Singer-songwriter Bryan Adams has been turning out hits for more than 20 years now, despite being dismissed as a lightweight with little more than a cocky attitude and an ear for a hook. But there were no nay-sayers at Tokyo’s Budokan auditorium when Adams appeared there in June 2000;
indeed, the young Japanese audience knows every word of every tune, screams out the names of his musicians, and seems generally enraptured by anything he does. There are no frills here–not only is the band stripped-down (Adams plays bass, with Mickey Curry on drums and Keith Scott on guitar), but there’s no stage show to speak of and precious little patter. Still, Adams and his white-clad mates clearly deliver what the people want: i.e., one catchy tune after another.