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08/03/06 - KIRSTENBOSCH
GARDENS, CAPE TOWN Review
by Val:
Due
to the delay in getting all of us to see Bryan backstage (as he was warming up
for the show – voice?) he walked on a bit later tonight and unfortunately
cut off a lot of numbers at the end = he did not come up to the front line of
the audience as in the previous two nights and did no encore. It could have been that Bryan’s voice was taking the strain but then he could at least have said a decent good-bye. There were plenty calls into the radio stations the next day – folk were not happy at all. Tickets were expensive for South African standards – and if I hadn’t been to the two previous shows I would have bleated “I wuz cheated”! Another possible reason is that all the sound equipment, guitars etc. had to be road transported to Port Elizabeth (a good 7 hour drive with a standard vehicle) for a concert the very next night (Thursday) and Kirstenbosch Gardens had said that the stage rigging had to be gone by early the following morning. But what is an extra 10 minutes of staying on stage? The whole thing was a bit odd. Back to the show. He spoke about Anthology –he said it was the American record co’s idea and not his own, to do a collection of his songs which ended up as Anthology – he explained this in a drawling American accent.
He mentioned the crowd reaction Monday that was great, the crowd reaction Tuesday which he thought was brilliant – he asks if tonight we are going to be the best of three? I think it was a toss up between Tuesday and Wednesday night in terms of audience enthusiasm & participation – Monday was certainly adequate as well though. He asks ‘’how are you people in the trees at the back?” – cheering from the crowd. Tonight a bra was thrown but this too fell short of the stage. B queried with Keith something about ‘’5’’ –again crowd cheering so couldn’t hear. Either it was to do with 5th visit or it was 5 years ago that he was here (actually it is just over 3 years ago that he last gave shows here) – and then he says how good it is to be back here & breaks into “Back to You”.
Again B mentioned about being in Cape Town and suggestions about what to do and who could take him around – he says that tomorrow (Thursday) he has until 12 (noon) before he flies out of Cape Town. You can just imagine the reaction from the crowd – again Bryan’s voice drowned out by screeches. WYG girl – Margot (she was chosen from just behind me), studying to be a psychologist – well that was an entry for Bryan and his comments. He said oh, the entire band is made up of psychos – then Norm, Mickey and Keith all did an act as if they were Jack Nicholson’s co-horts from One flew over the Cuckoos Nest. That was hilarious. Margot was absolutely brilliant – she knew exactly what to do and all the words and how to react with Bryan. Bryan was super impressed.
More than half way through the show, B excused himself from the stage for a while. Earlier we noticed a Christmas Beetle (also known as a cicada bug) bothering him on his arm and he was blowing it off – he came back with a black tracksuit type top on – I don’t believe he could have been cold although it was a cooler evening than the two nights before, perhaps it was to stop this bug bothering him. Because of the show being cut short as explained earlier, it ended abruptly and a bit of an anti climax – made me feel a little let down – not a biggie though for me – but certainly for the rest of the audience. After hanging around for about 10 minutes (previous two nights we all lingered much longer on the lawns in front of the stage) we moved at a snails pace to the parking area – Janice joined me with my niece in my van and we chatted for some while before saying our goodbyes and going on our way. Hope we meet up again soon, Janice. It
seems hard to believe that Bryan has been here and now almost gone - Bless you. ********** Review
by Jon Monsoon (Cape Times): I've so far managed to ignore the fact that, with a two-decade career under his belt, raspy-voiced Canadian singer/ songwriter and guitarist Bryan Adams remains one of the most successful recording artists in popular music worldwide, even by today's standards. The excitement pre-Adams in the 'Bosch is tangible as all around me hardcore BA fans quaff wine and cheese crackers. On cue, Bryan takes the stage and it's on. Three songs in and I'm ready to leave. Stepping over picnic baskets and parents, I head to the edge of the crowd. Bryan kicks into Summer of 69 and I think, "Hey, I know this song!" Flashback to a high school dance and all of us anti-jocks rocking out, arm-in-arm. Gee, thanks for the memory. I stick around. Up on stage, Bryan is in stride and the hits (and memories) keep on coming: (Everything I Do) I Do It For You (a nervous moment with a girl too pretty) and Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman? (my mother's favourite song once), Cuts Like A Knife (the break-up anthem, for a girl too pretty), 18 'till I die (our anti-karaoke hit), Thought I'd Died And Gone to Heaven (soundtrack to a friend's funeral), Please Forgive Me (make-up song for the girl too pretty), and so on. If nothing else, Bryan Adams makes memorable songs. Back to his live show and it's apparent that, besides being very good at what he does, he also enjoys doing it. Together with side-kick guitarist Keith Scott the band rocks out with a youthful vigour that defies age. The audience struggle to keep up at times but Bryan doesn't care. It's his third outing and he's belting it like it's his first - even when he pauses to reflect how "this is kinda like playing in someone's backyard". The second half of the show is decidedly rockier and I'm thinking "this isn't that bad!" Beyond the schmaltzy lyrics there is something to this music; well-crafted, simple, straightforward rock, devoid of gimmicks and gadgets and for that you gotta give the man some respect for, as he tells the happy, smiling crowd, "we're just about the music and the peeps". Rock on! Bryan Adams hits Port Elizabeth on tomorrow, Durban on Saturday, and Johannesburg on Sunday. One... two… three… GO! Setlist: | |||
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® 2006 18 Til I Die.co.uk. All
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Thanks to Val for the setlist, and Janice for the pics
Bryan slamming his guitar during Keith's solo on 'It's Only Love'
Rockin' out
The WYGG and Bryan
BA on guitar
'69
Thousands wait for Bryan at the beautiful Kirstenbosch Gardens
Val and Bryan before the show |
