A Blast From The Past But Still Impressive
It’s one of those last-gasp-of-summer sweltering evenings in Cape Town. Lying here on the lawn, and I’m finding it hard to believe, I’m at a Bryan Adams concert.
As a rock mate remarked earlier, “even if they sent a limousine filled with topless supermodels to fetch me, I would never go to a Bryan Adams concert”!
Anyway, I’m here and today’s rock arena is the rather staid (but mind-numbingly pretty) Kirstenbosch gardens and those who have come to rock are a sandalled bunch of middle-age, white suburbanites, parents, house-wives, young couples, bemused tourists, a wine farmer from Paarl and your high school art teacher.
Me, I was simply here to be impressed.
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!
(Source: http://tonight.co.za/ )
Gepostet in: General News
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March 10th, 2006 at 10:36 pm
ha. in ur face for judging bryan, but am glad u came around! im goin to one of those concerts in July. but i definately aint sittin down. il be up there singing along to every word he sings!
rok on bryan
i love you
xx