04/06/05 - FRESNO GRIZZLIES STADIUM, FRESNO, CA

(Above) BA and the band rock in the sun

Review by Steve Hatch:
I just returned from Bryan Adams concert at Grizzlies Stadium in Fresno, California on June 4, 2005. Wow!!!! He and the band were absolutely FANTASTIC! It was my first-ever Bryan Adams concert. They put on a AWESOME show! Musically, it was thrilling and it was perfect!! I loved it!

The concert stage was far out in the middle of the baseball field at the Grizzlies Stadium. There were only two types of tickets: floor area and bleachers. The floor area (standing only) was immediately in front of the stage. Those were the expensive tickets that sold out in only a few minutes.

Unfortunately, I found out about the concert too late to get a floor area ticket, so I was in the bleachers. I had a great angle of view, about the best in the stadium, but I was too far away from the stage... probably about 60 meters! I could hardly distinguish the faces of the band members. I wish that I had brought binoculars, and I was about as close as one could possibly get with a bleachers ticket.

From my seat, I was able to see Bryan and the band, all of them wearing blue jeans and black t-shirts, as they walked from their tour bus to the back door of the stage. I excitedly pointed them out to a girl next to me and she said, "who are they?" (Ugh! She must have been a Def Leppard fan).

Unfortunately, Bryan Adams has not received nearly enough attention in this part of the world in recent years. His older songs still receive lots of radio airplay, but Room Service was ignored by the radio stations in this area.

As Bryan and the band took the stage, I could hear loud but scattered cheers echoing throughout the stadium. Frankly, the audience was an embarrassment at first, exhibiting the same rudeness to Bryan and his band as they had done to Randy Coleman, the opening act. It appeared that most of the tickets for the floor area were purchased by fans of Def Leppard. I could see many of these people on the floor area with their backs turned, talking or drinking beer as Bryan and the band played the first song of their set, "House Arrest." A steady flow of people were walking away from the stage to use the bathrooms or buy beer. It made me very angry to see such a lack of respect.

This disrespect did NOT last, however. As the concert progressed, Bryan and the band won over the audience and earned their respect. At first, it seemed to me that only an older generation, those who remember Bryan from his early days in the Eighties, were focused on the music. However, by the second half of the concert, after some awesome guitar work by Keith Scott and Bryan, the whole audience was really paying attention and giving the band lots of applause, cheers and whistles. The fans had taken to their feet and were singing along and dancing. Bryan even praised us for how well we sang the "na-na-na" part on "Cuts Like A Knife." During "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You," the whole stadium was echoing with the voices of those who were singing along. These were times when I got goosebumps, I tell you! Keith Scott did an unbelievable guitar solo on "It's Only Love." Bryan Adams' voice was right on... it was like listening to a studio recording!! He is a great live singer. I was surprised that he performed only ONE song from the Room Service album: "This Side of Paradise." For just this one song, Bryan used the white "Room Service" guitar. By the end of their part of the concert, the whole audience seemed to be listening and having a good time, and the band closed to thunderous applause. The band quickly left the stage. I could see them carrying plastic bottles of water as they walked backstage toward the tour bus and got on board. The bus left only a little while later, probably heading for San Bernardino, California, the site of their next gig the following night. I saw the bus driving away even before Def Leppard came on, and a mass of Def Leppard fans (who only had bleacher tickets) ran past the security officers onto the floor area.

In spite of some annoyances, I am very glad that, at last, I had the opportunity to see and hear Bryan Adam's perform live in concert. It was a great experience to watch Bryan and the band conquer the crowd with their incredible musicianship.

(Below) A panorama shot of the stadium

Setlist:
House Arrest
Run To You
18 Til I Die
Can't Stop This Thing We Started
Somebody
Kids Wanna Rock
Summer Of '69
Everything I Do
This Time
Cuts Like A Knife
Heat Of The Night
One Night Love Affair
This Side of Paradise
Heaven
It's Only Love
The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You
There Will Never Be Another Tonight

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Thanks to z104 for the pictures and Steve Hatch for the setlist & ticket

For this show BA came on first followed by Def

BA jamming on his guitar