It’s a glacial December night in Paris, but things are about to get considerably warmer in the 15th arrondissement. Bryan Adams is in town touring behind So Happy It Hurts, and at 8:20 John Cleese’s voice booms through the arena to introduce “Kick Ass,” the appropriately titled second single from the new record. Two hours of lean, melodic rock follow.
Adams remains an unusually affable frontman, with a dry sense of humour and enough French to keep the Paris crowd entertained between songs. The banter is sharp, but the songs are sharper.
And there are a lot of them. Rockers, ballads, radio staples, songs that have been lodged in the public consciousness for decades. “Heaven,” “Cuts Like a Knife,” “Run to You,” “Summer of ’69”: the setlist is a reminder of just how deep the catalogue runs. More impressively, the newer material sits comfortably beside the classics, built from the same ingredients: direct melodies, muscular arrangements and choruses designed to stick.
The band is excellent throughout, with longtime guitarist Keith Scott deserving particular mention. His leads and solos are concise, melodic and immediately recognizable, often functioning almost like additional vocal lines.
The only real problem is the venue. Like many sports arenas, it fights the music. The mix itself is clear and balanced, but reflections from the back of the hall create a noticeable echo, especially on the quieter material. The louder songs can overpower most of it; the ballads cannot.
Sonics aside, Adams sounds remarkably unchanged, physically and vocally, and the band plays with the efficiency of people who know exactly what these songs need. No reinvention, no unnecessary embellishment, just hit after hit delivered with precision and enthusiasm.
Two words will do: “Kick Ass.”
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