Review by Alan Steenson for MPM
OK before I start, there are a few things that you need to know about me:
- I am not a huge fan of stadium gigs.
- I am not a huge fan of Bryan Adams
So, with that in mind I tried my best to go to the gig with an open mind that potentially Mr Adams was popular enough to fill the SSE Arena.
My first impressions when entering the Arena was ‘WOW’ he really is popular with every seat in the arena taken and the floor was filling up to the maximum also. I popped my cynical butt right at the lighting desk and surveyed the scene.
The stage was huge with a large video wall and a decent lighting rig that looked like it could have potential for a spectacular visual experience.
The screen was displayed with a car which I later learnt was from “So Happy It Hurts” video, throughout the wait the car started to build with tyres being added and various folks popping in and out to entertain the crowd while they waited for their hero. (including Adam’s mum!)
Near the start of the gig out popped a drone operated inflatable version of this car which patrolled around the arena for about 10 mins before the gig started.
Lights went down and on with the show: The darkness was punctuated by the voice of John Cleese doing an introduction to the first track of the evening Kick Ass, this culminated in Adams shouting ‘let there be guitar’ ‘Drums’ ‘Bass’ ‘Piano’ and off we went into a frenzied fast tempo track to set the tone of the evening.
Crowd went suitably bananas as he launched straight into ‘Can’t stop this thing We Started’ complete with cogs and pistons pumping on the large screen. Then onto ‘Somebody’ a classic track off his first album (one that I owned back in the day) wonderfully played and great interaction with drummer and the crowd at the end along with some very effective strobe lighting. ‘18 Till I die’ next with more of the band on the full screen interjected with massive bold text of the title on screen at every mention of the lyric in the song.
Things took a slow down with ‘Please Forgive Me’ with the crowd responding in the noughties equivalent of the cigarette lighter with the phone torches waving set against the blue backdrop of the stage. ‘Shine a Light’ sped up the pace slightly but brought the place down with ‘Kids Wanna Rock’ off Reckless until it was slowed right back with another ‘Reckless’ classic Adams track ‘Heaven’ which included a decent guitar solo by Keith Scott, who I found out has been ever present as Adams guitarist and that speaks volumes about Adams as an artist, it’s unusual for partnerships to last that long especially when Adams is a solo artist. At 69 years old he owned that stage and the dynamic between him, and Adams was clear to see, most bands would crave for that tightness over this length of time.
‘Go Down Rockin’ started off with a nice harmonica introduction that ended up with a bit of duelling banjo style with the Keith joining in on guitar, the song had a great bluesy instrumental.
Adams addressed the crown paying tribute to Tina Turner and launched into the classic ‘It’s Only Love’ with great crowd interaction the song turned into a melody with Tina’s ‘Simply the Best’ following another impressive guitar solo and then ‘What’s Love Got to Do with It’. Adams then asked the crowd to stand in the aisle and dance for ‘You Belong to Me’ and the large screen displayed various members of the audience who obliged the request by shanking their booty … one fella gave his all much to the amusement of the crowd and the band. The smiles on people’s faces were very evident that they were all enjoying every minute of the gig.
I’ve Been Looking for You’ was played before he blasted out ‘The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You’ and ‘Here I Am’ both complimented with the backdrop displaying abstract images popping with colour, thankfully all through the gig the band was displayed periodically to allow you to see them clearer, Adams clearly enjoying every minute when the camera was zoomed in.
‘When You’re Gone’ and ‘Always Have, Always Will’ was followed up with his biggest chart hit ‘Everything I do’ which thankfully I haven’t heard in decades due to it being played to submission in the early 90’s so it meant it didn’t annoy me as much as it did back the… to be fair to Adams that song was a worldwide smash as the theme to Robin Hood, and it wasn’t his fault that it was literally the only thing on the radio for 6 months solid.
‘Back To You’ provided us with a spectacular light show with Adams getting the crowd clapping and interacting with him cumulating in a brilliant piano solo and for me the strongest song and loudest of the evening. ‘So Happy It Hurts’ brought out the floating car that flew above our heads…. Not sure what value it gave but it did look cool nonetheless … This led us up to the song I was waiting for the most ‘Run to You’ an absolute juggernaut of a song with a backdrop of what looked like Canadian roads and scenery during the winter, Adam’s classic gravelly vocals have not lost a note in over 40 years and something that I have so much respect for, there are many artists of his age who’s voices are shot to pieces (Axel Rose for one springs to mind) the man must really look after his voice box to deliver this consistently over the years. The unforgettable guitar riff intro of ‘Summer of 69’ got the crowd in a frenzy with the screen displaying the front row singing along with Adams “those where the best days of my life” and for some singing tonight was the best day of their life…. yup that was cheesy but true.
‘This Time was followed by Adams asking the audience what they wanted to hear, some girl called Maggie requested ‘Cloud Number 9’ which was played acoustically along with ‘Cuts Like a Knife’ Adams then did a monologue about how politicians cant be trusted and used his platform like most major stars to shout about how bad the world is… not a huge fan of that but the crowd seemed to respond well.
He also played to the crown with a great acoustic rendition of Whiskey In The Jar’ which did go down very well with the crowd blasting out loud and proud. Two songs finished the evening off ‘Straight from The Heart’ and ‘All For Love’ and at 27 songs the crowd got value for their money.
For me the band was as tight as could be, it was a great visual spectacle, and his vocals were on the money… My opinion hasn’t been swayed on Adams as an artist he has had some stellar hits from Reckless which I will always like and tonight he delivered those hits right on the money and then some. Well done Sir!
Photography by Darren McVeigh for MPM
