Adams delivers one of those nights
THEY say the best nights are when you least expect them and the old adage was dusted down when Canadian rocker Bryan Adams took to the stage at Killarney's INEC last Tuesday night.
The odds had been stacked against him really. Turning 50 in November and with his most successful hits gathering two decades of dust, you'd be forgiven for expecting a pot bellied crooner stuck in the comfort zone.
Far from it. Taking to the stage in a top hat, black shirt, jeans and a beat up acoustic guitar, Adams duly bowed to a crowd he would soon wow, turning in an enthusiastic performance from a man who obviously loves his day job.
Accompanied by his trusty harmonica and the impressive Gary Breit on piano, the Ontario born singer had the 2,000 strong audience in the palm of his hand just a few chords into opening number ' Run To You'.
What followed could only be described as two hours of acoustic bliss, with all the old favourites and a few more recent numbers thrown in for good measure. The impressive thing about Adams is his sheer quantity of hits, including 'Cuts Like a Knife', 'Can't Stop This Thing We Started', 'Back to You', 'Heat of the Night', 'The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You' and the obligatory 'Summer of 69' which was to raise the INEC audience to its feet.
Then there were the ballads, songs like 'Please Forgive Me', 'Thought I'd Died and Gone to Heaven', 'Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman', 'Please Forgive Me' and .... that song... 'Everything I Do, I Do it for You'. Devoid of backing band, these morphed from power ballads into simple but hugely effective numbers.
With the physique of a man 30 years his junior, the gravelly voice is as good as it's ever been but, sure, what would you expect from a man who has 65 million album sales under his belt. He explained that the acoustic tour started out as a 30 minute album promo. With the INEC stage stripped back to the bare walls and the music equally as bare, it's easy to see why it developed.
Yet it's the interaction with the audience that really warmed hearts on a cold January night.
While there were plenty of requests for songs and, well, much more from a largely female audience, he took time out to ask where a good "old man" pub could be found in Killarney before referring to an impromptu conversation with a local taxi driver. It went something like this... "You're that singer," says the taxi driver, "Yes" replies Adams. "Bryan Adams isn't it? "Yes," he says again. "I sing a bit myself," remarks the taxi driver".
Sure, t'was one of those nights.
- KEVIN HUGHES
