Ryan Adams –> Jesse Malin –> Butch Walker –> Ben Kweller

I have a couple of odds & ends to share, and the only obvious connection that I see is a version of Six Degrees of Ryan Adams:

1. Jesse Malin (pal) kicks off 2007 with an exuberant & rocking version of Cheap Trick’s “Surrender” – cannot help but feel happy inside seeing this kind of visceral concert experience, Jesse throwing the glittery confetti at the stroke of midnight:

Direct link here if that embed isn’t working (veoh? what’s veoh?)

Oh, and speaking of glitter: prepare to be floored by Jesse Malin’s new album, Glitter In The Gutter (which Ryan Adams guests on, as well as Bruce Springsteen and Jakob Dylan, and more). It is hands down the best thing I’ve heard in a good while – comes out in late February and start planning now how you are going to buy it as soon as it is available.

2. Butch Walker covering “Come Pick Me Up” (Ryan Adams song) with some girl I don’t know at a recent Hotel Cafe show. I’ve been enjoying the party-hearty sounds of several tracks on his The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker and The Let’s-Go-Out-Tonites album, so the sensitive strummy take on this video surprised me. Also, the crowd seems titillated by the self-destructive nature of the lyrics; perhaps they’ve never heard the song before?

3. Ryan Adams and Ben Kweller are going to be appearing together January 16th (Tuesday) on Letterman with America (the band) to perform a version of the revamped “Ride On” from the new America CD.

Stream “Ride On” featuring Ryan Adams, Ben Kweller and Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne):
Windows Media * Real * Quicktime

Also stream America’s take on the My Morning Jacket song “Golden”, featuring Ben Kweller and MMJ’s Jim James & Patrick Hallahan.
Windows Media * Real * Quicktime

4. Finally, two great Ryan Adams shows that I’ve been listening to via the Live Music Archive:

The full first night at Town Hall (NYC) on December 4, 2006

An ace 2001 show from the legendary Fillmore (San Francisco) on 11/14/01