06/11/03 - SKYREACH PLACE, KELOWNA, BC

Review by Jean Russell:
It felt like Bryan Adams gave us all one from the heart, Thursday night in Kelowna.

The Vancouver boy who became a rock ’n roll superstar, was there when Mutt met Shania, is rumored to have had an affair with Princess Diana and continues to make his home in London, Eng., was in Kelowna to help us get over this summer’s forest fire that skirted our city and razed neighbour’s homes. It worked for me.

The night opened with Colin James showing us his rock ’n roll side, occasionally coloured around the edges with the blues. To call this man’s music guitar-driven, doesn’t do justice to seeing and hearing it live. With a support team racing out from the wings he makes flying guitar changes with every song—sometimes more often. In one he switches guitars between the ballad intro and the hard-driving core of the song without skipping a beat. The appreciative Kelowna audience jumped to its feet and thanked him. It was an exercise to be repeated through the night.

Adams started his two-hour-plus set with some songs well known to the knowledgeable crowd. His voice was uncharacteristically smooth, only later breaking up into his trademark growl as the night progressed. As he moved into his platinum hits, the crowd on the floor became part of the show. One girl leapt the fence, climbed on stage, and gave Adams a hug as she whispered in his ear. A burly security guard wrapped an arm around her middle and began to drag her off him. But Adams quietly took her hand and sat her down in front of the drums where she stayed put for the rest of the song, clapping and waving to the crowd. I hope she won her bet. He reeled off the hits, with us as much a part of the show as his four-man band. The chorus from the floor echoed his lyrics word for word, sometimes matching the band’s powered-up volume. When they left the stage nobody budged from Skyreach, clapping and cheering for the inevitable encores. And we wouldn’t let him leave once he started.

About an hour of encores finally came to a close when Adams came on stage by himself with an acoustic guitar and a story about the final song he as about to sing. He worked on it when he was 18 and driving from Vancouver to Kelowna with a car full of buddies to ski at Big White. Someone threw a T-shirt on stage which he picked up and dropped on the floor at his feet by the microphone. But then he took a second look and held it up to read what was on it. It was a deep blue T with Okanagan Mountain Park emblazoned on the back and the Kelowna Fire Department logo over the heart. With a nod, Adams put down his guitar, put on the T-shirt and sang us One From the Heart.

Articles from Canadian media:

'Bryan Adams Rocks For Fire Relief'
Bryan Adams rocked Kelowna's Skyreach Place last night in the name of forest fire relief. At least six-thousand fans jammed the arena to see Adams and opening act Colin James. Kelowna mayor Walter Gray applauded the musician for pledging 250-thousand dollars in gate proceeds from four BC concerts to fire relief efforts.

'Adams sells out'
He sold out both previous concerts he played in Kelowna but rocker Bryan Adams set a new record Friday. His fire relief concert, set for November 6, sold out in just minutes. The last time Adams played Skyreach Place, tickets sold-out in just under an hour. On Friday, they were scooped up in 14 minutes. Adams will be joined by Colin James at three concerts, in Kelowna, Kamloops and Prince George. Proceeds will go to fire victims in the BC Interior. Elton John holds the record for the fastest sell out in Skyreach Place history: 11.5 minutes.

® 2003 18 Til I Die.co.uk. All rights reserved.
Web site comments to admin@18tilidie.co.uk

Photo by Glen Durrell

BA starts the Canada tour in Kelowna, the whole gig was soldout in 14 minutes!

BA in the Kelowna Fire Department t-shirt

People at the back get to see BA on 3 jumbo screens