I love Bryan Adams. Not in the same way that I love my husband or that I loved Leif Garrett (gawd) when I was a wide-eyed teen, but I love Bryan Adams in a different sort of way. Last night, hubby took me to the The Fillmore Miami Beach Jackie Gleason Theater to see Bryan Adams in concert. Last summer my hubby took me to Boston to see Bryan Adams in concert. A few years ago, my hubby took me to the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach to see Bryan Adams in concert. My hubby understands my unrequited love affair with Bryan Adams and is okay with it, even a little amused by it.

What’s cool about Bryan Adams is that he is just a cool guy. His edgy guitar-playing rocker vibe makes him tough enough for guys to appreciate, and his seductive lyrics and earnest love songs make him soft enough for us ladies to want to drink in the romance. It’s a win-win combination for both sexes.

Last night at the elegant, art deco Jackie Gleason Theater, Bryan was dressed in jeans, a black sport coat and white button-down shirt. He looked sharp. Among the opulent crystal chandeliers and mostly middle-aged folk of the audience, he fit in. He’s classic, classy, edgy and so down to earth. He thanked us for spending Saturday night with him and said that in a world that’s so controlled, you can let go and sing as loud as you want to at a rock concert. Truth. My $18 jumbo glass of second-rate concert hall cabernet and Bryan’s encouragement gave me a fabulous and boisterous singing voice, and just enough rhythm to keep up. ha ha

Bryan doesn’t know it, but we go way back. His song, Cuts Like a Knife, was wildly popular when I was a teen going through a break-up with my first love. Every time I hear that song, I have a specific memory of walking down my neighborhood street with my BFF, discussing teen-aged angst and ambitious dreams. My first love and I got back together more than once, but the song is sort of an instant flashback to that time in my life, and definitely not an unwelcome one as I had a pretty good time being a teenager. Any song from the Cuts Like a Knife album, which my younger brother and I practically wore out on our record player (we knew every word to every song), sends me on an immediate and sentimental journey back to a very happy place, and it makes me smile.

I feel like I’m growing old with Bryan Adams. Last night, he mentioned how thankful he is to Ozzy Osbourne and bands like Journey and Fleetwood Mac for allowing him the chance to be their opening acts back in the day. Then, during my college years, came the MTV music videos in the days of big hair, shoulder pads, and neon-colored and/or black leather clothing. And now here we are, three decades later, Bryan’s thinning hair slicked back and mine tinged with gray. My favorite part about Bryan Adams is that he’s unpretentious, unaffected, authentic – but still a free spirit with his raw, raspy talent – and, that over the years, he did not allow fame and fortune to change him into an entitled, cocky, man-diva. He’s still real, he’s one of us, and he just keeps getting better with age, like (some) men seem to do.  ; )

His unmistakable presence and familiar voice were really remarkable at the end of the show. The band gave their final bow after the encore, then Bryan stayed on stage, the lights dimmed again, and he just simply sang to us, unaccompanied by anyone or anything except for his acoustic guitar and his harmonica. He sang songs that he wrote for movies but that never made it there, he sang a few quiet love songs that were so absolutely beautiful and heartfelt but that were not record-breakers or well-known. He shared sweet memories and engaged us in lively sing-a-longs, some with our cell-phone flashlights held high like a thousand candles lighting up the dark (the days of lighters – remember? – are long gone). It felt so intimate, like being with an old friend, as we sang and swayed and remembered.

The sound of Bryan Adams’s gravelly voice will always draw me in. I don’t know all of the reasons why. But I do know that I will continue to love his voice, his lyrics, his concerts, his new stuff, and his old stuff. When I hear his music, I feel at peace, like someone very familiar to me is calling me home to settle in for a minute, to embrace all that is good and fun and memorable in my life.

What was lovely about today: A slight wine hangover this morning did not stop me from accomplishing what I needed to do today. What was lovely about today was my husband who accompanied me on errands and then a quick grocery run. Even though he hates to shop (unless it’s online where he excels as a shopper ha ha), he still makes it fun, makes me laugh, and carries all the bags. My good-natured hubby who doesn’t mind my unrequited love affair with Bryan Adams and who went shopping with me this afternoon is what was lovely about today.