Bryan Adams called it his “Bare Bones Tour” but the iconic Canadian musician brought a truckload of hits for his sold out show at Trail’s Charles Bailey Theatre on Monday night.
From his show opening “Run to You” to his encore-closing “Straight From the Heart,” the 54-year-old Adams struck every chord of memory in the audience with a string of his classic songs that kept the crowd enthralled.
Accompanied at times by pianist Gary Breit, Adams blended the powerful voice and guitar chops that propelled him to super stardom.
Breit proved a perfect addition to Adams’ hard-driving style and added his personal ivory touch to such melodic classics as “Heaven” and “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?”
The Grammy-winning musician mixed in his foot stomping favorites like “Cuts Like a Knife” and “Somebody” with his mega-hit collaborations “All for Love” and “Finally Found Someone.” Although those hits were recorded with the likes of Barbara Streisand, Rod Stewart and Sting, none joined Adams in Trail despite the rocker’s longing looks to stage left for their potential entrance.
However, their presence wasn’t required as Adams provided enough star power in the room thanks to his repertoire of worldwide hits.
There was also a connection between Adams, the storyteller, and the Home of Champions. He recalled playing in Trail in 1976 and opening for Trooper. It was an opportunity for him to re-trace his career path, including opening gigs with Foreigner and Journey among others, and enjoying every opportunity along the way of his illustrious 30-plus year career
It was only fitting that during a brief break in Adams’ non-stop 110-minute show a member of the audience shouted out “Thank you for coming to Trail,” which was followed by a rousing ovation from the appreciative audience who shared the same sentiment.
The moment was indeed touching for any musician and like a true showman, Adams segued right into “B.C. Bound,” a takeoff on his “Alberta Bound” tune, capping it off with a hearty “Trail bound,” much to the crowd’s delight.
It wasn’t the only moment that brought the crowd to its feet with “Summer of 69” eliciting the biggest ovation of the show.
Staying true to the “Bare Bones” theme, Adams paid tribute to Kris Kristofferson with the timeless country ballad “Help Me Make it Through the Night,” as an ode to one of his favorite songwriters.
But this night belonged to Adams and his “trip down memory lane.” For the lucky people in the crowd on Monday, they got to take the trip with him.