When it comes to Canadian music royalty, there are very few artists that truly fit into that category quite like Bryan Adams. As an Officer of the Order of Canada, Adams has sold upwards of 100 million albums and singles worldwide and he’s listed as on of the best-selling music artists of all time. What did that mean specifically for concert goers at Budweiser Gardens in London on October 15? It meant 15 albums worth of hit music to sample from – and Adams was relentless at dishing it out.
For more than two hours, Adams served up 29 songs, making his London gig the longest show of the tour so far. And that made for an evening to remember. Adams himself seemed to enjoy the enthusiastic crowd as they sang, danced and cheered throughout the entire evening.
The opening track, Kick Ass, from his latest album So Happy It Hurts was a fitting beginning to a lengthy lesson in Bryan Adams music history. Heavy on tunes from So Happy It Hurts and his 1984 Diamond-awarded album Reckless, the show was splattered with hits throughout his career almost immediately, as he cranked out Can’t Stop This Thing We Started and Somebody right at the beginning.
Of the newer tracks, Shine A Light from his 2019 album of the same name, had the arena lit with thousands of cell phone lights, which again moved into another solid hit, the Gold single Heaven. This pattern continued throughout the entire show, with hit after hit, like 18 Till I Die, When You’re Gone, (Everything I Do) I Do It For You and Summer of ’69 being just a couple of the high points.
More than halfway through the show, Adams looked to the crowd for signs asking for requests, which brought out six different songs, including one he made up on the spot for a sign that read Can I Give You A Hug. The coolest of the requests came from a fan named Bill, who asked for The Best Was Yet To Come. After the lengthy request segment, Adams ended the regular part of the show with the title song from his first big album Cuts Like A Knife.
Adams and the band returned for a few encores, including Run To You and a song he’s been switching up the lyrics for in each city he plays – appropriately called London Bound for this show.
The evening ended with 63-year-old Adams performing acoustic versions of Straight From The Heart and All for Love before closing off the two hour and five minute setlist.
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Adams at Molson Park in Barrie back in 1992 on the Waking Up The Nation tour and at General Motors Place in Vancouver in 2006, but this show is by far the longest and most intimate of the three. He had as much energy here as he did when he performed for the 40,000+ at Molson Park. It’s only been three years since Adams was in London, but the energy and excitement felt like it was 30 years. It’ll be a concert I remember well past my next 18th birthday.
Bryan Adams
Budweiser Gardens
London, ON
October 15, 2022
All photos by Dan Savoie
