Live Review: Bryan Adams

This Canadian crooner may be 53 years old, but he's still got what it takes to rock a stage (even if the visual effects behind him are more '90s screen saver than cutting-edge). Bryan Adams has an enthusiastic crowd eating out of the palm of his hand from the moment he kicks off his set, playing favourite hits such as Can't Stop This Thing We Started and Thought I'd Died And Gone To Heaven.

It's easy to be a little cynical about gigs like this – plenty of ageing rockers have hit the road in later years only to disappoint their loyal fans with subpar, bored performances. Adams, however, is cut from a different, more entertaining cloth. He seems genuinely thrilled to be on stage, pausing between songs to really engage with the crowd and at one point even spotting an old friend. And then, of course, there are the hits: Summer Of '69, Cuts Like A Knife and (Everything I Do) I Do It For You to name just a few. These are the songs that entire generations have learned by osmosis; there's no person (not even the most reluctant of plus-ones) who doesn't know every word.

Adams plays out his old tricks (an audience member, “Janine from Melton”, joins him onstage for the duet When You're Gone) and some new ones (at one point, a drum kit made out of upturned buckets and pots is dragged out). The gig is well into its second hour, but from the way the audience are screaming, you'd think Adams had just stepped on stage. “You wanna keep going, eh?” he asks them. “Uh, you do know I've got 16 albums?”

The band leave the stage and Adams stands alone, holding an acoustic guitar. Even stripped-back, he's compelling. He finishes the show in full crooner mode, singing Straight From The Heart and a solo version of All For Love, during which he more than compensates for the absences of Rod Stewart and Sting. The crowd doesn't want to see him go but when the house lights come up, the punters are all smiles. It's everything they'd hoped for, and a little something more.