Bryan Adams rocks Doha (sort of)

Sociologists do their best to describe the differences between what they call high culture and popular culture. High culture typically refers to cultural objects found in the fine arts -- classical music, the writings of William Shakespeare, the ballet, and the opera -- and often confers high status upon the consumer. Popular culture is basically the culture consumed by the masses. You know, American Idol and that sort of thing.



Something that's not easy to come by in Doha is live music. Sure, you can catch the occasional oud player in the souq, but live bands are a true rarity. Even more rare is a concert by a well-known musician. You have to fly to Dubai or Beirut for that type of thing. But on December 16, my wife and I actually got to see a real concert by a genuinely famous musician, one Bryan Adams.



Now, I've never been what you might call a big Bryan Adams fan, despite the fact that he's the top-selling male Canadian artist of all time. But in Doha, you take what you can get, and if Bryan Adams was coming to town, we weren't going to miss it.

And you know what? It wasn't bad. Granted, seeing Adams play his many many hits live didn't transform me into a superfan or anything, but we had a really great time singing along with about 5000 other folks. "Cuts Like a Knife?" Check. "Summer of 69?" Check. "(Everything I Do) I Do it for You?" But of course. Adams aims to please, which means hit after feel-good hit. And, wow, the dude's got a lot of hits. It was one of those concerts where you pretty much knew every song, even if you didn't realize it was a Bryan Adams song. All in all, a fun night, very similar to the one had by the couple in this video.



Now, had I known that these guys were playing in Abu Dhabi the same night, Bryan would have had to do everything he does for someone else. But it was a nice night on the beach in Doha. Yeah, that's right, the beach. It's winter here, which means it gets down into the upper 60s at night on occasion. Brrrrr!