Ryan Adams has always been an explorer, following his interests down a lot of musical avenues over the course of his prolific solo career. On Tuesday, the singer-songwriter brought the entire road map to the Citi Wang Theatre, performing on a stage festooned with ’80s-era arcade games and a peace sign-adorned American flag.  The burning, brooding guitar rock of his strong, self-titled new album was well-represented by a handful of tracks, including pleading opener “Gimme Something Good” and gentle acoustic gem “My Wrecking Ball.”  For those who dug the Grateful Dead-esque colors of 2005’s “Cold Roses,” Adams played several tunes from that disc, including the harmony-rich “Magnolia Mountain” and the title track. Folks who favor Adams with a punkier edge got the quick, Replacements-style jabs of “Rats in the Wall” and “When Summer Ends” from his recent “1984” release. Fans who got on board with the rootsier pop of Adams’s first couple of post-Whiskeytown solo albums were presented with terrific versions of “Oh My Sweet Carolina,” brimming with acoustic warmth, “New York, New York,” slower and more pensive than the album version, and the lilting “When the Stars Go Blue.”  It was all tied together by Adams’s nimble, chameleonic vocals and the crisp work of his four-piece band, who got a very funny improvised musical introduction from Adams with a special showcase for Boston-native (and Candy Butcher) Mike Viola: an ace among aces playing guitar and providing gorgeous harmonies throughout the two-hour show.  As most of his fans know, Adams can be a moody performer, and Tuesday night proved no exception. Responding to shouted requests and comments, he toggled between self-deprecation and mostly entertaining belligerence, taking exception to a few of the shouters and letting them know where they could go.  Butch Walker, known for his raucous solo shows, tempered things for his opening slot, skewing to the contemplative side of his rich pop catalog. He previewed tunes from his forthcoming Adams-produced album, “Afraid of Ghosts,” and played such favorites as the exquisite, hushed ballads “Passed Your Place, Saw Your Car, Thought of You” and “Don’t Move.” Adams’s band — including the leader, an endearingly ramshackle drummer, it turns out — joined in for the last two songs.
Ryan Adams gave the crowd every flavor of his rainbow in a strong show at the Citi Wang Theatre Tuesday.