Why Bryan Adams called Manila show ‘the best night we ever had’

Instead of the usual mainstage entrance, Bryan Adams opted for a more intimate opening, surprising the Filipino crowd by serenading them from a small platform partway down the stage, closer to the audience.

He kicked off the Manila leg of his “Roll With the Punches Tour Live” with classic hits Can’t Stop This Thing We Started and Straight from the Heart on Saturday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. The show was mounted by Wilbros Live.

The Canadian singer-songwriter made his way to the main stage, exchanging fist bumps with fans before joining his bandmates to perform Kick Ass, Run to You and Somebody.

The venue transforms into a sea of lights during his Manila show.

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Colossal props — a giant inflatable boxing glove and a vintage car — hovered above the crowd during performances of Roll With the Punches and So Happy It Hurts, respectively.

“This is a tour in connection with an album, my 16th album, and we’re gonna play some songs like the last one tonight for you and we’re also gonna play a lot of old songs and maybe even a couple of radio songs. I actually already did that with Straight from the Heart. I just wanna say how happy I am to be back in Manila,” Bryan told the jam-packed audience, then launched into 18 til I Die.

With more than 20 songs on his setlist, Bryan made sure to include karaoke staples Please Forgive Me and (Everything I Do) I Do It for You, accompanied by glowing wristbands that illuminated the arena in red and blue, adding a romantic flair to the evening.

“I can feel it already. This is gonna be the best show we ever had here in Manila. Here’s a song which I recorded with the great Tina Turner. Tonight, what I’m gonna do is I’m gonna sing my part and I’m also gonna sing Tina’s part. Please be kind ’cause I ain’t no Tina Turner,” Bryan quipped and mounted the 1984 single It’s Only Love.

For his next song, Bryan requested the spectators to turn on their lights. “Let’s turn this place into 10,000 candles,” he said, prompting the eventgoers to gladly oblige and transform the venue into a sea of lights. “Let’s have a look at the screen. Look at how beautiful you are, man,” he commented, then carried on with Shine a Light and an acoustic-leaning version of Heaven.

And what’s a Bryan Adams concert without some dancing? Just like his previous concert in March 2023 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, which The STAR also attended, he had Filipino fans on their feet during You Belong to Me.

“This song is a rockabilly song and for those people who do not know what rockabilly is, it’s kind of another way of saying dance music,” he informed the attendees. “And so we are going to do this song and my friend, Mark, is gonna be looking for the best shapes of the evening. And I’m not talking about body shapes, I’m talking about dance moves.”

Spotting a hesitant fan in the crowd, Bryan said, “The gentleman here does not seem too excited about this idea. Don’t worry, sir, you do not have to dance. You can just twerk. If you wanna dance and you don’t wanna twerk, you can take off your T-shirt and whip it over your head.

“In order to dance, I don’t know what you’re doing here in the Philippines, but where we usually come from, Canada, we usually stand up. I’m just saying. You can twerk in your seat if you want.”

Some gamely complied, with the men going topless and tossing their shirts while dancing to You Belong to Me. Others waved a Canadian flag, proudly celebrating both their roots and the band’s home country.

After the intense segment, Bryan transitioned into the emotive Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?, playfully changing the lyrics to, “Have you ever loved a Filipino woman?” much to the delight of concertgoers.

He went on with the soulful Will We Ever Be Friends Again and the stirring I Finally Found Someone. The latter is a ballad he collaborated on with Barbra Streisand that also served as the soundtrack of her 1996 self-directed, Oscar-nominated film “The Mirror Has Two Faces.”

Bryan’s setlist also featured Here I Am, the soundtrack from the animated film “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron,” followed by Back to You and a massive sing-along to Summer of ’69.

After Cuts Like a Knife, Bryan rolled out his bandmates one by one in boxing-match style. They gathered at the front of the stage, danced briefly and took a bow.

“We’ve been looking forward to playing here in the Philippines for quite some time and like I said early on, this is gonna be the best night we ever had. And it certainly was. Thank you, everybody,” Bryan said before closing the show with a stripped-down, soul- and ear-piercing All for Love, mirroring the ending of his earlier “So Happy It Hurts” concert.