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05/04/06 -CIVIC CENTRE, CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI Review by Doug Gallant (The Guardian): There's a very good reason that pop music icon Bryan Adams is revered by fans. He deserves it. Just ask anyone who saw Adams' two-hour-plus set at the Charlottetown Civic Centre on Wednesday night. Twenty-seven years after cutting his first single, a moderately successful dance club hit called Let Me Take You Dancing, the Kingston-born Adams still goes out on stage with one thing in mind - to give people what they came for, a night of classic rock songs delivered with everything he's got. And believe me, the 46-year-old rocker has a lot to give. He played hit after hit after hit Wednesday night, barely stopping long enough to draw breath and change guitars, which he did with great frequency, employing, among other things, a classic Fender Stratocaster, a sweet candy apple red Rickenbacker and a big Gibson hollow body. Dressed in his customary jeans and T-shirt, Adams kicked off the night with a song that pretty well sums up his entire career, So Far, So Good. And for the next two hours the hits just kept coming. To the crowd's obvious delight he trotted out such classic fare as Somebody, This Time, The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You, Cuts Like a Knife, Can't Stop This Thing We Started, Back To You and (Everything I Do) I Do It For You from Robin Hood. Adams touched on virtually every stage of his career during the show, save for the material he recorded early in his career with West Coast rockers Sweeney Todd after taking Nick Gilder's spot in the lineup. While pretty much everything he played went over well, there were clearly some tracks that people just went ballistic over. Summer of '69 was high on that list and not far behind was 18 Til I Die. There were times I thought I was in a karaoke bar. That's because Adams' fans know his material so well that he merely has to play a few notes and they're off, singing their little hearts out. Adams was positively endearing Wednesday night. It's clear he enjoys the company of his fans as much as they enjoy him. Throughout the evening he invited them to sing along, at one point going so far as to pluck a young business administration student named Casey from Holland College out of the crowd to sing a duet with him, a move that absolutely delighted the crowd. They
were also delighted by the fact that Adams tried to get as close to his audience
as possible. He had mikes set up on both stage left and stage right, allowing
him to get close to people sitting on the sidelines instead of just playing to
the front of the house. He ventured far enough into the audience to allow some
fans to hug him and high-fived others until I'm sure his hands were sore. Adams
held nothing back, pouring every ounce of energy he had into the And he was ably assisted in that regard by a kick-ass band that featured the guitar work of Keith Scott, a much-touted Vancouver musician who Adams first enticed to play with him in the early 1980s. That Adams still has a keen ear for talent was evidenced by his choice of opening act for this leg of his tour, Ottawa-based singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards. Edwards and her band, which includes celebrated guitarist Colin Cripps (Crash Vegas, Junkhouse, the Jim Cuddy Band), delivered a solid set of rootsy rockers that she capped off with the title track from her second album, Back To Me, released earlier this year. Adams also brought Edwards back to sing a duet with him later in the show, a duty she dispensed with handily. I doubt anyone came away from Wednesday night's show feeling they didn't get their money's worth. Thanks to Ryan MacPherson for the article ********** Review
by Ryan MacPherson: As for Bryan, wow, where to begin. I was disappointed to see it was a bit short of a sellout, but the audience was great, Bryan mentioned numerous times that this was the best response he's ever gotten on PEI. So many highlights...i LOVED how they switched up "kids wanna rock". It's always one of my favorites in concert, but this is the first time i myself have ever seen it done acoustic, yet with a very rock flavor and wow, it was one of the best of the night, loved it! Another highlight for me was "the only thing that looks good on me is you". This was my 4th Adams' concert....without question my favorite version of this song yet, it rocked. I also really liked "hearts on fire". 69 was great as always, same for "cuts like a knife" and so on. "the best of me" was awesome too, with Bryan singing the entire song just being mauled by fans :) The acoustic set was great as always too, starting with "please forgive", then "straight from the heart", "all for love", and finally "remember". He called out a few of the baddies that made long treks to be there from Germany, and even granted her request by closing with "remember". Oh, and of all the "when you're gone" girls i've seen over the years, Casey (i think that was her name, after forgetting) from Newfoundland may have been the best. Terrific singer, knew all the words & the song very well, and very fun & energetic (Bryan even made her sing the words Business Administration, which is what she's taking in College). Fantastic night! Setlist: | |||
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