TORONTO -- That Bryan Adams is really a man of the people.

Or at least the people had something to do with the singer's successful turn at the Molson Amphitheatre last night.

Take, for instance, the "human bridge" that spanned the back of the stage.

Essentially a two-tier catwalk, it housed a brigade of contest winners got to join Adams on stage for his two-hour set.

And that was nothing compared to Adams' trademark take on his 1984 hit Summer Of '69.

He fished a group of "volunteer" musicians out of the 12,000-strong audience -- including a particularly hyper bass player from Brisbane, Australia -- to perform a fairly awful but otherwise hilarious version of the tune.

It was all part of a concert that tried very hard to be informal and look effortless.

But even as he ambled onto the stage in his '50s greaser uniform and opened the show with The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me (Is You) -- from his current, multi-platinum album 18 Til I Die -- Adams' set was never anything less than polished.

He knew all the tricks.

He pointed to the lawn seats and called out, "It's a night to remember," making grown-ups squeal like delighted teeny-boppers.

He frantically strummed the final chord to Can't Stop This Thing We Started for what seemed like 10 minutes.

He shared the limelight with guitarist Keith Scott -- who claimed last night was the 16th anniversary of his first meeting with Adams, though the band leader seemed to have little memory of this.

By songs five and six, early hits This Time and It's Only Love, Adams' audience was enraptured.

Even as a non-fan, it was impossible not to appreciate the singer's supply of recognizable songs -- from the ripping Cuts Like A Knife and Run To You, to the drippy (Everything I Do) I Do It For You and Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?.

Adams could have driven this momentum right through the weaker songs.

Instead, I Wanna Be Your Underwear featured a pair of grotesque, giant, blow-up bra and panty mannequins -- the headless and limbless kind -- that glowed in the dark.

For the B-side, Hey Elvis, Adams pointed out an Elvis impersonator plant in the crowd.

As for the gimmicks that did work, there was always that human bridge.

After all, what better a way to celebrate those pedestrian musical moments than with real pedestrians.

SUN RATING 3 OUT OF 5