Bryan Adams in concert.

I didn't go into as a huge Bryan Adams fan, but I have to say, that the concert was fantastic and exceeded my expectations by a lot.

The guy still has tons of star power and charisma. You can just tell from the way he performs that he still loves being a rock star, getting up on stage, and bringing the house down. They played LIVE. From what I can tell, they're not relying on any backing tracks for the show. His band is excellent, although obviously they are restraining themselves a bit, as the music doesn't lend itself to much "stepping out." Adams' voice sounds as good and as strong as it ever has, which surprised me a lot, because men with his singing style usually end up deteriorating quite a bit over time.

He played almost all of the songs. The only major hit I didn't hear him play was "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman, but that's not a huge surprise, considering that the band and the setlist emphasized his hard rock side. They did slow it down and play all the other soft hits, but it was clear from the first song of the night that they were there to be a "badass rock band." I was also happy that they played a copule of newer songs that most people didn't know, and that they fit right in with the rest of the set.

Joan Jett opened. Although I'm not a Joan Jett fan when I hear her songs on the radio, they all translate much better in a live setting. I think without that thin 1980s production quality, her rocker vibe becomes more obvious. And the songs are all well-written for what they are. She benefitted a lot more from compression and pitch-correction effects than Bryan Adams did, but I still enjoyed her set and gained a lot of respect for her, artistically.

It was a great night, we had a lot of fun.