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Scotiabank Arena

Bryan Adams Made A Night to Remember

On Thursday May 3, Canadian icon Bryan Adams performed for 2 1/2 hours, likely making it one of the longest performances I’ve ever attended – not that I nor any of his other twenty thousand or so fans minded. His stop at the Air Canada Centre last night was ultimately a fantastic way to kick-off my summer break.

Bryan Adams is one of those musicians whose work makes a great addition to a driving playlist, so as I watched and listened in awe, I thought back to trips to such places as London, Montreal, Sudbury and Buffalo. Download and then play “Open Road” on your next road trip and you’ll understand.

Since attending his acoustic performance at Massey Hall in August 2009, the middle aged demographic in the audience didn’t surprise me, but the Twitter stream projected onto a screen leading up to his set sure did. I don’t know whether it was the copious amounts of beer I spotted many ticketholders consuming, or if it’s just his fans’ regular diction, but the live Twitter stream illuminated how publicly featuring live tweets can be problematic because some fans’ tweets shown onscreen included profanity. In any case, given the size of touring musicians’ entourages, it couldn’t hurt to have a moderator if tour producers wish to incorporate social media like that.

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Katy Perry Announces California Dreams Tour Dates

It turns out all that hype about the pop star’s visit to Facebook’s headquarters this afternoon was leading up to this announcement to promote her summer tour.

I suspect plenty of girls will be wearing red lipstick to the show’s 8 stops in Canada and her performances elsewhere. If this tour is anything like the last, then perhaps fans will be tossing around beach balls in the general admission area too.

Canadian dates:

June 30 | Toronto | Air Canada Centre

July 2 | Montreal | Bell Centre

July 3 | Ottawa | ScotiaBank Place

July 13 | Regina | Brandt Centre

July 14 | Winnipeg | MTS Centre

July 16 | Calgary | Saddledome

July 17 | Edmonton | Rexall Place

July 19 | Vancouver | Rogers Arena

Tickets go on sale on Saturday. I recommend visiting Ticketmaster here for more details, as Katy’s website is very slow.

EDITOR’S NOTE: In other news, cast members of Glee just performed “Teenage Dream”. Nicely done, boys.

Concert Review: Bon Jovi’s The Circle Tour

Despite his recent injury, Bon Jovi remains a superb performer and maintained an incredible stage presence throughout both two-and-a-half hour long shows at the Rogers Centre.

Bon Jovi certainly knows how to show the middle aged soccer moms in attendance a good time. Jon is always one to please the ladies in the house by wearing unbuttoned shirts and flashing his gorgeous pearly whites. Loyal fans may have also noted that red is a reoccurring colour in his wardrobe and with good reason – it’s a great look for him!

By projecting silkscreen images of icons like Obama and Martin Luther King during ‘We Weren’t Born To Follow’, Bon Jovi inspired fans to create social change ASAP because after all, you can sleep when you’re dead.

Opener Kid Rock’s return to the stage made for a memorable duet when he joined Bon Jovi to cover Bob Seger’s ‘Old Time Rock ‘n’ Roll’, something keyboardist David Bryan “randomly” selected from the jukebox. The song was a fantastic addition to the set list and effectively added to the overall classic rock concert experience that always make Bon Jovi tickets a worthwhile purchase.

At risk of losing the audience’s enthusiasm, Bon Jovi tried offering a more intimate vibe by singing lack lustre acoustic versions of songs like ‘Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night’ in the middle of the audience. Furthermore, the band’s failure to perform ‘Raise Your Hands’ was also a major let down, as the memory of throwing my arms in the air at the ACC during The Lost Highway tour was half the reason I made sure to see him again! Fortunately they regained the crowd’s excitement with my personal favourite off The Circle record, ‘Work for the Working Man’ and then showed some attitude with ‘Have a Nice Day’.

Before closing with ‘Living on a Prayer’, Jon explained that it has been his dream to perform in the Rogers Centre ever since playing at Toronto’s El Mocambo nearly three decades ago, adding that he needed a few moments to take it all in. I’m glad that my fellow Torontonian fans could help you fulfill your dreams, Jon. Please come back soon.