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17/05/99 - TENNIS STADIUM, DUBAI Review by Jim Kittl: Bryan Adams rocked Dubai tonight in what was definitely the biggest musical event of the year in this metropolitan city of 800,000 on the shores of the Arabian Gulf. The expatriate community was out in full force to see Bryan bring his On a Day Like Today tour to the United Arab Emirates which continues tomorrow with a second show in the capital of Abu Dhabi. Bryan had been to Dubai once before in 1994 and the city hadn‚t seen a real concert since. Rumours had been circulating the city for quite some time that Bryan would be joined on stage tonight by Mel C. of the Spice Girls but those notions were put to rest at yesterday‚s press conference by Bryan himself. Wishful thinking for the under 15 crowd perhaps. Gates opened at 7:30 p.m. and the anticipation was evident in the crowd as they started to file in on a summer night in the Gulf where the temperatures cooled down from a daytime high of 43 degrees Celsius, to a showtime mercury reading of 33 degrees. Factor in a humidity reading of 90% and it was evident that Toronto in May this was not! By 9:15 the Dubai Tennis Stadium was packed and Bryan and the band took the stage and started the night with Summer of ‚69 which brought the anxious crowd to its feet. Finally, a superstar had landed in town that the music starved community could relate to and Bryan never let them go until the final note over two hours later. Backed only by longtime band members Mickey Curry on drums and guitar wizard Keith Scott, Bryan donned the bass guitar and the trio clad entirely in white, played a tight set that featured songs that spanned an impressive 20-year career. Bryan seemed surprised by the fact that the crowd sang along with almost every song and made the profound comment that "Music has no boundaries". This was in reference to not entirely being sure what to expect from the crowd as his tour reaches parts of the world that are definitely not on the regular itinerary for most artists. Highlights of the set were Keith‚s Spanish guitar work on Have You Really Ever Loved a Woman as well as the audience participation on Cuts Like a Knife and The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You. Bryan‚s acoustic version of Heaven was very well received as many of the couples in the stands joined hands or interlocked arms as his ability to touch emotions was evident with the classic from Reckless. After an exhausting regular set, Bryan was kind enough to brave the desert heat to do two encores for the fans. He finished the evening with only Keith on guitar to play stripped down and intimate versions of his biggest hit Everything I Do (I Do For You) and the show closer Please Forgive Me. The full house was definitely treated to something special tonight and would be well advised to make the hour and a half drive to Abu Dhabi tomorrow to spend another evening with Bryan, Keith and Mickey. We can only hope it isn‚t five more years before we see him again. | |||
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