his sound engineer. “It helps me tolerate the sound of my own voice.”

Spotlighting material from September’s Ryan Adams (“My Wrecking Ball,” “Am I Safe”), the onetime Whiskeytown frontman was visibly affable, at times mocking his own work. He likened Demolition track “Desire” to “a 1-800-Flowers song.”

“There’s gotta be an anti-depressant company sifting through my back catalog,” he joked.

Adams urged those present to listen to Kiss instead. He also recalled his first time taping ACL – as a 22-year-old (“I was a total prick”). Upon encountering the show’s artificial Austin skyline, like many before him, he was dumbfounded.

“I thought it was actually outdoors.”

In 2002, the singer reportedly ejected a fan from one of his concerts for requesting Bryan Adams tune “Summer of ‘69.” Last night, he tackled the Canadian hitmaker’s “Run to You,” ironic closer to the show’s first half. Intended as 40 minutes, it clocked in at over 60.

Joined onstage by his group the Shining – and Eighties arcade game Berzerk – the bandleader soon strapped into electric mode.

“My name is Ryan Adams, and we’re here to play depressing music, really loud.”

New single “Gimme Something Good” opened, while Demolition’s “Dear Chicago” and Gold’s “New York, New York” and “La Cienega Just Smiled” proved standouts. Talkative throughout, Adams cracked jokes and picked on Austin-American Statesman critic Peter Blackstock.

“Seriously? You came to my show to fucking yawn?”

The best part of ACL tapings has always been acquiring songs’ backstories – exclusive peeks into artists’ inner-workings. “Kim,” the best track from Adams’ new LP, was written about his first girlfriend, who was quickly stolen by the songwriter’s (supposed) best friend. Love Is Hell’s “I See Monsters” was penned amidst a cocktail of painkillers and mushrooms.

Forever chastised for his temperamental combativeness (and music critic feuds, yes), Wednesday’s three-and-a-half-hour performance caught Adams in kick-back mode. He too noticed.

“I happened to be in a good mood today,” he waved, “but don’t let my good attitude ruin my bad reputation.”