Bryan Adams Revives the Summer of '69 in Alicante

El verano de 1969 es recordado por acontecimientos históricos como la llegada del hombre a la Luna o la celebración de la primera edición del festival de Woodstock. Aquel verano también fue un momento importante en la vida de un imberbe Bryan Adams, que con apenas 10 años, se hizo con su primera 'seis cuerdas', la cual rasgó con tanta insistencia que llegó a hacer sangrar sus dedos.

56 años más tarde, los dedos del canadiense siguen en plena forma, al igual que su rasgada voz, que este pasado miércoles entonó en Alicante los grandes himnos que le han encumbrado hasta los alteres del rock en su formato más melódico

'Summer of '69', 'Somebody', 'Run to You' and 'Heaven' were among the hits that echoed in the first summer concert of the Área 12 programme. Bryan Adams took to the stage with precise punctuality, condensing in just under two hours a carefully curated selection from his 45-year career. Nearly thirty songs made it into the setlist, a truly vast number by today's concert standards.

Such a performance was made possible by the absence of speeches or audience interactions between songs. In this regard, Bryan demonstrated meticulous professionalism, offering the audience as many songs as possible while sparing them the empty sermons that many artists indulge in today. A somewhat cold approach, no doubt, but one that acknowledges that his best form of expression is through music.

Among the many 80s anthems, songs from his latest works also featured, such as 'Roll With the Punches', with which he opened his performance. It was the only song during which the Canadian allowed accredited photographers to take pictures, an unusual practice in today's scene where the norm is to allow three songs to give professionals more time to do their work. Perhaps his notable side as a photographer also explains why Bryan personally validates the images for publication.

None of these peculiarities marred a solid performance whose sound ranged from the hard rock of songs like 'It's Only Love' (originally performed with Tina Turner), to a flamenco approach with 'Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?', or ballads like 'Please Forgive Me'. There was also room to pay tribute to The Beatles with a rendition of 'Twist and Shout'.

The farewell came with 'All for Love', with Bryan alone on stage, accompanied by an acoustic guitar, bringing an end to the unique musical time tunnel he created with his performance.