REVIEW
What: Bryan Adams
Where: Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre
When: Tuesday
Rating: 5 (out of 5)
The first Victoria concert in three years by sa国际传媒-raised hitmaker Bryan Adams was a how-to exercise in arena rock execution, with every factor in the equation on display Tuesday.
The sold-out performance, which ran over two hours, was the type of spectacle Adams is known for producing.
Visually stunning, with top-shelf sound, lights, and visuals, Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre felt much bigger and boisterous than normal. With an air of class to it as well, thanks to a snappily dressed Adams and Co.
The 26-song set was heavy on Adams鈥� established hits, with loads of audience interplay, but nothing about it was overly familiar. If you had seen him before, you were liable to find new areas of intrigue on this night (covers of I Fought the Law and Whiskey in the Jar being two examples).
If Tuesday marked your maiden voyage down memory lane with Adams, you picked the perfect starting point. He鈥檚 a gracious host, and this was an exceptional vehicle for his talents.
The audience of 6,871 was ready to rock right off the top, with those on the floor standing for the entirety. He does his best to hit every corner of the room, and involve every fan, which makes for an intimate experience during his concerts.
Extended catwalks on both sides of the stage, which helped him extend his reach, were a nice touch, too (they also would have come at his expense, as they gobbled up seats that most certainly would have been sold in a mid-size arena such as ours).
With the audience in his back pocket out of the gate, the 58-year-old kept plugging quarters into his jukebox of Can-rock favourites, producing everything from early rockers Run to You and Somebody to late career power ballads (Everything I Do) I Do it For You and Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman.
He has been deeply entrenched in Britain for two decades, but his songs remain the fabric of this country, especially for a generation of rock fans 50 and up. The arena was full of them for Adams鈥� return, and they gave the rocker the warmest of receptions.
It was the first of 13 dates in sa国际传媒 for Adams and his four-piece band, some of whom have been with him since the beginning (longtime guitarist Keith Scott, in particular, was a standout, playing off Adams with ease).
After an extended run through Europe, the tour is a pro operation, which means there鈥檚 little chance the run will be met with anything less than a raucous reception as it crosses sa国际传媒. Adams is as close as to an arena-rock road warrior as anyone from this country.
He doesn鈥檛 coast on his accolades, either. He played the majority of the concert backed by a screen rolling black-and-white videos presumably shot by Adams, a noted photographer and video director. It helped bring the crowd closer to the action in the beginning, and provided a reference point for visual cues once his massive run of hits got going midway through the night.
He could have toured without it, of course. But with Adams, if it鈥檚 good for his fans, it stays in the show. You can鈥檛 put a price on that in 2018.
