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13/05/08 - NEW DAISY THEATRE, MEMPHIS, TN Review by Trish: Some in the sold-out crowd seemed pretty beer-soaked also. The place was packed and the atmosphere was pretty rowdy. Too much loud chatter. Even when Bryan was singing! A couple of people were louder and more obnoxious than others. I remember Bryan at one point responding to one of these charming people who was yelling at him. He said, “Drunk and horny. Just the way I like ‘em!” Well, I guess he had to say something. Also, right before he sang “The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me” Bryan said to some lady, and I use that term loosely, (maybe it was the drunk and horny one?) “Woman you’ve got the loudest voice I’ve ever heard in my whole life! And then he asked the audience,”Could you imagine being married to her? And then he told somebody else that those two (this person and the loud woman)should get together, and it would be “unbelievable”. HaHa. Poor Bryan! I bet he was wondering how he ended up in a dive like this New Daisy. I know I was wondering how I did too! Only for him. There were some kind sound problems for the first few songs. The speakers made a sound like a gunshot several times. It made me jump when that happened. I could tell Bryan was not thrilled, as it seemed like he was pretty much all business. But he handled himself like the consummate pro that he is, and put on a fine performance regardless. I was just in awe! For him to be able to get up there with just his guitar and harmonica and sound that good just shows how talented he is! The highlight for me was when he brought Gretchen Peters out to sing “When You Love Someone”. I had hoped he would sing that one, because it is a personal favorite of mine. “Hey Elvis” got a good crowd reaction for obvious reasons. You could tell that Bryan and Gretchen are good friends, and that he really enjoyed having her there. I’m glad for that too, because, sadly, I really don’t think he enjoyed anything else about this show. Setlist: Review by Mark Jordan (Commercial
Appeal): In 1985, on her 16th birthday, Jan Loewenberg saw Bryan Adams at the Mid-South Coliseum. Tuesday night, the 38-year-old Memphian brought the faded ticket stub from that concert to Adams' sold-out show at the New Daisy on Beale Street. "I was born in the summer of '69," she said, a reference to the title of one of the Canadian singer's best-known hits. "I'm hoping to get to go back stage and get him to autograph it." With 22 Top 40 hits to his name, Adams and his music are cultural touchstones for anyone who grew up in the '80s and '90s. Not the most popular or critically praised artist of his era, the man whose songs were featured in movies like "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" and "The Three Musketeers" nevertheless provided the soundtrack to a lot of fans' lives. And a lot of those fans turned out Tuesday night to hear his familiar anthems performed in a rare solo setting. Adams, who still, as he did at the Beale Street Music Festival two years ago, draws thousands when he tours with his full band, is in the middle of a rare, 15-city acoustic tour, which has the 48-year-old musician playing intimate venues like the 1,000-capacity Daisy. The unusual tour is in support of his 11th studio album 11. Following a trend established last year by the Eagles, the record is being distributed exclusively through Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores. The disc was released the day of Adams' Memphis appearance, and the singer marked the occasion earlier in the day with a signing at the Bartlett Wal-Mart. But Tuesday night was something special indeed. As no-nonsense as his plaintive, three-chord rock songs, Adams took to the spare, black-draped stage in his familiar jeans and T-shirt, with only an acoustic guitar in hand and a harmonica holder around his neck. While he was there to promote a new record, Adams knew most of those in attendance were there to hear their old favorites, and he obliged them by getting business out of the way early, starting the show with 11's rather undistinguished "Tonight We Have the Stars." Otherwise full of rarities and lesser hits like "Can't Stop This Thing We've Started," the top half of the show was highlighted by an appearance by Adams' sometime writing partner, Nashville recording artist Gretchen Peters. They sang a pair of their compositions: "When You Love Someone," from the Sandra Bullock film "Hope Floats," and, special for this audience, "Hey Elvis," a not entirely flattering B-side (Sample lyric: "Hey Elvis can't ya see/They need you back in Memphis, Tennessee/They're makin' records but there's nothin' new") that's been covered by Mr. New, Billy Ray Cyrus. Of course, considering his treasure of well-known material, the success of any Adams concert boils down to whether he played your favorite song. Through a generous 14-song set and two encores, Adams tried his best to please everyone, packing in "Summer of '69," "Cuts Like A Knife," and "Run To You" before ending with "All For Love," his 1993 "Three Musketeers" hit with Sting and Rod Stewart. (Personal favorite missing in action: His 1985 duet with Tina Turner, "It's Only Love," with its tasty Keith Richards-inspired riff. Also, to many people's chagrin, there was no "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You.") Predictably, Adams did little to spice up his bread and butter. There were no altered arrangements or rhythmic change-ups. One imagines if you played the original recordings alongside him, you would find 'nary a beat out of place, the tempos in lock-step rhythm. But Adams has never been about musical exploration. He hangs his laurels squarely on his undeniably catchy hooks. As he sang his prom standard "Heaven," and the audience, full of more cougars than an episode of "Wild Kingdom," swayed blissfully in the aisles of the Daisy, you could imagine that was where they were: heaven. | |||
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Thanks to Trish for the setlist |