Set list: Bryan Adams

Earlier tonight (11 January), I went to see the Bryan Adams acoustic show. My god, this guy is awesome! Not only did the songs transfer really well to acoustic, and not only is he still in great voice, but Bryan Adams has one of the coolest personalities ever. I usually try not to clutter up my set lists, but I am here just dumping in all my commentary from an e-mail I excitedly wrote to a friend, because his cleverness and charisma were just as much a part of the great concert experience as his great talent.

As an interesting note, one of my favorite performances of the night ended up being "Can't Stop This Thing We Started," even though I wouldn't actually put the studio version at the top of my Adams singles list. It just transferred to acoustic really well.

In case it isn't clear, I would highly recommend anyone seize the opportunity to see this man in concert. He's awesome! He also played almost all of my favorites (and the only big one missing, "Friday Night in London," was definitely not expected, since it was just a b-side) and, on top of everything else, he chose to omit "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" from the show. Tell me this man isn't amazing.

Set list:

1. Tonight We Have the Stars

2. Back to You

3. Here I Am (this was the first place where I had to note a joke because it amused me so much - before this song, he had quickly mentioned that it was just him and the pianist tonight, in case people hadn't been aware that it was a no band, acoustic show. At the end of this song, during the chorus, he substituted in "Here I am / Without my band")

4. Let's Make a Night to Remember

5. Can't Stop This Thing We Started

... here's the next point where he amused me. After this song, some woman in the balcony yelled out, "I think you're sexy!" and he was like... "Is that the Nashville mating call? 'I think you're sexy!' 'I'll be right over, baby.'" And then he turned his attention back to the general crowd and was like, "Drunk and horny - just the way I like them" The rest of the night, he'd occasionally come back the joke when that section would yell again... stuff like, "Don't make me come up there." Sorry, I'm sure this stuff doesn't transfer as well second hand, but eh.

6. I Thought I'd Seen Everything

... while he was introing the next song, someone near the front got up and started walking toward the doors, and Adams started playfully harassing him, to the degree of, "Pee break, eh? No, I understand. You gotta go, you gotta go. It would have been nice if you'd waited for me to finish talking, but still..."

Now, for one of the advantages of catching him in Nashville - he's done some co-writing with country singer/songwriter Gretchen Peters. For the next song, he brought out Peters to sing and play guitar with him.

7. When You Love Someone

The next song was another Adams/Peters collaboration, and she stayed on stage to perform it with him, too. Apparently, Adams hadn't done this one live before, and after announcing that, he was like, "I'm sure I'm gonna fuck this up." She got a chance to play off him too, either here or after the song, with something to the degree of, "I've been working with this guy for over fifteen years now, and I'm still not sure whether to kiss him or slap him," to which he replied, "I'm up for both!"

8. Blessing in Disguise

Peters exited here.

9. Heat of the Night

Here, the lights came on and he surveyed the audience. Amongst other things, he noted someone holding a "will you marry me?" sign, and was like, "See, this is why I love playing America. In Canada, the women would never do this. They wouldn't have the nerve. In America, they're so forward." Not an exact quote, but the general idea...

10. Seven Spanish Angels

11. You're Still Beautiful to Me

Here, he adjusted the microphone and guitar for a new setting, and, looking up at the balcony section that kept calling him sexy etc., he said, "There, now you can't see my crotch."

12. Cuts Like a Knife

13. This Time

14. Please Forgive Me (about halfway through, he said, "I always thought this would make a great country song," and then he did a verse with a mock-country accent that was pretty damn hilarious)

15. Summer of '69

16. Walk On By

17. It's Only Love (no Tina there, but there was a Martina - Martina McBride joined him on stage for this)

During the intro to the next one, he told a story of how he'd been told to write a song for the film A Night in Heaven about a male stripper. He sang a brief few seconds consisting of these lyrics: "Pants off / You're done" and then explained that he just couldn't parlay that theme into a good song, so he instead wrote...

18. Heaven

19. The Right Place

20. Lonely Nights

21. The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You

22. Run to You

Encore

23. Somebody

24. Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman

25. Never Let Go

26. Straight From the Heart

27. All for Love (did all the parts himself)

Song of the Day: "About You Now"

I hope to do an overview of 2008 soon (although I still have one album from which to play catch up). All of that will come later. In the meantime...

ARTIST: Sugababes
TITLE: "About You Now"
YEAR: 2007

It may be a new year, but lately I've been spinning this tune from a somewhat less new one. "About You Now" was the lead single from Sugababes' album Change, and there's something terribly catchy about it that makes me enjoy it a lot, despite its obvious flaws, such as its less than stellar lyrics. I guess I'm into feel-good music lately, and this one does to some degree have that effect on me.

Take a listen here. It's available on the Sugababes album Change.

The CD Singles '88-'91 (Morrissey)

Morrisey's The CD Singles '88-'91 is as it says: a collection of the singles released during that period, with each getting its own disc and sleeve replicating its cover art. Basically, this is completely awesome. Morrissey has some great b-sides, and it's excellent to have them. Of course, the a-sides are also brilliant. Favorite discoveries include "Such a Little Thing Makes Such a Big Difference," "Get Off the Stage," "Our Frank," "Will Never Marry," "Girl Least Likely To," and Moz's versions of "Skin Storm" and "That's Entertainment." This set is awesome, both aurally and visually. My one complaint is that the sleeves make it hard to slip the disc in and particularly out with scuffing it.

Tracks:
"Suedehead" single
1. Suedehead
2. I Know Very Well How I Got My Name
3. Hairdresser on Fire
4. Oh Well, I'll Never Learn

"Everyday Is Like Sunday" single
1. Everyday Is Like Sunday
2. Sister I'm a Poet
3. Disappointed
4. Will Never Marry

"The Last of the Famous International Playboys" single
1. The Last of the Famous International Playboys
2. Lucky Lisp
3. Michael's Bones

"Interesting Drug" single
1. Interesting Drug
2. Such a Little Thing makes Such a Big Difference
3. Sweet and Tender Hooligan (live)

"Ouija Board, Ouija Board" single
1. Ouija Board, Ouija Board
2. Yes I'm Blind
3. East West

"November Spawned a Monster" single
1. November Spawned a Monster
2. He Knows I'd Love to See Him
3. Girl Least Likely To

"Piccadilly Palare" single
1. Piccadilly Palare
2. Get Off the Stage
3. At Amber

"Our Frank" single
1. Our Frank
2. Journalists Who Lie
3. Tony the Pony

"Sing Your Life" single
1. Sing Your Life
2. That's Entertainment
3. The Loop

"Pregnant for the Last Time" single
1. Pregnant for the Last Time
2. Skin Storm (live)
3. Cosmic Dancer (live)
4. Disappointed (live)

Wingspan: Hits and History (Paul McCartney & Wings)

Wingspan: Hits and History is a two-disc collection of some of Paul McCartney's output as part of Wings, as well as some of his solo hits. While such a long career as his, even if limited to the Wings period, couldn't fairly be represented by two discs, this set is about the best one on the market at the moment, and does a fair job of collecting some of the best hits and album tracks. Some of the songs hold up much better than others, but it's a good set and worth the $3 for which I found it. Worth checking out for those like me who want some Wings without investing in a large and expensive back catalogue.

Tracks:
Disc 1 (Hits)
1. Listen to What the Man Said
2. Band on the Run
3. Another Day
4. Live and Let Die
5. Jet
6. My Love
7. Silly Love Songs
8. Pipes of Peace
9. C Moon
10. Hi Hi Hi
11. Let 'Em In
12. Goodnight Tonight
13. Junior's Farm
14. Mull of Kintyre
15. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
16. With a Little Luck
17. Coming Up (Live at Glasgow)
18. No More Lonely Nights

Disc 2 (History)
1. Let Me Roll It
2. The Lovely Linda
3. Daytime Nighttime Suffering
4. Maybe I'm Amazed
5. Helen Wheels
6. Bluebird
7. Heart of the Country
8. Every Night
9. Take It Away
10. Junk
11. Man We Was Lonely
12. Venus and Mars/Rockshow
13. The Back Seat of My Car
14. Rockestra Theme
15. Girlfriend
16. Waterfalls
17. Tomorrow
18. Too Many People
19. Call Me Back Again
20. Tug of War
21. Bip Bop/Hey Diddle
22. No More Lonely Nights (playout version)

The Best of The Waterboys '81-'90

The Best of The Waterboys '81-'90 is as the title says - a collection of some of the group's most popular songs released during that period. The 12-track retrospective includes the truly awesome song "The Whole of the Moon," as well as such goodies as "A Girl Called Johnny," "Fisherman's Blues," and "Don't Bang the Drum." Overall, it's a nice introduction to and overview of the diverse music of The Waterboys.

Tracks:
1. A Girl Called Johnny
2. The Big Music
3. All the Things She Gave Me
4. The Whole of the Moon
5. Spirit
6. Don't Bang the Drum
7. Fisherman's Blues
8. Killing My Heart
9. Strange Beat
10. And a Bang on the Ear
11. Old England (live)
12. A Man Is in Love

Songs 1993-1998 (Moby)

Moby's compilation Songs 1993-1998 is a nice overview of his period of recording at Elektra Records. Some of the songs aren't all that impressive, but others, particularly "Feeling So Real," are great listens. No, this material isn't quite up to par with the excellent stuff he'd release after leaving the label, but it's still worth hearing, and I'm glad I found my thrift store copy.

Tracks:
1. First Cool Hive
2. Go
3. Into the Blue
4. Now I Let It Go
5. Move (You Make Me Feel So Good)
6. I Like to Score
7. Anthem
8. Hymn
9. Feeling So Real
10. God Moving Over the Face of the Waters
11. Alone
12. Novio
13. The Rain Falls and the Sky Shudders
14. When It's Cold I'd Like to Die
15. Living
16. Grace

Young Modern (Silverchair)

Silverchair's 2007 album Young Modern contains the wonderful lead single "Straight Lines." While the album is quite different in feel from what I know of their previous work, it's excellent. I really enjoyed it as a whole, with such tracks as "If You Keep Losing Sleep" and "The Man That Knew Too Much" making a strong case for the band. I may have been somewhat slow to get this one, but I'm glad I finally did.

Tracks:
1. Young Modern Station
2. Straight Lines
3. If You Keep Losing Sleep
4. Reflections of a Sound
5. Those Thieving Birds (Part 1) / Strange Behaviour / Those Thieving Birds (Part 2)
6. The Man That Knew Too Much
7. Waiting All Day
8. Mind Reader
9. Low
10. Insomnia
11. All Across the World