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08/12/05 - COREL CENTRE, OTTAWA, ON Review by Denis Armstrong (Ottawa Sun): Celebrating 25 years since the release of his first album, the iconic West Coast arena rocker is making the concert rounds with a new album, aptly titled Anthology, a 36-song retrospective beginning with 1978's Remember and ending with his 2005 hit So Far So Good. So a hit set list, heavy on hits and movie-theme ballads, was no surprise whatsoever, which presumably, was precisely what the 6,500 fans at the Corel Centre came for. There may be 25 candles on Adams' anniversary cake, but time seems to move slowly for the 46-year old, who looks and sounds much the way he did in 1996 when he opened the original Palladium, later renamed the Corel Centre. How fitting. Up close and from a distance, very little has changed for the this former Kingston boy, who can still belt out a nasty version of 18 'Til I Die and sound like he means it. It wasn't long before he got the fans singing along -- a key feature of any Adams' performance -- on Somebody, This Time, Cuts Like A Knife and Lonely Nights. "I opened this place 10 years ago," he said proudly smiling. "So, where's the party? Right here." And then launched into acoustic to play Back To You, proving that with that sexy, hoarse voice, few singers can fill an arena like Adams. So, not surprisingly, his two-hour show was a tidy package of arena-rock essentials, perfectly executed. Tight, fast, entirely predictable and loud without being deafening. And his fans were with him every step of the way. After 25 years, it's virtually impossible to go wrong with Adams' live. C'mon, who needs pyrotechnics and self-indulgent jams while he's playing Run To You and The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You at full speed? About the only surprise of the night, besides being able to actually hear what he was saying and playing and the startling absence of political sermons, was when he coaxed a gorgeous fan named Rachel up on stage to sing with him. And during his extended encore of Please Forgive Me, he wandered dangerously close to the outstretched arms of so many women, who hugged him and didn't want to let go. Now I know what keeps Adams so young. ********** Review
by Heather: The show was very high-energy, with most of the 6400+ people in the Corel Centre on their feet. Divine Brown was amazing -- she really got everyone into it, and her rendition of Aretha's "RESPECT" was brilliant. Old Skool Love stays with you! The boys came out just before 9pm, and did a solid hour and a half before the encore, which was four songs. But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. After a few songs, and right before "Back To You" Bryan said that just before he came onstage, someone reminded him that he opened the building 10 years ago (brief history: when the Senators moved from the old Civic Centre to the larger Palladium in Kanata, Bryan was the very first performer in mid-January; the next night, it was Stars On Ice, and then the Sens finally played a hockey game on the third night the arena was open! LOL). When it came time for "When You're Gone" Bryan said that sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, and they didn't have a very good one in Montreal last night, so he hoped tonight would be better (sorry if you are the person he chose in Montreal -- I'm just reporting what he said). Anyway, he chose Rachel, a young lady in jeans and a black BA t-shirt, with a silver belt (which he mentioned when he called her up to the stage). She was there with her mom and her aunt, I think she said. She was great -- sang well, knew the words, danced a little bit with Bryan, and got lots of applause! He really enjoyed it and after she left the stage he said "that's an example of when it works!" Keith stole the show with his guitar playing, and got a lot of the camera coverage for the big screens too. He used the catwalks on both sides, and Bryan joined him a few times so they could share the mic. There were a couple of glitches with the equipment, but I don't know if everyone noticed or not... it was fixed pretty quickly, at least on the side where I was sitting. At one point, Bryan asked the ushers to stop checking people's tickets when they returned to their seats on the floor; he said the flashlights going on and off was distracting. He said "Please leave the people alone" and then he invited the people at the back to come forward and fill in the aisles... (I'm sure security loved that! LOL). They rushed the front of the floor section and then it was party time. Bryan jumped off the stage at one point and went right to the front of the crowd, letting people hug him and touch him... one girl grabbed him and was trying to kiss him on the mouth... she had a grip on him and wouldn't let go. He missed a couple of lines of the song because of this! Finally security pried him away, and he went back to the stage. The encore was four songs... I think he usually ends with Straight From the Heart, but he did All For Love and Room Service again, the cheers were quite loud and he looked genuinely pleased and touched. He thanked Ottawa again for a great night -- and said he hopes it won't be another 10 years before he returns again. | |||
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