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		08/05/07 - MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS ARENA Review by Steven Stanley: I setoff from work outside the Hallam FM Arena (coincidently where this tour will end) to start the tour in Manchester. Notorious for being a bitch to get in to the MEN, I decided to work today and just turn up late for this show. I arrived just as the support act was winding up (and thank god because he sucked). Thankfully Chels, Lizy, Helen and co had saved me a place at the b-stage which was great. While we waited for the action I made friends with Dan and Phillipa who were at the show for their wedding aniversary... Dan was a top laugh and made time pass quick! Bryan came on the b-stage at 8.30pm and started singing 'There Will Never Be Another Tonight'... only problem was there was no sound coming from his mike! An uncanny co-incidence seeing as in 2004 in the very same venue BA came onstage and started singing in the wrong microphone... better luck next time Bryan! As he ended 'Can't Stop' he sang..."It Ain't A Party...If Ya Can't Come 'Round!".... unfortunately it was just the one line and not akin to the double jam on the 'Unplugged' CD. Once again for 'The Best Of Me' he walked through the crowd to get to the mainstage... was quite a sight and that works really well at the start of the show done in that way. 'Kids Wanna Rock' had a great guitar battle in it too and '69 just sounds better and better with that minute long guitar intro on that gorgeous Gretsch guitar. The WYGG was from Liverpool and she got some right boo's after she said "Athens here we come!" to an Arena packed with Man Utd fans no doubt! Was well funny! 'It's Only Love' didn't see the use of any acoustic guitars although the toned down arrangement until the end was just the same. Somewhere during the show BA kept mentioning that this tour was originally planned to be the tour for his new album... but he didn't want to put it out because he wasn't sure about the songs! He promised that it would be out soon and he guessed that another UK Tour would be on it's way once it was out! 'This Time' was kept in the setlist tonight, however 'Open Road' was dropped from the set for the first time off the top off my head since it's release in 2004. Not a single song from the 'Room Service' album was played tonight... and I don't think anybody noticed! The 2nd visit to the b-stage was awesome... 'There's Gonna Be Some Rockin'' is a great track to start with and has a great jam at the end. My friend Lizy got onstage for 'She's Only Happy...' and she was having a great time. Instead of going back to the mainstage to end the show... BA did it on the b-stage this time. To my knowledge he's never ended a show on the b-stage until now. A 10-song stint on the b-stage tonight... surely the most songs at a show he's ever done on there. The show started at 8.30pm and he went off just after 11pm... clocking in at just over 2 and a half hours! As he left the stage with 'All For Love' he flicked his plectrum my way which capped off a perfect evening. Thanks to Dan and Philippa... nice to meet some random cool people every once in a while... it's what makes going to shows more fun than they already are ;) Setlist: *b-stage* There Will Never Be Another Tonight Can't Stop This Thing We Started Please Forgive Me The Best Of Me (BA walks to mainstage) *b-stage* Somebody Kids Wanna Rock 18 Til I Die This Time Let's Make A Night To Remember Back To You I Think About You Summer Of '69 Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman? Everything I Do Cuts Like A Knife When You're Gone It's Only Love Heaven The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You Cloud #9 Run To You *b-stage* There's Gonna Be Some Rockin' (AC/DC cover) Seven Nights To Rock I Got A Woman She's Only Happy When She's Dancin' Straight From the Heart All For Love *b-stage* ******** Review by Helen Tither (Manchester Evening News): AH, the perils of audience participation. No doubt Bryan Adams meant well picking an eager fan out to sing the Mel C half of hit duet When You're Gone. How was he to know she was a scouser - and that she'd shout "Athens here we come" to an arena brimming with Man United supporters still cursing their Champions League exit? "We'd better get on with this before you get booed off," grins a rather nervous looking star as the room erupts in deafening jeers. Still, at least the United contingent had the last laugh as she sang out of tune. Happily for Bryan, his enthusiastic followers loved every other minute of his hit-packed set. And he loved them - returning for three lengthy encores. The last calling for yet more girls from the audience to shimmy with him on stage. Turns out the Canadian rocker has a thing for northern belles. "Last time I was in Manchester it was freezing," he quips. "And - even in Canada I haven't seen this - girls were walking round in mini skirts and it was 10 below. "I was thinking of moving here straight away." Ladies** You want to check out Newcastle, Bryan. Anyway, if he loves the ladies - it's not as much as they love him. But he is the king of the soft rock ballad. The man behind the song that spawned a million marriage proposals - (Everything I Do) I Do It For You. No doubt there were a few more in Manchester as couples cuddled away. All credit to him, though, if he's as sick of singing it as others are of hearing it after its 16 weeks at number one, he doesn't let on. Quite the opposite, he proves a tenacious terrier of a performer - dashing around the stage all night to make sure everyone got a good look at him. And rasping out those vocals as though his life depended on every last "yay" and "baby". Come on, who couldn't at least tap their feet to Summer of 69 or Run To You? Soft rock maybe, but he works darn hard at it, producing a sensational show that would surely melt the heart of even the most ardent anti-Adams campaigner. Now, where did I put that Robin Hood Prince of Thieves video?

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