Legendary Canadian rocker Bryan Adams was certainly waking up the neighbors Thursday night as his Reckless 30th Anniversary Tour pulled into Bemidji, Minnesota at Sanford Center. Adams brought the perfect blend of songs to bring people back to the way it was then, to get them thinking about the days gone by. He had a microphone set up in the middle and both sides of the stage to be close to his fans and it worked brilliantly. Adams still has his signature rasp that continues to captivate to this day all those love crazed fans out there. His range remains unchanged which is something that is extremely rare for being a musician at 55. Adams sounded just like he did 30 years ago and his voice may have matured over the years but he sounded incredible.
Adams started the show running about a half hour late for some reason. Perhaps there was a last minute change, maybe he got back late off the lake, (Adam’s was out on Lake Bemidji earlier on his paddle board) as he posted a picture via his Instagram.
Adams began the set opting to go with the less known title track Reckless which never made the album and very few people have probably heard it. His vocals were spot on and sounded incredible. He was able to still hit every single note and then some. Adams is definitely a seasoned entertainer and he knows how to have a rocking good time. What was interesting was how the set list was put together. Instead of leaving some of his first ever Grammy award winning hit for the soundtrack Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, Everything I Do (I Do It For You) for the encore he decided to perform them early in the show and in the end there really wasn’t much to support say the last half hour of the show. Adams said that tonight would mark the second to the last show he will ever perform the Reckless album in its entirety and he promised that he would play other songs from other albums in the second half of the show.
A highlight of the show was when Bryan looked around the arena asking if there is any wild girls out there that would be willing to do a little dancing during If You Wanna Be Bad, Ya Gotta Be Good and after his cameraman was looking all around the arena giving each girl a chance to strut their stuff he eventually settled on a woman who went by the name Lynda. Lucky for her she was a great dancer as she seductively swayed to the rockers tune and lifting the little dress she was wearing. The only exception was the man who was next her didn’t seem to be into it. At one point, she stopped dancing all together and Adams took immediate notice and asked her why she stopped. He then asked asked if he was her father, and the crowd went wild. Adams quipped that his label at the time really didn’t care for some of the songs that were proposed for the Reckless album, but he said, you’re going to hear them for the first time tonight. Adams said earlier that he loves the area that it’s beautiful and that he was the only one out on the lake when he was paddle boarding. He said there was one boat out there.
During the second half of the show, Adams really let loose with well-known favorites like Can’t Stop This Thing We Started, Please Forgive Me, Cuts Like a Knife and newer hit, Brand New Day. He had some fantastic lighting and video screens to help tell the story. A very notable moment was when Adams took a moment to thank everyone that assisted at the Bemidji show to make it all happen and he named the entities which is something that is incredibly rare with new established artists.
Adams is set to release his first full length album in seven years in October. The Reckless Tour wraps tomorrow night in Sioux City, Iowa.
