Concert review: Bryan Adams returns to Vancouver with Roll With the Punches tour

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In 1995, Bryan Adams played the opening of the Vancouver Canucks’s new arena, which was then known as GM Place.

On Friday night, Canucks forward Evander Kane went on stage during the singer’s Roll With the Punches Tour at Rogers Arena to unfurl a banner commemorating the 30th anniversary of that performance and opening. Kane noted that he was only four years old when the show took place.

While the whole thing was obviously planned in advance, it’s now part of the history of both the artist and the arena. Adams decamped to the U.K. decades ago, but there is always something of the North Van kid in the international superstar. Last night, with his 97-year-old mother in the audience watching, the singer looked up at the banner and proclaimed, “I’m speechless.”

For a moment, his incredibly slick show seemed to veer off script.

But he went right back to business, delivering 18 Til I Die and its line about “If you wanna stay young/Get both feet in it” with all the conviction of someone who had lived the lyric and come out swinging. Which is exactly what the hit-making musician has done with his latest album, Roll With the Punches. Now self-managing his career, his first release on his own label is one of his finest records in years and something of a comeback.

That it follows the equally good So Happy It Hurts has put Adams back in the charts with new material he is happy to feature in his marathon 29-song sets on the tour. It’s a performance of greatest hits of past, present and future that begins with a solo acoustic take on Straight From the Heart from the small B stage and ends in the same spot with All for Love.

In between, Adams takes his super-stoked fan base everywhere they want to go.

From the moment he arrived and said “Hello Vancouver,” it was an all-night singalong to amped-up versions of some of his best-known numbers. Driven by the relentless pulse of monster drummer Pat Steward, keyboardist Gary Breits’ boogie-woogie trills and lead guitarist Keith Scott’s pristine playing, songs such as Kick Ass, Somebody, One Night Love Affair and Take Me Back all had real bite.

Scott’s extended solo in the version of It’s Only Love, the massive duet between Adams and Tina Turner, made a strong argument that he is one of the best lead players to come out of this city’s music scene. His playing is razor-sharp, never bloated and frequently adds the texture that elevates the songs to classic status. A prime example is his atmospheric notes in Run to You.

Perhaps as a cost-saving measure, Adams handled bass duties on many of the evening’s offerings, including the funky new single A Little More Understanding, which was well received by folks dancing in the aisles. A later request to have the crowd bust their best moves for the rockabilly number You Belong to Me was good for some hearty laughs as the camera moved from obvious choices to a brave fellow who doffed his shirt and gave everyone a full-frontal view.

The biggest laugh of the night was reserved for This Time and Adams brought it on himself. Recounting how he noticed that the music video for the song on YouTube was “all f—-d up,” he requested it be replaced with a cleaned-up version. He then admitted that this might have been a bad idea. The truth is, the song may have merit but the video is a reminder of just how bad so many of them were back in the ’90s.

“Don’t laugh at my hair,” he pleaded. It was an impossible request.

Clearly in a mood for more upbeat material than many of the massively popular ballads he is known for, Adams rolled out faster versions of Heaven and (Everything I Do) I Do It For You, and a really nice acoustic guitar and piano version of Here I Am, where Breit got to shine on the keys. The balance of mood and tone in the set clearly took some working out, even if it does seem to conform to a template that Adams has followed for many years.

The fact that he is mixing in different songs each night, such as Vancouver Bound at the Rogers Arena show, is a treat for fans across Canada. One thing that is for certain, they will all be leaving the arena with the oh-oh-oohs of Summer of ’69 and na-na-nahs of Cuts Like a Knife echoing in their ears long after the show is over.

Adams has always been a solid showman. This night, he and the band really leaned into the music with renewed vigour. Nice.

Saskatoon’s The Sheepdogs warmed-up the evening.

While I’m unsure if the three-guitar attack of the Outlaws was something that needed to come back to arenas, the group makes a pretty solid case for it. From its shaggy hair and denim flares to the Southern rock harmonies, the group really wants it to be the mid-1970s again.

While none of their material hangs around long after the end of the set, this is a group that any act would delight in having open up a night since it just delivers its songs with genuine joy. I still prefer them on an outdoor festival stage or in the Commodore Ballroom than at an arena.

To each their own.

Bryan Adams Roll With the Punches Tour set list at Rogers Arena, Sept. 12, 2025:

Straight From the Heart solo acoustic (B-Stage)
Kick Ass
Run to You
Somebody
Roll With the Punches
18 til I Die
Please Forgive Me
Take Me Back
Go Down Rockin’
It’s Only Love (Bryan Adams and Tina Turner song)
Shine a Light
Heaven
This Time
Make Up Your Mind
You Belong to Me (with a snippet of “Blue Suede Shoes” by Carl Perkins)
Twist and Shout (The Top Notes cover)
A Little More Understanding
Here I Am (Acoustic, with Gary Breit on the Piano)
When You’re Gone (Acoustic)
The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You
One Night Love Affair
(Everything I Do) I Do It for You
Back to You
So Happy It Hurts
Summer of ’69
Cuts Like a Knife
Vancouver Bound
All for Love (Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart & Sting song) (Acoustic, B-Stage)

sderdeyn@postmedia.com

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