...bought it in my college dorm, played it 'til my fingertips turned purple, it was the winter of '88.

(Yeah, I know Bryan Adams had better lyrics and, also, his rhymed, but my version of the song would've had to start out differently. You just never forget your first guitar, do you? Or, um, your first really steamy summer...LOL. ;)

My ever-wonderful brother took me to see Bryan in concert at the Chicago Theater last night, and it was a fantastic performance. The "Bare Bones" tour featured only Bryan on guitar/harmonica, alongside a piano player named Gary (Breit?), who was also an outstanding musician. Considering it was just the two of them performing acoustically, the sound quality was amazing, and Bryan's powerful and distinctive voice filled the theater.

I knew and loved so many of the songs he sang. Really. It was like I got to relive the nostalgic '80s and half of the '90s in two music-packed hours. "Run to You," "This Time," "It's Only Love," "Here I Am," "Cuts Like a Knife," "Somebody," "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman," "Straight from the Heart," "Coming Back to You," "Heaven" and "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" were some of the popular selections -- as well as "Summer of '69," which I couldn't wait to hear again.

[photo credit of Bryan Adams onstage: Jeff Daly/WENN]

The show was actually rescheduled from early October, when Bryan had to cancel because of illness. Instead of a sunny autumn Saturday, we had to go downtown on a freezing January Tuesday night, on a day when it had been raining/snowing/hailing (in various combinations) all morning. So, when I say this concert was worth the wait and the added travel challenges, you have to know it was a great show!

Here he is performing "Summer of '69" at Live Aid in Philadelphia in 1985:



Do have a favorite or most memorable Bryan Adams song?!