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July 5th, 2018 was the opening night of Ottawa’s Bluesfest, one that was too sparsely sprinkled with promising nights to inspire m’lady to shell out for a full festival pass, so I left her to watch from outside the gates while I went in on my annual complimentary ticket*.
The evening’s headliner was Bryan Adams, Canada’s own bona-fide ’80’s worldwide superstar. And no wonder, his string of hits seemed as endless as they were earwormingly catchy and if you ever saw him back in the day you know he could really deliver in a live setting. Take a minute to google his performance of Young Lust during Roger Waters’ 1990 The Wall Live In Berlin concert; the dude could really rock.
Landing onsite just on time for his set, I forewent exploring the other stages and just stuck with Bryan Adams for the whole evening, while Bryan Adams stuck with a standard, predictable setlist presented with an energy steeped with age (steep like a hill, not steep like tea). Think of a Bryan Adams song and he did it; Run To You, It’s Only Love, Cuts Like A Knife, Summer Of ’69, and of course the icky-sticky ones too, like Heaven and the parenthically-heavy (Everything I Do) I Do It For You. It was all there, it sounded just right, and who cares if I was there or not.
Had I not found a gaggle of friends to bob and weave semi-nostalgically with I would have left long before the encore. As it was, I met m’lady outside soon after Adams returned to the stage for his last gasps, and we slowly cycled away from the festival along the Ottawa River together while he jammed out the first surprising songs of the night: I Fought The Law and Whiskey In The Jar before the strains of his own Straight From The Heart dissipated quietly into the gentle whirring sound of our pedalling.
One thing the Bluesfest has strongly in it’s favour is proximity.
*I work (err..play) for it so it’s not like my wristband is free, but at the same time I wouldn’t buy a pass if it was up to me, so it certainly feels like a complimentary ticket.
Todd Man Out 