Concert review: Bryan Adams at Birmingham LG Arena
A year after he delighted his Birmingham fans at the New Alexandra Theatre with an intimate acoustic show, Canadian guitarist Bryan Adams was back in the city, plugged in and ready to rock a packed LG Arena.
Bryan Adams
LG Arena, Birmingham
A year after he delighted his Birmingham fans at the New Alexandra Theatre with an intimate acoustic show, Canadian guitarist Bryan Adams was back in the city, plugged in and ready to rock a packed LG Arena.
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of his landmark Waking Up The Neighbours album, Adams promised his fans a long show and delivered on that, leading his four-piece backing band through a non-stop, two-and-a-half hour set.
With 16 albums to his name, this was all killer, no filler, in a beautifully paced set that took in all-out, blue collar rockers like House Arrest, Can't Stop This Thing We Started and Summer Of '69 to the haunting ballads I'm Ready, Heaven and, inevitably, (Everything I Do) I Do It For You.
For the most part the stage was starkly and monochromatically lit, before exploding in a cacophony of colours and lasers during the cheeky The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You.
Adams proved himself to be a convivial host to his 15,000 fans, remembering the first time he played the NEC Arena, as it was then, as the support act to Tina Turner in the mid 80s.
He even asked: "Has this place got bigger?" The answer is yes, after the big refit that saw the venue renamed and an extra 4,000 seats added.
Dispensing with the services of his band, Adams saw out the end of the show with just an acoustic guitar, echoing his unplugged performance from last year, as fans lit up the arena with their mobile phones during All For Love.
By Ian Harvey.
