Long before any of us came to the age where we made a concerted, conscious effort to be seemingly hip or cool, there were things that really turned us on, regardless of how they might have made us seem to our peers. A day came when our clothes had to be trendier, our images had to be hipper and our tastes in music had to be ultra-cool. But, before appearance and stature were of such grave importance, we, as budding young adults, were freer to follow our instincts and not be consumed by how we might come across to others.
For me, loving Bryan Adams at the onset of my high school years fits right in that category. The Canadian rocker's 1983 breakthrough album Cuts Like A Knife was a mainstay on my turntable and a Friday night trek to see him a local water theme park (where I was dropped off by parents, I might add) was an early concert highlight for me at the tender age of 15.
Fast forward to Friday night's jam-packed Coachman Park in Clearwater for an outdoor rock show featuring Adams and his four-piece band, and I was taken right back to the days of my adolescence as an Adams fanatic.
Billed as an evening with Bryan Adams (no openers), the compact rocker took to the massive outdoor stage — which was nestled between outdoor vendors, food trucks and beer lines — just after 8 p.m. Resembling more of a farmer's market, the downtown Clearwater facility was packed to the gills with mostly 40-something-aged fans who'd come to hear the little guy from north of the border belt out his long list of radio hits that date back more than three decades.
What they got was a rock solid performance from the singer/songwriter/producer who recently adopted a new career as a fashion photographer… yet hasn't lost an ounce of his likable onstage persona nor his showmanship.
Clad in dapper black suit and white tie-less shirt, Adams strapped on a gorgeous gold Gibson Les Paul guitar and cranked it up seconds after emerging onstage. And he never really relented. Despite kicking the night off with a new and unfamiliar number from his most current album, 2015's Get Up, the crowd was instantly engaged and it was obvious that this was to be a night of unabashed chugging rock music and LOUD guitars.
Adams's recognizable raspy, gravelly voice sounded untouched and unhindered by age. Pouring every bit of longing and passion into his delivery as in his mid-'80s MTV breakout period, Bryan, now 56, looked and sounded untouched by the perils of age. In fine, slender shape, he seemed ready and eager to rock. And that he did.
Sailing through newer material as easily and as seamlessly as through his signature tunes, Adams seemed comfortable, poised and right at home as he gleefully belted it out for the better part of two solid hours.
As a large screen at the rear of the stage flashed images of female models dancing, clips from vintage videos or live, real-time crowd shots, it was no match for the unparalleled charisma Adams exuded all night long. Sporting an ear-to-ear smile and seeming downright pleased to be there, his enthusiasm was downright infectious.
Busting through rousing versions of signature tunes like "Run To You" and power ballad "Heaven" early in the set helped to establish the tone and the pacing for the night. Interspersing newer material while wisely enticing the crowd to fill in easy-to-follow choruses and sing-along lines helped make even the unfamiliar material seems welcomed and well-received. Talk about a clever showman.
Shifting gears for barnburner "Kids Wanna Rock" to hooky, melodic pop gem "This Time" effortlessly, Adams was in total command and continued to gain momentum and heat thing up on this chilly, blustery night.
Amid the stage banter, Adams related a comedic account of being commanded to autograph a takeout container by an inebriated fan at a local restaurant while out at dinner the night prior, and expressed his utter amazement at seeing dolphins swimming in local waters while out for a morning jog. The most heartfelt moment came when Adams recalled the days of being first on the bill at a local outdoor stadium concert event many years ago and acknowledging the gratitude he still feels for the breaks he got early in his career. "If it weren't for those chances, I wouldn't be here tonight," he humbly admitted before kicking into what he referred to as obscure song that helped pave the way for many of those chances he got, "Lonely Nights" from his 1981 sophomore album, You Want It, You Got It. (As I can honestly attest and recall, local radio stations were all willing supporters of Adams and his music from his early days and did plenty to break him here in the area.)
Not to be omitted were Bryan's '90s-era ballads and soundtrack hits that crossed him over into Adult Contemporary radio formats; he belted heartfelt renditions of well-known tunes "Everything I Do, I Do It For You" and "Have You Ever Loved a Woman?". But it was clear, and he didn't do much to hide the fact, that this was a night mostly geared at the revved-up rockers in his catalog.
His fine accompanying band consisted of veteran session drummer Mickey Curry and longtime lead guitarist Keith Scott, all dressed in similar black stylish suits, and they kept things on track all night and delivered the perfect punch to complement Adams's powerful growl. His signature song, "Cuts Like A Knife" sounded raw and fresh as an inspired and eager crowd sang along to fill out the familiar "nah-nah-nah" chorus much to Bryan's visual delight.
The encore encompassed a rousing cover of Eddie Cochran's 1958 rockabilly classic "C'Mon Everybody" and was rounded out by solo acoustic versions of even more selections from his deep bag of hits: "Straight From The Heart" (complete with his own harmonica accompaniment) and a gorgeous set-closing "All For Love," during which Adams asked everyone in the park to hold up their lit phones to fill the sky with thousands of tiny lights, which resembled a starlit night.
So, although I dug Bryan Adams long before I might have made any failed attempts to appear somewhat cool, it turns out that it's much cooler after all to stick by what you love and not give a damn about what anyone around you perceives as faux hipness. For me (and for the thousands who happily sang along to all those songs that hearkened back to our days of adolescent awkwardness and uncertainly), it sure felt good to let our inhibitions down and scream out the lyrics to "Summer of '69" while visions of the summer of '83 paraded around in our minds.
Set List:
Do What Ya Gotta Do
Can't Stop This Thing We Started
She's Only Happy When She's Dancin'
Run to You
Go Down Rockin'
Heaven
Kids Wanna Rock
It's Only Love
This Time
You Belong to Me
Summer of '69
Lonely Night
(Everything I Do) I Do It for You
If Ya Wanna Be Bad Ya Gotta Be Good
Here I Am
Somebody
I'll Always Be Right There
Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?
Cuts Like a Knife
18 til I Die
The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You
Encore:
Brand New Day
C'mon Everybody
She Knows Me (solo acoustic)
Straight From the Heart (solo acoustic)
All for Love (solo acoustic)
This article appears in Feb 18-24, 2016.