STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART

Bruce is always thinking. He sees careers as a puzzle. Or maybe a gauntlet. How does he get from here to there? How does he keep the arc from descending? He likes getting paid, but the satisfaction is in the victories, keeping his act’s profile on an upward trajectory. He’s not satisfied booking Bryan Adams in sheds, he wants more, he wants his charge to remain vital, to mean more than nostalgia. He abandoned his record deal in the U.S. Made a direct deal with Wal-Mart and is staging this solo acoustic show in tiny venues across America, trying to create buzz with something new, something akin to Ray Davies’ "Storyteller" shows, JT’s "One Man Band".

Back when my hearing was better, I had a ritual. As soon as I’d wake up, I’d drop a record on the turntable and crank it, while I listened in the shower. I remember doing this most with Bryan Adams’ "Cuts Like A Knife". Almost always the first side. By time I emerged from the water, my favorite track was playing, "Straight From The Heart". It spoke to me, it gave me hope. After living with my girlfriend for years, I had to believe romance was in the offing, around the corner, that I’d find someone else. Listening to "Straight From The Heart" I felt optimistic. And when the album’s title track came out of the speakers, I felt powerful. There was a bounce in my step, a swagger. I could win at this game called life. I was a fan.

But I was surprised when Bryan Adams became a superstar two years later with "Run To You". But that was the power of television. Matched with great music, an act could blow up. That was the paradigm employed for twenty years, use TV to blast your act into the stratosphere. Some people still believe in that game, but it’s done. If you’re lucky, now you’ve got a career. And the key isn’t expanding your brand, but satiating your core, it’s all about the core. The ones who come to every show, and those who know you, but haven’t been motivated to come previously. Forget trying to make new fans. You can’t do it, only your preexisting fans can do this. Your career is about lassoing who you can see, not going on a hunt for new pelts.

And this essay was going to be all about how Bryan satiated the core at the Roxy last night, by playing his numbers on an acoustic guitar. Playing gems I’ve never heard in concert, like "Into The Fire", from an album he seems to have disowned. And "This Time" came alive acoustically. And, at the end of the show, during the second set of encore tunes, before the third, his best friend and regular guitarist Keith Scott came out and they reminded us of the power of a band by nailing "The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You". But in the middle…something truly special happened in the middle. Bonnie Raitt came out and played slide guitar.

WHO WOULDN’T WANNA BE ME

Sunday night, I watched the ACM awards. Everybody played live, there were tons of guitars. If you want rock and roll, dial in a country station, it’s absent from the Top Forty outlets.

And about two-thirds of the way through, the man married to the movie star stood in front of the stage with his three supporting axemen and played his radio track. It was this man I ran into on the stairs backstage at the Roxy.

I had no urge to speak with Nicole. And I usually don’t speak to rock stars if I’m not introduced. But impulse took over. I was a friend of his manager Gary, I was the one who’d written that piece. I got the blank stare of a celebrity who’d met too many fans. Not wanting to be rude, but put out. So I explained a tiny bit more…and Keith Urban’s eyes lit up! He pointed at me. YOU’RE THE GUY! GOOD TO PUT A FACE WITH THE NAME! We were now old buddies.

And then Bruce took us back to the dressing room. To speak with Bryan.

But we weren’t the only ones there. Bryan introduced us to Jeffrey Katzenberg and his wife. And when Bonnie Raitt heard my name, she lit up and thanked me for what I’d written. I told her how much I loved "Luck Of The Draw"… And she said after I’d written about it, she’d gone back and relistened, and said to herself this IS a good album! She’s being so easy, so colloquial, not like a rock star, but someone you bump into on the street, waiting for the bus…a regular person. It was MESMERIZING!

And we’re talking movies, about Bryan’s participation in Jeffrey’s animated flicks, and I’m telling myself if ONLY MY MOTHER COULD BE HERE!

ROCK STEADY

So we’re sitting in the VIP area with Rob Light, Bryan’s an ICM client, but Rob booked him originally, before he jumped ship to CAA, Rob’s a fan. And Bryan’s singing and then he says he wants to bring out a friend. The roof almost blew off the building, the crowd was ECSTATIC!

But not as much as me. You’ve got to know… I had that morning ritual once before. I’d fire up Bonnie Raitt’s "Give It Up" while I was putting on my long underwear, getting ready to go skiing every day of January 1973. I treasure my vinyl, because it’s got the original speedy version of "Too Long At The Fair". That whole second side, with "You Told Me Baby" and her version of "Love Has No Pride", before every other chick singer got a hold of it. "Give It Up" is a classic, fully matched by "Luck Of The Draw", a masterpiece from twenty years later.

And, like I said, it was an acoustic show. Bonnie wasn’t wearing that worn out brown Fender. But she DID have that tube on her finger… BONNIE RAITT’S PLAYING ACOUSTIC SLIDE!

This was not baby boomers out on a Saturday night, having a polite reminiscence. This was gritty, this was down and dirty, this was rock and roll. They’re playing "Rock Steady" from her live album, and in the breaks, she’s WAILING!

But you only get one number with the special star… NO, then they break into "Little Red Rooster"!

Now she’s gonna be gone. But Bryan says it’s best with three, and KEITH URBAN COMES OUT AND THEY PLAY "NOT FADE AWAY"!

This went from an evening with one of your favorites…to an evening with three STARS! To an evening that was UNFORGETTABLE! To an evening that reminded you why you left the house to go to the show, why you loved music to begin with. This wasn’t about looks, this wasn’t about the recording, this was purely about music… Played by road dogs with many miles on them, who didn’t evidence dancesteps, who could lift their performance chops to an elite level with a wink!

HEAVEN

Yup, Bryan did that one.

But he didn’t play "Tonight".

When you become a fan of an act, you need to own everything they’ve ever done, you need more. After getting hooked on "Cuts Like A Knife", I bought "You Want It, You Got It". I knew "Lonely Nights" from the radio…but listening to the cassette I taped from the vinyl riding my bike to Redondo Beach every weekend, I found out my favorite cuts were "Fits Ya Good" and "Tonight".

Tonight, tonight
Let’s leave it alone
Leave it alone tonight

That’s what happens at a good rock show. You leave it all alone, all your problems, all your troubles. The music washes you clean. It scrubs away all the bullshit, leaving you pure for the experience. That’s why we keep going. That’s why movies cannot compete with music. That’s why the backdrop and the dance moves and what’s on hard drive are irrelevant. It’s not about the show, but the feel. It’s about the life emanating from the speakers. We love our stars, but what we truly love is how the sound goes straight to our hearts, electrifies us. Last night I was reminded of all this. In spades.