Many artists dream of a 10 year career, but I am sure many of them don’t think they will have a 50 year career, and then there is Bryan Adams. His 50 year career has had over 100 Million in album sales, a Grammy, and may places on various walks of fame over the world, its no wonder Adams named his tour “So Happy It Hurts” because this ridiculously talented Canadian native has a lot to smile about, as did the Brisbane crowd, because they got over 2 hours of wall to wall hits
James Arthur kicked off the night. People might know him from winning the ninth series of The X Factor in 2012, the Brisbane crowd gave him an amazing welcome and he kept the crowd engaged all the way through his brief set. His 6 piece band covered every inch of the stage and seemed genuinely grateful to be in the opening slot. His originals can stand on their own but his cover of ‘1000 years’ by Chritina Perri, gave the crowd some familiarity and something to remember him by
Stage lights drop, and suddenly—BAM! “Let there be guitar!” before you know it a solo spotlight shines down on the legend himself, the band waste no time by ripping into Kick Ass, and they show why Brisane are about to get an Ass Kicking from A Kick Ass Band. Seriously, if you weren’t ready to have your socks knocked off, you might as well have left them at home because this man came to play!
From the get-go, we dove headfirst into a sea of nostalgia with classics like “Can’t Stop This Thing We Started,” and “18 Till I Die.” Each note was a reminder that Adams isn’t just prolific; he’s basically the hit-making factory of our dreams. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, he introduced a brand new single—“Roll With The Punches.” I mean, nothing says ‘listen up’ like a giant inflatable boxing glove floating above your head. Talk about a punchy debut!
The set now slows down briefly as “Shine A Light sees Adams ask the crowd to get the phones out to shine a light for those we have loved and those we have lost.Adams then takes some time to talk about his love for the legend Tina Turner, and how grateful he is not just for their musical collaborations but their friendship and then he busted into “It’s Only Love”, with parts of “The Best” and “What’s Love Got To Do With It”.
As if that wasn’t enough to keep us on our toes, he blasted back into the present with “So Happy It Hurts,” complete with an airborne car mascot that had us all questioning our life choices—like why we didn’t bring more friends along for this epic ride.
Bryan always surrounds himself with the best of the best on stage. Keith Scott,his long time guitar slinging side kick nails solo after solo, but is the ringleader of the onstage silliness and fun, and he and Adams feed off each other night. Pat Steward plays the drums like a man possessed but also knows how to play for the song
Now came the crowd participation portion of the evening—“You Belong To Me.” Adams asked for some twerking and shirt-losing action from fans. Let me tell you; people responded faster than you can say “awkward family reunion.” The sight of bras flying through the air will be etched in my memory forever!
The reworked versions of mega hits like “Heaven” and “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” (complete with the flamenco flair of Keith Scott) and then you also got the amazing “When You’re Gone” with Adams singing his parts as well as taking on the Mel C vocals on the duet track And let’s not forget the surprise cover of Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” Suddenly, we were all dancing in the aisles like nobody was watching… except they totally were.
As if that wasn’t enough to get our hearts racing, “Summer of ’69” sent the crowd into overdrive. I mean, you know it’s a party when everyone is belting out “Cuts Like a Knife” as if it were an Olympic event. Na na na-ing like our lives depended on it? Check! Vocal warm-ups? Check! This concert was the sing along never knew we needed
Then there was that magical moment when James Arthur joined him on stage for a duet of “Rewrite The Stars.” Talk about a match made in heaven! Their voices harmonized so perfectly, I half-expected angels to descend and start handing out tissues. Honestly, if their voices had been any more in sync, we might have needed a legal contract to prevent them from forming an official duo.
After a dramatic bow that made us think they were actually leaving (spoiler alert: they weren’t), Bryan took a stroll through the crowd like he was the mayor of Rocktown. Selfies were taken; dreams were realized. Then came the heartfelt tribute to his mother with “Straight From The Heart.” Cue the misty eyes!
To wrap things up, he ended with “All For One,” proving that even without Sting or Rod Stewart, Bryan could still bring down the house. As he waved goodbye to his adoring fans, we were left wondering how long we’d have to wait for this rock legend to return.
In total, 26 songs performed live—each one a killer track without any filler (because who has time for fillers when you’re Bryan Adams)
James Arthur Set List
Bitter Sweet Love / Comeback Kid / Sermon / Ready Or Not / Train Wreck / Can I Be Him / A Thousand Years / Lasting Lover / Say You Won’t Let Go
Bryan Adams Set list
Kick Ass / Can’t Stop This Thing We Started / Somebody / 18 Till I Die / Please Forgive Me / Roll With The Punches / Shine A Light / Heaven / Go Down Rockin’ / It’s Only Love / You Belong To Me / The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You / Here I Am / When You’re Gone / Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman? / Always Have, Always Will / (Everything I Do) I Do It For You / Back To You / So Happy It Hurts / Run To You / Summer Of ‘69 / Cut’s Like A Knife / Can’t Take My Eyes Off You / Rewrite The Stars / Straight From The Heart / All For Love
