When Bryan Adams made his US debut back in the early 80’s with “Cuts Like a Knife”, it would have been hard to predict how timeless his music would become. However, the 1983 album Reckless solidified his Rock and Roll legacy. Songs “Heaven”, “Run to You”, and “Summer of ’69” would push worldwide sales to over 12 million copies. His biggest song would come shortly after, with his Waking Up the Neighbors hit “(Everything I do) I Do It for You”
Currently on tour in support of his 2022 album release So Happy It Hurts, we had a chance to see him perform in Portland at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Touring along with him, Rock And Roll legacy Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.
Bryan Adams’ performance was nothing short of exhilarating. Early in the evening, Bryan said that he was going to play as many songs as he could remember and the set list was an incredible 25 songs long. Just after “Summer of ’69”, Bryan asked the crowd for a song suggestion. While the arena shouted out their favorites, He chose “Kids Wanna Rock” which was executed flawlessly. In fact, every song was note-perfect.
Some artist’s works tend to be somewhat sing-along worthy and it’s not unusual to find fans singing along with their favorite artists during live performances. This night would be no different, yet, it felt different. When the piano intro for “Heaven” was played, Bryan let the crowd sing the first verse. During “Cuts Like a Knife”, the band silenced and the “Na na na” part of the song was sung by Portland’s finest for several rounds. For those moments, Bryan Adams’ music felt like our music.
The So Happy It Hurts tour continues through Canada until the end of September where it then jumps overseas to the middle east, South Africa, and Europe.
