Bryan Adams Anthology Tour 2006
Guest: Daniel Powter
Jan 16, 2006
Bryan Adams absolutely blew the roof off the Scotiabank Saddledome with a marathon 3.5-hour concert. I’ve rarely seen the entire crowd on its feet, singing along for that long—but this was one of those nights.
It has been 26 years since the first Bryan Adams album came out, but we have to roll back time even more in his career. Bryan Adams’s first professional band was the Canadian glam rock group Sweeney Todd. In 1976, at the age of 16, he dropped out of high school to replace original lead vocalist Nick Gilder. He performed with the group and recorded the 1977 album If Wishes Were Horses. Bryan Adams latest release Room Service is two years old already, so no new album to promote on this tour. Bryan Adams maintains an incredibly rigorous, nearly perpetual touring schedule, often spending a massive portion of every year on the road, he routinely plays upwards of 60 to 100 shows annually. Adams rarely takes extended breaks from live performing, essentially running one continuous multi-year world tour after another. He manages himself and runs his own independent operation. He has publicly noted that cutting out major label machinery has made life on the road much simpler. Despite singing hits like “Summer of ’69” and “Heaven” thousands of times, he states he never gets tired of performing his classic catalog. He has been a dedicated vegan since the late 1980s. He attributes his high energy levels and vocal longevity directly to his raw/plant-based nutrition. He maintains an entirely sober lifestyle, having given up alcohol and drugs early in his career to sustain his physical health for the road.
The arena was sold out right up to the last row, and as always, Bryan Adams made sure there were affordable tickets available. Some seats up near the roof were going for around $30—but honestly, it didn’t matter. When the show is this good, every seat feels like the best in the house. And if a show isn’t great, even the front row won’t save it.
This time, Bryan went full band, focusing on guitar instead of bass, and just kept delivering hit after hit. After three hours, the band wrapped up—but he came back out solo with an acoustic guitar for a second encore that stretched another half hour. It’s hard to point out any song as a highlight, the band delivers each and every song with the same level of enthusiasm and Bryan Adams is not an artist with a handful of hits. I mean only the Reckless album alone is loaded with hits.
The Saddledome can be a tricky environment for sound engineers and many concerts sound bad. In the case of Bryan Adams the sound engineer was on the top of his game and the concert came through with a really good mix. The vocals were clear, cut through the music and every word was understandable.
It was one of those rare shows where you walk out genuinely grateful you were there—and knowing you’ll remember it for a long time.
The night got off to a strong start with Daniel Powter from Vernon, BC, opening for Bryan Adams. Like a lot of people, I mostly knew him for Bad Day and expected a short, one-hit-driven set. But he turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Powter proved he’s genuinely solid live, with more depth than just that one big hit. The performance felt authentic and engaging, and he definitely won over more than a few people in the crowd. He was given full access to the sound system and it was not one of those awkward shows where the opener sounds terrible. Kudos for that for the headliner.
Setlist:
So Far So Good, Somebody, This Time, Lonely Nights, Open Road, 18 til I Die, Let’s Make a Night to Remember, Can’t Stop This Thing We Started, Back to You, Summer of ’69, (Everything I Do) I Do It for You, Cuts Like a Knife, When You’re Gone (w/ girl from crowd), I’m Ready (Unplugged Version), Hearts on Fire, Kids Wanna Rock / Get It On (acoustic), Heaven. It’s Only Love (with a girl from crowd), The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You.
Encore:
Cloud Number Nine, Run to You, The Best of Me
Encore 2 (solo acoustic):
Please Forgive Me, Straight From the Heart, All for Love, Remember
