why did i even debate it?

Bryan Adams is my favourite concert. All and sundry should know that. A few years ago (concert #2 maybe?) I decided I would see him every time he came to town, because he is just that good. And before I moved to Berlin, I discovered that he was playing here. I debated buying a ticket back then - you know, when I had money - but I don't like standing room concerts, so I just spent 6 months debating with myself instead.

The last two times I saw him were like this. They were solo acoustic tours - just him and a guitar. And they were amazing. He told an anecdote about almost every song. I think the concerts were over a year apart and yet he managed to tell completely different stories each time. So good! (Note: I last saw him at Massey Hall, where the video for Run To You was filmed. Awesome!)

So, solo acoustic is great, but sometimes you need Keith Scott and the rest of the band to rock out with. You need long guitar solos. You need running around on stage. You need drums. You need the volume to reach 11. You need a rock concert, dammit!!

And that's what I got last night.

Concerts here involve REALLY BIG ASS TICKETS. Seriously, that thing barely fit in my purse.

Now, I will save you all a description of my attempt to access the U-Bahn during the Carnival of Cultures celebration five minutes from my house, which I conveniently forgot about. Needless to say: HELL. So, I arrived about an hour later than planned. No stage-side spot for me!

The concert venue was the Spandau Citadel, built in 1594. The coolest venue I've seen a concert in, by a long shot

Yes, the Citadel is on an island and we had to cross a bridge to get there.

There was a twitter wall on stage, which I tried to get on. I did not succeed. Instead, they just repeated about 40 tweets that barely related to the show. Including this gem, by a girl retweeting the wrong tweet from her friend, who asked to be retweeted. A guy behind me asked "What's RT?" every time it appeared.

The opening act was a Berlin-based Scottish duo, Martin and James. They were really good. And adorable. Which is always a nice bonus.

The crowd here was very different than what we often have at home. They cheered enthusiastically for the openers, actually calling out "nooo!" when they said they were doing their last song. And in the ten minute wait before Bryan came out, everyone was calm and waited patiently. No chanting or applause to get the concert started.

At home, every time there is movement on stage, the entire arena will often erupt into applause. Here, not so much. The crowd ignored everything until the band and Bryan actually appeared.

The show was great - nay, amazing - and the audience knew the words to every song, just as they do at home. But, with some fun twists. For example, I had never consciously noted that Germans have trouble saying words ending in -er. Until I heard them sing this line:

Let's make a night to remember, from January to December

as

Let's make a night to remembah, from January to Decembah

And of course Summah of '69. I actually found it really adorable. 

The audience sang along to absolutely every song, which was great. EXCEPT that I had a completely tone deaf woman behind me croaking the words to every song right into my ear.

Martin and James sang All I Have to Do is Dream by the Everly Brothers. It's a really sweet, soft song. Or it was until I heard a frog croaking along to it.

Imagine the deepest voice you've heard. Take it down an octave. Make every note flat. And do not allow any inflection. That's what I had to listen to. And if she sang along to Dream, I knew she would do some damage to Bryan. She exceeded my expectations.

As I always do, I teared up at the first notes of Heaven. It is My Song. I love it more than almost anything and hearing it live just melts my heart. Luckily, the tears-in-public thing stopped when the frog tried to sing along. I don't think I really understood the meaning of 'tone deaf' until I heard it in action.

The set list:
1. House Arrest
2. Somebody
3. Here I Am
4. Can't Stop This Thing We Started
5. I'm Ready
6. Thought I'd Died and Gone to Heaven
7. Hearts On Fire
8. Let's Make A Night To Remember
9. 18 'til I Die
10. Back to You
11. Summer of '69
12. (Everything I Do) I Do It for You
13. Cuts Like a Knife
14. It's Only Love
15. Please Forgive Me
16. When You're Gone
17. Heaven
18. The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You

Encore:
19. Run to You
20. You've Been a Friend To Me
21. Cloud #9
22. The Way You Make Me Feel

He played all of the songs I expected to hear, except Straight From The Heart, which I'm pretty sure he has used as the final song at most of the shows I've seen. Which leads me to wonder: Is that song only big in Canada? Hmmm.