04/01/04 - FAMILY ARENA, ST. CHARLES, MISSOURI

Review by Michael Coates:
After a 9 1/2 year absence from the midwest, Bryan Adams returned to town to play the Family Arena. It was kind of saddening as major fan of him to only see about 1800 people turn out for the show. His last appearance, albeit some time ago, easily played to 17,000 plus. I guess this is what happens when an almost 10 year absence is coupled with the poor state of rock radio in the states. This show had little to no promotion.

On the positive side, the show was great. Bryan sounded great. He said he was battling a cold but I couldn't tell. I'm glad the band is back to a five piece. Having played my DVD's to death of late I noticed several songs that are just better off played as a five piece. There was no opening act. Bryan came on at 8:00 and played til 9:40. Covering a good chunk of his catalog but focused mostly on the Cuts and Reckless releases. This show had nothing from BA, You Want It, Into the Fire, or Spirit - of which I was little bummed as I wanted to hear a rocked up version of Here I Am. But after almost ten years, who could complain.

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Review by Trena Fichter:
(credit also goes to Trena for the BA interview below)
I don't know how I could say it any better!! The only thing I could add is that I was disappointed, as well, at how the crowd did not get into it like I had hoped. I felt bad for Bryan. Most people were scattered all over the stadium, did not come down to the floor (this is why he waited 1/2 hour later to start the show--hoping peeps would move down! or so I was told). They also sat in their seats like their butts were glued to it! My friend and I sneaked down to the floor after about the 2nd song and easily slipped into the front row standing without bothering anyone! We stood, dancing and singing and locking gazes with Bryan the entire time! It was awesome! The WYGG was Gina Miller, in the 8th grade and did a fine job. She had 7 in her party and Bryan made sure she got them all a t-shirt. I was also amazed by the SFTH solo with acoustic guitar that Bryan ended the show with...his voice was spectacular...no sign of that cold and strained vocal chords we had been warned about. The only real bummer of the night was that since he had the cold, he did not give any backstage passes or sign autographs after the gig. He waited until the fans had cleared out, sprinted out the front gate to a waiting taxi, and sped off to the airport. They said he didn't want to get out into the cold air (wind chill factor of 22 degrees Fahrenheit and it was sleeting)....can't say as I blame him!

Setlist:
One Night Love Affair
House Arrest
18 Til I Die
Let's Make a Night To Remember
Can't Stop This Thing We Started
Back To You
I'm Ready
Summer Of '69
It's Only Love
Everything I Do
Cuts Like A Knife
When You're Gone (yes - our town knew the lyrics!)
Heaven
Somebody
The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You
Cloud #9
Run To You
This Time
Straight From the Heart

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Bryan Adams discusses his tour, St. Louis and movie music vs. rock

Having already exploited the Bryan/Ryan Adams connection (or lack thereof) for all it's worth (see main story), the Post-Dispatch had a chance to do a quick e-mail Q&A with Bryan Adams just before press time. Here's what the Canadian rocker had to say about St. Louis, writing music for the movies and what he's got planned for the future:

Q. You haven't played St. Louis in a long time. Is there any reason for that?

A. We've been touring all over the world to incredible places for many years now. We're still at it, in fact. In the next two months we'll be headed to India, Sri Lanka, Dubai and even Mississippi! It's a dream come true to be able to point your finger anywhere on the globe and organize a concert.

Q. Any particular memories from playing in St. Louis from years past?

A. Many. St. Louis was one of the first cities in the U.S. to play my records back in 1980. The station was called KSHE, and it slammed my songs until they registered on the album charts. I started coming through there doing clubs and supporting gigs, until we were finally doing our own shows.

Q. Are you working on a new album?

A. I've been working on an album on and off for about four years. I stopped in the middle to do a soundtrack for a DreamWorks film called "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" and released that CD/DVD last year. So now I'm back at it with the album, and it should be done very soon.

Q. Your most recent album under your own name is "Live at the Budokan. It's a performance from 2000. Why did it take so long to see the light of day?

A. The reason the tape exists at all is because NHK (the Japanese television network) insisted on taping the show for its digital television network when we toured Japan. "Live at Budokan" really shows the songs stripped down like never before - it's just the three of us performing. That's why I like it. The reason it took so long to release was someone at my management didn't like the rawness of the show and never bothered to get it on DVD, even though I wanted it out! I finally put someone else on the case, and she and I are now putting together three or four archival concerts on DVD.

Q. Many of the songs you've done for movies have been big ballads. Are you OK with that since you're known more as a rocker?

A. I don't mind at all! I'm truly grateful to have any of my songs heard. My first hit record in America was a song called "Straight From the Heart." It was a slow song that was followed with a few midtempos and a few rockers. I mean, my records are all fairly consistent if you listen to them - they all have a good cross-section of rockers and ballads. It's just that some of the slow numbers had massive films behind them to get them to the rest of the world! Elton John is the master of having that same sort of cross-section of rockers and ballads. I think of him when people ask this question.

Q. The movie songs have obviously been big, but do you think they've hurt your own albums in any way or taken the spotlight away from them?

A. Well, if it weren't for my writing music for films, I'd probably be in the 99-cent used bin at Wal-Mart. At least I'm still in the $1.99 bin!

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All pictures by Michael Coates

BA and Keith rock out

BA kicking it out