|
|
07/08/04 - JONES BEACH
AMPHITHEATRE, WANTAGH, NEW YORK Review
by Brian Beckwith
Bryan and the band were in top form tonight, as they returned
to Jones Beach for the first time since 1997. He started off with a rockin' "There
Will Never Be Another Tonight," and that set the tempo for a great night.
While he played all the hits, he also threw in some fan favorites like "Lonely
Nights," which he played on acoustic guitar with Keith toward the end of
the night, and "Kids Wanna Rock," which got a very enthusiastic reaction
from the crowd!
After playing "Can't Stop This Thing We Started,"
Bryan literally could not stop the song, so in one of the funnier moments of the
night, he brought a fan up on stage to officially get the band to stop playing.
He then told the crowd that he hasn't been here in awhile, and someone told him
it was '97 when he was last here. Bryan said he was going to do a song from an
album he was working on at the time, but then he changed his mind and said he;d
do that song later. Instead, he said he'd do a song from "Waking Up the Neighbours,"
and then launched into a roof-shaking version of "House Arrest," which
has never been better.
Bryan then introduced the next song by saying that everyone
asks him where the song came from and what the inspiration was. He told the crowd,
"You've been misled," and said that there's a clue at the end of the
song that gives it away. He said "It's not about the year," before starting
"Summer of '69" acoustically before the whole band eventually joined
in.
"Open Road" was played for the second time on this tour, and
it got a great reaction from the crowd. Usually with new music, people go to the
bathroom, but the mood of the crowd didn't change one bit, which really says something
for Bryan and the song. Bryan started off by saying he had a new album coming
out, but he didn't know when it would be out in the US. He jokingly said that
there was a "contractual dispute," but then said that he just has no
deal here and should be getting one soon. He urged everyone to go download the
song for free.
For "When You're Gone," Bryan brought up a girl named
Shannon who works in a cardiologist's office. When he was loooking for someone
for the song, he said it was relatively obscure, "here in NEW JERSEY."
Reminded that he was in New York, he said "What do you expect, I'm from Canada."
When Shannon said she was from New Jersey, Bryan replied "See, I told you
it was New Jersey." Shannon held her own for most of the song, with a little
help from Bryan when she forgot the words at times, and did a funny little butt-dance
wih him to top it off.
During the encore, Bryan said he'd take a request, and
someone wanted to hear "Lonely Nights," so he said he'd do it. He mentioned
that the song goes way back and was the first time he got to work with drummer
Mickey Curry. Mickey and the rest of the band were enthusiastic all night, and
it was good to see Bryan back on guitar instead of the bass. Gary Bright and Norm
Fisher seem like they have been in the band forever, and Keith was his usual upbeat
self, running all over the place like a man posessed.
Bryan closed the show
with "Straight From the Heart," and "Depend On Me," on solo
acoustic guitar. He then graciously thanked the crowd, which gave him a very enthusiastic
send-off. 
*********************************************** Review
by Kramerica:
It had been a long time since Bryan Adams and the band had played
in the New York City area (Jones Beach is approximately 25-35 minutes from the
City's border). In fact, he asked the crowd, "When was the last time we played
Jones Beach? Was it '96?" Someone in the front yelled, "1997!"
(The date was August 30, 1997 and the reason why that date is memorable is because
Princess Diana passed away that day. It's a good thing no one pointed it out because
that would've been a downer.) Since they had not performed
in the area in seven years, the twists to some standards were welcome, such as
Adams using an acoustic for "Summer of '69," "Everything I Do,"
and "Back to You," while Keith Scott played an electric were nice touches.
A pleasant surprise (aside from "Open Road") was "Heaven."
Noticeably faster than the original, this version sounded a little like "I'm
on Fire" by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, with Gary Breit's soft
keyboard textures and Mickey Curry's rim shot giving the song a "heavenly"
feel. Very nice. Of course, the performance of "Open
Road" was exciting. Adams prefaced the song by saying that it's the first
single of the new album (the title, "Room Service," oddly enough, he
didn't mention), but there was no definite release date in the U.S. because he
didn't have a contract with any company. The song rocks like, well, a typical
Adams rocker: short verses, obvious guitar hooks, catchy pre-choruses and choruses. There
were also some funny instances. After taking a request to play "Lonely Nights,"
Adams made a mistake playing the intro. He started it again while making a face
at someone in the front row, who apparently pointed out the mistake. Later, during
"The Best of Me," after high-fiving people in the front, Adams walked
to the mic that Norm Fisher was using for background vocals. When Fisher was in
the middle of singing, Adams took his mic and pointed it to the crowd. Exasperated,
Fisher turned around, threw his arms in the air, then assumed his position next
to Curry in front of his amp stack. (Why was Fisher back there anyway? Dave Taylor,
the former bassist, used to be to Adams' right onstage.) Overall,
the guys sounded tight. Scott, aside from playing molten riffs alongside Adams,
displayed some pyrotechnic tricks, such as two-handed tapping and bending vibrato
behind the nut. Curry and Fisher were in the pocket all night and Breit added
delicately placed keyboards throughout. It's nice to see Adams playing rhythm
guitar again. He played a tight rhythm, especially when Scott was shredding away. The
weather on Saturday night was cool and it affected the crowd, at least half remained
seated and subdued. The crowd did come alive during the harder numbers (and on
this night, were too few), but sat back down during the slower numbers, especially
when it was Adams solo with acoustic, which happened a bit too often. Setlist:
There
Will Never Be Another Tonight
18 Til I Die
Kids Wanna Rock
Let's Make
a Night to Remember
Can't Stop This Thing We Started
House Arrest
Summer
Of '69
Everything I Do
Back To You
Open Road
Cuts Like A Knife
When
You're Gone
Heaven
Somebody
The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You
Cloud
#9
Run To You
Lonely Nights
Fits Ya Good
The Best of Me
Straight
From the Heart
Depend On Me | | |
