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08/02/98 - METRO CENTRE, HALIFAX Review
by Stephen Cooke (The Halifax Herald): Bryan Adams has said his style didn't really come together until his second album, 1981's You Want It, You Got It, and although he's tweaked the music here and there since then, that title remains a motto. The man knows how to please a crowd. Over 9,000 Adams fans got what they wanted last night at the Halifax Metro Centre; nearly two-and-a-half hours of the Canadian superstar's globally-successful radio rock, with a smattering of chart-topping ballads from movie soundtracks. The man who sings that he wants to be 18 'til he dies (heck, his music career alone is over 18 years old) certainly has the energy of a teenager, never flagging in his efforts to get the crowd going, making his five-piece band sweat trying to keep up. As Adams hit the stage to The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You, roadies unveiled a "bridge" at the back of the stage, populated by contest winners who were treated to a bird's eye view of the show, and provided a lively backdrop. While singing about how he "doesn't look good in Armani suits", Adams was joined by a bevy of non-demure damsels, strutting up a storm. A tad tacky to be sure, but that's music video verite for you. As the sound mix settled "into the pocket" (as techies often say), the strength of Adams band became readily apparent. On Comin' Back To You, from his recent Unplugged CD, keyboardist Tommy Mandel added some rootsy flourishes on the Hammond B3 organ, while guitarist Keith Scott - a real asset throughout the concert - added backbone with his National Steel guitar. Then came a real pleasant surprise; Adams & CO. were joined by renowned Irish piper Davy Spillane, whose uillean pipes added a mournful air of distinction to the otherwise banal ballad When You Love Someone, while his Irish whistle did much the same for I'm Ready, a song Adams pulled out of his archive, dating back to 1978. Well, I'm Ready never became a hit, but most of the songs Adams played last night did, thanks to a keep-it-simple-stupid formula of guitar hooks and impossibly catchy choruses. Can't Stop This Thing We've Started practically pummels you into singing along, as does It's Only Love and The Kids Wanna Rock, perhaps the perfect anthem for pumping your fist in the air. Then there was the blast of cheers as Mandel played the opening notes to Adams' most successful song ever; Everything I Do (I Do It For You), from the Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves soundtrack. Out came the lighters (the most seen in the Metro Centre in quite some time) and the sentiment, as Adams gave it his all in his golden, raspy croon. Sure it's a sappy song, but Adams believes in it because he knows his audience believes in it, and it's this knowledge that's kept him aloft in the ficklest realm of showbiz, pop music, for two decades. Throughout the show, Adams never lost touch with the crowd. Whether it was typical rock poses on the extreme sides of the stage, or singing This Time to one particularly excited female fan, the man knows how to work a room. The most unlikely event of the evening occurred when Adams pulled several audience members onstage, handed them instruments, and sat back grinning as they stumbled gamely through Summer of '69. It was a great moment, if only as a reminder that rock and roll is supposed to be unpredictable, and a bit dangerous. Adams is smart enough to know not to lose that edge, and even though he was only 10 in the Summer of '69, no one seemed to mind the incongruity when Adams and the band blasted it out as their second, and final encore. Hey, if you're going to be 18 'til you die, who needs math? ********** Review
by Andrew Gillis (The Daily News): It can't be easy belting out more than 20 Bryan Adams tunes - even if you happen to be Bryan Adams. The Vancouver rocker had that raspy voice of his in perfect control last night in front of a full house at the Halifax Metro Centre. Once the lights dimmed, the show started fast. Adams was playing his guitar before the six-piece band was in place. The tune was a rocker from Adams's last studio album, The Only Thing I Want (Is You). Thundering bass guitar from Dave Taylor was mixed down into place, the kickdrum of Mickey Curry was likewise warped in, and the show took off. Adams played some good harmonica on Do To You; put his head back and wailed a bit on Eighteen Til I Die; did an anthemic version (the only kind that's going to work, really) of Comin' Back To You. Somehow that voice remained flawless through a 2 1/2-hour show. Like Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, Adams surprises you with his pipes. And like Tyler, he's found the shortest way to sing any given line, and get away with it. I'm Ready, a tune that's older than some of last night's audience members - it was written in 1978 - had a nice minor-blues feel. On the monster hit This Time, also an oldie by now, Adams delivered the lines as if in conversation with a female fan at stage right. Throughout the show, Adams easily worked the front rows, kidding a nearby party guy ("Gimme three of whatever he's taking tonight") and trying to determine whether Nova Scotia was settled by the Portuguese ("Anybody speak Portuguese? No?") before launching the Spanish-flavored Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman? Guitarist Keith Scott finger-picked the flamenco-style intro to the tune. As I suspected when I left the house, Adams's often-corny lyrics (they've improved since the departure of Jim Vallance) slip right past you at a live show. A sensible lighting rig dappled the sparse band set-up on the ballads (I Do It For You got the biggest reaction). Not so great was the two-tiered scaffold running backstage, loaded with Adams fans. A curtain hid the rig until part way into tune No. 1. But after the curtain was whipped away, to much applause, Adams didn't make much use of the group. They got only one visit, from guitarman Scott. Likewise, a posse of go-go girls appeared, but trooped away once the tune was done, never to be seen again. But the show later took audience participation to new heights: Adams recruited a band out of the crowd. Then, he stood back, while the fans - sporting real, working instruments - essayed a version of Summer of '69. Adams suggested that the band needed a name, and asked aloud, "What do you call that?" - "Crap!" the party guy shouted. Ten thousand or so people shared the laugh over that, and were pulling hard for more of Adams after encores There Will Never Be Another Tonight, It Fits You Good, Heaven, and a perhaps-still-corny Summer Of '69. Setlist: | |||
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Thanks to Bryan King for the photo |