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31/12/03 - MIZNER PARK AMPHITHEATRE,
BOCA RATON, FLORIDA Review by Leslie Gray Streeter: One was a Canadian big band leader most famous for singing about old acquaintances being forgot and never brought to mind in days of Auld Lang Syne, while the other is a Canadian rock band leader most famous for buying his first real six-string at the five and dime in the summer of '69. The two maple leafers' seemingly divergent paths crossed Wednesday night, as the laid-back Adams ushered in 2004 with a couple of raspy guitar-driven choruses of Lombardo's New Year's classicfor the packed house of spirited revelers at Mizner Park Amphitheatre. "Make your resolutions now!" the craggy but mighty cute 44-year-old instructed the audience, strumming along on an acoustic guitar as fireworks blared to the south. The traditional holiday sing-along concluded an enthusiastically received 90-minute set of Adams' biggest hits, including Cuts Like a Knife, Run to You and, of course, (Everything I Do) I Do It for You, the Oscar-nominated Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves syrupy ballad of lurve.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the '80s nostalgiarama: Instead of phoning in the familiar versions of the hits, some of which are 20 years old, Adams and his four-man band tore into them with giddy verve. Take it from someone who covers a lot of retro rock concerts: You can tell when these bands are on autopilot and steering trancelike into K-Tel National Airport. But Adams seemed happily and firmly alert and psyched. Following a solid set by West Palm Beach's The Curve, Adams played around with the arrangements of some songs, and, with the expert wailings of longtime guitarist Keith Scott, turned others into exciting jam sessions of squealing strings and screaming fans. His songs may not be deep, but many of them are surprisingly sturdy and addictively singable. "You know this one as a piano song, but we're gonna do it on the guitar," Adams said, introducing a slightly faster take on Everything I Do. He then ripped into a nearly 10-minute take on Cuts Like a Knife, with several audience-led choruses of the "na na na" part. Na-na-nas are crucial for '80s songs. Ask anyone. My favorite moment was when Adams recruited a happily hammered audience member, a French au pair named either Jules or Jo, to duet with him on When You're Gone, a big European hit he recorded with former track-pants-sporting Mel "Sporty Spice" C. In a shocking show of holiday bad will and negative international brotherhood, the crowd initially booed Sousey Spice when she revealed her citizenship, despite the fact that tipsy nannies rarely, to my knowledge, participate in foreign policy. But Jules/Jo won the booers back by delivering perfectly on-tempo if occasionally off-key support to Adams, who thanked her with a hug, a merci beaucoup and the promise that the "big fella over there" waiting to escort her off-stage would give her some T-shirts for her and her pals. The rest of the show was equally memorable, including a rousing romp through Run to You, Adams' ode to cheating, as well as some lesser-known singles like the sweetly Beatlesque Cloud Number Nine. Most important, he didn't sing the cringey treaclefest Have You Ever Loved a Woman? Ultimately, Adams kicked some auld reliable, good-natured rock into that lang syne. And that's certainly worth a toast.
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® 2003 18 Til I Die.co.uk. All rights
reserved.
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All pictures by Karen Peterson
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