After attending the Metallica concert on my own during the summer and later the Fantastischen Vier home game, I wanted to experience such an event together with my wife as well. When I explicitly asked her, she promised me in a sudden burst of overconfidence that she would immediately come along to a concert—if I could book Bryan Adams for her.

Well. What can I say. I spared neither expense nor effort and invited him to the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden 😉

After a rather stressful day of coaching and having handed our child over to the babysitter, we set off toward the Festspielhaus. As always, we took the French route to Baden-Baden. We quickly found a parking garage in the city—sorry, in Baden-Baden that would be the Cité—and safely tucked away our Rüsselsheim-built vehicle. From there, it was still about a kilometer on foot.

Our seats were located near an aisle, which suited me just fine. From a stage-design perspective, everything looked like “just after closing time.” Apart from a grand piano, there was only the master’s acoustic guitar on stage. Right on time at 8:00 p.m., Mr. Adams stepped onto the stage and launched into the evening with a rock voice that seemed entirely untouched by age.

From where we were sitting, the man himself appeared not to have aged at all. My strongest visual memory of the show is the image of the “small” Bryan standing behind his large guitar. He played solidly for two full hours without a break, accompanied only by his pianist Gary Breit, who joined him at the grand piano for a handful of songs.

During the show, Adams mentioned how much he enjoys being alone on stage, as it allows him to tell stories without interruption. He made generous use of this privilege. We learned that he was once hopelessly in love with a very famous actress, and that his album Room Service was indeed written while on tour, in the corresponding hotel rooms. What actually happened in the Summer of ’69, however, he chose not to reveal.

The slightly untidy stage setup contributed greatly to the special atmosphere of the evening. It genuinely felt as if you had just shared the last drink of the night with him at a bar, and he simply felt like telling a few more stories. Despite the 2,300 people in the Festspielhaus, that feeling never disappeared throughout the show.

It was a special evening with a wonderful host—one who can still make wonderful music and doesn’t need a band to rock a large venue. It was obvious that he was having a great time in Baden-Baden. And it was certainly A Night to Remember—not just for him.

See the Setlist here

Honestly: hats off!!