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24/07/04 - MOLSON AMPHITHEATRE, TORONTO, ON Review by Jason MacNeil - Toronto Sun With no new album to promote, although two are reportedly on their way later this year, Adams poured out one hit after another during the nearly two-hour show, kicking off with There Will Never Be Another Tonight from his uber-smash album Waking Up The Neighbours. Dressed in a simple black T-shirt and jeans, the singer seemed enthused despite the fact most of these songs have been rock radio staples for 15 to 20 years. Even stranger is that he looks basically the same as he did when albums like Reckless and Cuts Like A Knife were initially released. After doing 18 Til I Die, Adams and long-time guitarist Keith Scott dove into the high energy ditty Kids Wanna Rock, resulting in the first of several loud and standing ovations. The raspy Adams also paced the stage, made easier with a microphone in the centre and also on the sides. Other early highlights included the slow romantic Let's Make A Night To Remember and It's Only Love, the latter of which went over quite well, despite the obvious absence of Tina Turner for the duet. "Hello everybody, how are you?" Adams asked to screams as fans in the front held home-made posters. Noting that he was the first performer to play the Ontario Place venue, Adams then strapped on an acoustic guitar for a campfire-like version of Summer Of '69. Drowned out for most of the tune by fans, Scott and drummer Mickey Curry joined in to round out the favourite. It was this acoustic portion which also contained (Everything I Do) I Do It For You, the night's obvious cue to hold a flickering cigarette lighter overhead. No longer saturating radio, the song was able to come across better on this night. The crowd reaction throughout the evening was loud and boisterous, with Adams later inviting a fan on stage to sing When You're Gone, the duet he did with "Sporty" Spice from his 1998 album On A Day Like Today. The chosen one, who mentioned she covered one of Adams' songs during a Canadian Idol audition, held her own as she bumped buns with Adams. If there was one annoyance with the show -- aside from a cameraman running around the stage for the next angle -- it had to be how some tunes lost their edge. This was especially true with Heaven. Known as a power ballad, Adams reworked the song into a light pop number that packed no punch at all. The same could be said for Somebody, a great song but done in a different, slower tempo. But those minor flaws were atoned for with Cuts Like A Knife as the closing "na na na nas" went on for quite a while. The singer and his band, which also featured keyboardist Gary Bright and bassist Norm Fisher, closed out the main portion with the rousing and raunchy The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You before the encore opened with Cloud Number Nine. Opening for Adams was fellow B.C. native Colin James. James mixed blues and rock for most of his 45-minute set highlighted by Voodoo Thing and Just Came Back. Setlist: | |||
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