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05/07/09 -
ROYAL CONCERT HALL, NOTTINGHAM
Review by Steven Stanley:
I always planned on doing one show on this tour... basically because
I'd rather see a variety of bands this summer than spend £140
on 2 BA acoustic shows. After the Newcastle show the night before
I went to see my folks in the coastal town of Bridlington (about
150 miles from Nottingham)...there I was returning from a game of
Golf when about 5pm I received a text from my friend Mel telling
me she was unable to go... she very kindly offered me her ticket
which would otherwise go to waste... how could I refuse?!
So, I gunned it to Nottingham to meet Nat, Jaz and
of course Nat's Dad Brian! I made it within minutes of stage time
so I was extremely lucky. It was a special gig for Nat because it
was her Dad's first show. The concert hall was in stark contrast
to Newcastle... a very modern white theatre designed for perfect
acoustics rather than a proud old relic. Certainly beautiful though...
kind of like an indoor amphitheatre... but was again it held at
least 2,000 people maybe more.
Anyway the show was great and you could see everyone
used to seeing Bryan at the arena shows were lapping it up. But
it was exactly the same setlist as Newcastle (apart from a couple
of songs switched spots) and more disturbingly.... exactly the same
jokes as Newcastle too which is previously unheard of in these acoustic
circles. It reminded me all too clearly of the scripted full band
shows. Bryan clearly said it was the best show in Newcastle... so
in Nottingham he just stuck to what worked the night before... almost
like a comfort zone. The opposite reasoning as to why the acoustic
shows were so good in the first place.
Taking my uber critical view aside though there
is no denying Bryan's talent once more... I think Nat's Dad put
it perfectly at the end.... "he really is quite the wordsmith".
Yes he is. The acoustic shows really make the lyrics stand out beautifully....
they are emphasized in a way they can't be emphasized in a full
band show. Beautiful and very touching once again during 'Never
Let Go'.
The Nottingham crowd didn't quite stand up to the
Newcastle one, although near Helen and Lizy there was one woman
who had the whole theatre in hysterics with her dancing. During
'Thought I'd Died' especially, unbeknown to her the whole hall was
laughing audibly to her 'Skiing routine'...truely the funniest thing
at a BA show since Polo Hofer thus making the trek worthwhile!
Special thanks to Melon - I owe ya one mate xx
Setlist:
Run To You
Tonight We Have The Stars
Back To You
Here I Am
Thought I'd Died And Gone To Heaven
Let's Make A Night To Remember
Can't Stop This Thing We Started
I Thought I'd Seen Everything
When You Love Someone
Heat Of The Night
Not Romeo Not Juliet
Everything I Do
Cuts Like A Knife
Lonely Nights
This Time
Mysterious Ways
Please Forgive Me
Summer Of '69
Walk On By
Heaven
When You're Gone
The Right Place
The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You
Somebody
Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?
Never Let Go
Straight From The Heart
All For Love
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Review by Maria and Moya:
Moya:
Maria flew in from Germany on Friday night around 10.15pm. We drove
home to Rotherham but did not have time to speak much, but we were
both very excited at our forthcoming concert as we had not seen
each other since October. The Sheffield concert in October would
take some beating because of our fantastic position in the middle
of the front row. Something we had not really experienced before.
However, Saturday came and went very quickly and before we knew
it we were setting off for Nottingham. We had arranged to stay over
so that we could totally relax after the show and have a good night’s
sleep before driving home on Monday morning. We arrived at the hotel,
quickly unpacked our things and went out to enjoy the afternoon
sun and a nice lunch.
We were extremely excited and could not wait to
get to the theatre. We were disappointed to find that we were hung
around in the foyer. I suppose they have to sell their drinks somehow!!
When were finally got to our seats we were very pleased to find
that we had excellent seats right in the middle on row J.
Maria:
We looked around for familiar faces and saw a few people we knew
greeting each other. Just before the start of the show some people
came to our row from the opposite isle and Moya told me that she
thought Steven had sat down not far from us. When we were sure that
it was Steven, Moya shouted his name but he didn’t hear and
she felt very embarrassed. Eventually, he turned and spoke to us
and said that he did not know that he was coming and was at home
only two hours before. Steven said that he had been to the Newcastle
show and that it was good and so we became even more excited. We
agreed to see Steven after the show because it was now about to
begin. However, we never did manage to meet up. The lights were
still up and suddenly some of the audience must have seen that Bryan
was preparing to come on stage. There was a loud roar and after
a few moments, Bryan appeared on stage alone. Obviously the crowd
went mad! Moya and I were worried that no-one would stand, and that
we might feel uncomfortable if we stood up and made the view for
the people behind impossible. However, as soon as Bryan began to
play RUN TO YOU we just could not stay in our seats. I turned around
and asked the woman behind me “Is this ok” and she did
not answer. So we stayed on our feet. At this point, we must apologize
for not remembering the order of the songs. We did try, but because
we were so engrossed in the music, we just relaxed and enjoyed it
all. The next song, we think was “TONIGHT WE HAVE THE STARS”
and we stayed in our seats………………but
not for long. This was absolutely impossible!!!!!
THOUGHT I’D DIED AND GONE TO HEAVEN was simply
amazing. People sang “wohohohoho, wohohohoho” very loud
and Bryan smiled so much then. It is nice to see how these things
work when they have not been practiced. BACK TO YOU was a song where
everyone was on their feet. Moya and I did the bounce but many of
the “normal moves” we do at concerts (waving our arms
high or pointing the “yous” in TOTTLGOMIY) weren’t
done.
Moya:
Maria and I were in full swing. We were enjoying every second of
this concert which seemed, to us, after such large venues, like
watching Bryan in your living room. My mind went back to 1994 which
was my very first concert. I had listened to Bryan for many years
before and when I saw him walk on to the stage in Gateshead I was
absolutely thrilled. Even though I stood very far away from the
stage, that feeling I have never forgotten. Here we were in a small
venue watching Bryan for the “thirty something” time and
it all seemed so natural. Even though we don’t know Bryan personally,
and he does not know us, it was like seeing a good friend once again.
Gary was introduced on to the stage a few times. On one occasion,
Bryan announced this next song to be Gary’s favourite, but
did not say which song and we would know why in around two minutes
time. The song was “NOT ROMEO, NOT JULIET”. At first,
we still did not understand, but when Gary went into a solo performance,
we soon realized what Bryan meant. His piano skills are excellent
and this particular piece was performed with great skill and musical
feeling. We were “blown away”.
Maria:
At the beginning of the concert a woman standing in front of us
shouted for Bryan to sing “INTO THE FIRE” to which Bryan
responded that he would work through the songs. Bryan never did
sing this song, but still she tried all through the evening. The
only two requests that we can remember, were “INTO THE FIRE”
AND “SHE’S GOT A WAY”. The set list was very similar
to that of the full band shows, only played in a different order.
However, we were thrilled that Bryan sang some early songs, namely,
“LONELY NIGHTS” from “YOU WANT IT – YOU GOT
IT and “THIS TIME” from “CUTS LIKE A KNIFE”.
This was a real bonus as neither of us could remember if we had
ever heard “LONELY” NIGHTS” before at a live concert.
It was fabulous. The “moments” went on and on and memories
came flooding back listening to those “blasts from the past”.
“WHEN YOU LOVE SOMEONE” was simply amazing and one lady
at the front clung to her friend at this point, it was all very
emotional. We were both dubious about how the rock numbers would
sound on acoustic guitar, but we need not have worried because they
all sounded absolutely great. Nothing was lost, and we actually
both said that we appreciated the musical content so much more.
During the more conventional “rock concerts”, audience
participation is much more pronounced. We think that this is because
during an acoustic performance there is more opportunity to “just
listen and appreciate”. We realize now, what an excellent performer
Bryan is. His singing ability came over to us so much more than
we had known before. We enjoyed this new aspect and it was so apparent
that Bryan really was enjoying the event so much. He was relaxed,
smiling and just having a great time.
Moya:
“The golden oldies” were there of course. There was “SUMMER
OF 69” and the usual explanation of how people believed that
this was something to do with the year. Bryan went on to tell us
just what it meant. “EVERYTHING I DO” once again was played.
I know that some people grumble about this, but after all, this
is what brought Bryan to the fore in the UK however we don’t
like to think that. It did. Some of the people who attend the concerts,
go for these type of songs. I once heard an interview with Bryan.I
can’t remember who did the interview. The person asked Bryan
if he ever tired of singing EVERYTHING I DO. Bryan answered, No,
but he got tired of people asking if he got tired of playing………….the
guy shut up. Of course we listened to “WHEN YOU’RE GONE”
which we really enjoyed, because this time everyone had the chance
to be a “WHEN YOU’RE GONE GIRL” not that I would
want to be a WYG girl, or in my case a WHEN YOU’RE GONE GRANNY”.
However, a few weeks ago, I did get the chance to do this at a local
concert in Rotherham where Eliot Kennedy was a special guest. He
too asked for someone to be a WYG girl, someone who knew the words.
As this was local concert there were not too many Bryan Adams fans
and my friends pushed me into volunteering. It was an amazing experience
and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This was my only chance!!! Thank you
Eliot!!!!! Bryan sang “PLEASE FORGIVE ME” but this time
added a new dimension to this song by singing it “country style”.
He really enjoyed this and so did the audience. It was nice to hear
Bryan speaking as much as he did, although we have read from a previous
review, that he spoke more in last year’s acoustic sessions.
We can’t comment on this, because we could not go. However,
one disappointment for me was that, last year, he sang WHEN THE
NIGHT COMES. This is an absolute favorite of mine and we missed
it last time. Bryan told us about how HEAVEN was written. He was
asked to write a song for a film which was about a male stripper
called “A NIGHT IN HEAVEN” (forgive us if this is not
the correct title). He did not write the song for the film, in the
end, but we are so glad that he wrote and recorded this timeless
wonderful song.
Maria:
In 1996, 18 TIL I DIE was released and was written and recorded
in Jamaica where Bryan spent a long time “on holiday”
during 1995”. Bryan told of how he came to write “HAVE
YOU EVER REALLY LOVED A WOMAN” along with Robert (Mutt) Lang
and Michael Kamen. He was asked to write the song for the film Don
Juan de Marco and needed a Spanish guitarist. Bryan knew of the
“greatest” one to be Paco de Lucia and so wanted him for
the song. Bryan faxed Paco’s agent in Spain only to be told
that Paco was on holiday. So, undeterred, Bryan once again faxed
and asked “where is he”. Luckily, and beyond belief, Paco
was in Jamaica, just two hotels down the road. The result was a
great musical partnership. On this occasion, Bryan explained that
he had no Spanish guitarist with him. Bryan introduced Gary telling
us how Gary had transposed the guitar solo into a piano solo and
once again Gary displayed his fantastic piano skills.
Nearly at the end Bryan spoke about his album 11.
He often was asked why he called it 11 and that he had read many
explanations on the Wikipedia internet site. But it is simply his
11th album. He than played WALK ON BY which is such a wonderful
song to listen to acoustic.
He dedicated the song NEVER LET GO to all soldiers
in Afghanistan. This song is unbelievable:
Gooseflesh!!!
Bryan performed also a song which I didn’t
know nor did Moya. He told us he had written it for Ray Charles
and then forgot about it until it was given it to Simon Cowell years
later, Simon Cowell gave it to someone appearing in American Idol
and they made a great job which really p………..’d
him off!!!! The song really sounded like a Ray Charles one.
The show came to an end with the usual STRAIGHT
FROM THE HEART and ALL FOR LOVE.
It is now seven years since Moya and I began our
Bryan Adams journey together. We have attended many concerts, here
in the Uk and in Germany. We have queued for hours, in rain, in
snow, in freezing temperatures, in the heat (not too often!) and
been packed like sardines in arenas hardly able to move. All in
all we have loved every minute. However, this concert was a different
experience. We appreciated the music far more than we have ever
done before. We felt very comfortable and relaxed - even if we didn’t
sit down! We had no stress and worries about people pushing in and
us losing our places. We were treated differently entering the theatre
and had lots of room to move around once in our seats. The atmosphere
was fabulous, friendly and familiar. We both feel very privileged
to be part of such a great evening. Please Bryan – We hope
you do it again!
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