Bryan Adams review: ‘A rollercoaster ride that leaves you breathless’

‘(Everything I Do) I Do It For You’ went to No. 1 in 19 different countries, and it’s one of the best-selling singles of all time. ‘Summer of 69’ is one of the most iconic rock tracks and is arguably the most memorable riff of all time. Adams’ ‘Reckless’ and ‘Waking Up The Neighbours’ albums achieved platinum status in over 10 countries. ‘Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman’ and ‘All For Love’ were both worldwide hits – the latter performed with Sting and Rod Stewart. That’s just a handful of examples. Sadly, tracks such as ‘House Arrest’, ‘Best of Me’, ‘Open Road’ and ‘Thought I’d Died And Gone To Heaven’ missed out, but the depth in quality never waned throughout the evening; Adams’ set was truly a rollercoaster ride from start to finish.

As an inflatable boxing glove made its way around the arena, Adams launched into a rendition of ‘Roll With The Punches’. The raw power in Adams’ vocals is certainly eye-catching in a live setting, and the track is a perfect tone-setter for the evening. A performance of ‘Run To You’ laden with powerful drums and a distorted guitar solo sparks the audience into life before a mass singalong erupts on the anthemic ‘Somebody’.

The intensity quickly ratcheted up with an energetic and blues-tinged rendition of ‘18 Til I Die’ before Adams performed a reverb-soaked solo performance of ‘Cloud Number Nine’ and a rendition of ‘Heaven’ that is performed at a faster tempo and with more prominent guitar textures in a live setting, which serves as one of the biggest highlights from the set. However, the biggest highlight was Adams’ natural ability to make an arena with 18,000 or so in attendance feel like the most intimate setting on the planet. Midway through the performance, guitarist Keith Scott and drummer Pat Steward exited the stage before Adams and pianist Gary Breit’s raw and powerful stripped-back performance of ‘Here I Am’, before Adams performed a solo acoustic-led cover of Thin Lizzy’s ‘Whisky in the Jar’ and ‘When You’re Gone’, which saw the audience belt the lyrics back to the singer in full voice.

Such is the singer’s ability to connect with an audience on a personal scale, Adams climbed into the crowd for the timeless classic ‘(Everything I Do) I Do It For You’ and played conductor on a spine-tingling singalong. The band feeds off the audience’s energy on the bluesy ‘Can’t Stop This Thing We’ve Started’, which is screamed back to Adams in full force.

However, as well as the elation and the joy of the big choruses, Adams has an undoubted knack for storytelling, particularly during his touching story about how much the great Tina Turner meant to him prior to a rendition of ‘It’s Only Love’.

Adams’ tracks are certainly given extra weight by his exceptional backing band. The powerhouse drumming of Steward provided a driving rhythm that enhanced the band’s sound; the signature riffage and guitar solos of Scott were breathtaking, and Adams’ long-time keyboardist/pianist Breit was equally impressive, especially on a piano-led rendition of ‘Please Forgive Me’ and on the fan-requested ‘Do I Have To Say The Words’.

Towards the end of the set, there was not a soul in the crowd sitting for the moments of pure elation that were ‘Summer of 69’ and ‘Cuts Like A Knife’ before the big choruses of Frankie Valli’s ‘Can’t Take My Hands Off You’ put the crowd in full-blown party mode ahead of scaled-back acoustic-driven performances of ‘Straight From My Heart’ and ‘All For Love’ on the B-Stage to put the cherry on the cake on what was a majestic performance. With strength in intimacy and the masterful musicianship to match, watching Bryan Adams in a live setting is a rollercoaster ride that leaves you breathless, and it’s safe to say Manchester has found heaven.