It might've been when the crowd broke into a spontaneous chant of
"Go, Leafs, Go!" (a pretty good indication that we weren't in the Gardens).
Or the moment when some fearless guy named Mark, who said he'd driven all
the way up from Boston, clambered on stage and not only belted out the first
half of Summer Of '69, but did it with stage moves!
Either way, some time around 9:30 last night, it finally felt as though
Bryan Adams was indeed the best and most logical choice to inaugurate the
shiny new Molson Amphitheatre, the state-of-the-art $15 million venue now
sitting on the site of the late, lamented Ontario Place Forum.
Up 'til then, Adams had put on a thoroughly polished, crowd-pleasing show,
cranking out more hits in 90 minutes than most acts have in an entire career.
But whether it was the cold or the unfamiliar surroundings or the fact that
it took most of us forever to get there, some intangible something had been
missing. Call it a sense of occasion.
That wasn't entirely Adams' fault.
When he strolled onstage at 8:05 and ripped through the tailor-made opening
line from House Arrest - "There's gonna be a party/Gonna make some noise" -
the temperature was already dipping toward zero.
By the time he'd torn through Kids Wanna Rock, Can't Stop This Thing We
Started and Cuts Like A Knife, and eased through the first public performances
of Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman and its flipside, Low Life, some in the
crowd seemed to be clapping their hands just to keep them warm.
But then Adams started kibbitzing with some woman wearing a Leafs jersey
and admitted he was a Canucks fan (he has a home in Vancouver), and whatever
iciness had lingered suddenly melted away.
From then on, it was a romp all the way, through Run To You, to a cover of
C'mon Everybody and, yes, Summer Of '69.
As for the Amphitheatre itself, it resembles a fancier version of
Kingswood.
The seats have more leg room, the sight lines are a little better, and the
sound is stunningly clear for an open-air venue.
One other similarity of note: neither site is exactly suited for a concert
in the middle of May.
If you're going to Adams' second show tomorrow night (there are still some
lawn seats available) - or any show before, oh, mid-June - bring a blanket.
A warm heart is one thing, warm hands are another.
SUN RATING: 4 OUT OF 5
