Canadian star Bryan Adams took the Egyptian public by storm. Colette Kinsella wishes for her soirée gown The recipe for staging a successful live concert in Egypt, it would seem, is quite simple: take a rock star, place him or her at the foot of Egypt's fabled Great Pyramids, switch on the loudspeakers, turn up the volume, and voil�, an evening to remember. Last month the staff at Enigma -- one of Egypt's most popular monthly glossies -- did just this, flying in Canada's most famous rock star, Bryan Adams, and hosting an event to remember at the foot of the Sphinx. Dubbed by the organisers as "the one charity event that will truly dazzle", the concert was organised to celebrate the magazine's five years in the business. As avid rock fans will know, the crowds at events of this nature tend to be large and pushy, there is a lot of standing in confined spaces, the stage is most likely positioned a couple of kilometres from one's vantage point, and inevitably one ends dressing as for a safari: steel-toed hiking boots to withstand the jostling crowd, waterproof/fire- resistant jeans to deflect spilled drinks and cigarette burns, and a hand-held GPS device for navigation to and from the restrooms. The atmosphere on this particular evening, however, was truly curious: very rarely have ball gowns, high heels and off-the-shoulder cocktail numbers been seen in the same space as massive speakers and electric guitars. But this was an exclusive event, and the LE2,000 ticket price ensured the crowds remained small and very, very elite. To describe the atmosphere on the Pyramids plateau, with crowds of people sipping cocktails in the vicinity of ancient monuments, requires a moment's reflection. It was somewhat akin to sitting in a trendy and glamourous night club which happens to use one of the seven wonders of the ancient world as incidental décor. Surrounded on three sides by gleaming white pagodas, the seating area was nothing if not cozy: choosing between the white, minimalist lounge suites draped with colourful fabrics to the side and the glitzy high tables in the centre proved difficult, although close proximity of the lounge suites to the various bars made the choice somewhat easier to make. The smooth, 50s jazz rippling in the background added to the floaty and somewhat surreal atmosphere of the evening. Being in such surroundings inevitably invokes polarised emotions: how wonderful, on the one hand, to be in such an inspiring setting on a clear desert night, in the shadow of the ancients, absorbing the atmosphere and enjoying the music; and what a shame, on the other, that experiences of this nature are inevitably reserved for the "elite" of society, who trip between tables in stilettos and stoles, watching and being watched. Be that as it may, the concert was organised as a charity event with all proceeds being donated to the Save the Children Fund. The night draws on and the desert air chills noticeably, but finally at midnight -- that magical, bewitching hour -- the lights go down, the crowd surges to the stage, and Canada's favourite son, a favourite of that night, for sure, bursts onto the stage in a frenzy of guitar riffs and proceeds to rock the Pyramids to their very foundations. Bryan Adams may not be everybody's favourite musician, and in fact much of his offerings over the past decade or so can be considered lame, commercial ditties, but his night at the Pyramids was devoted to unadulterated rock. The old favourites were pounded out one after the other: Run to You, One Night Love Affair, Cuts like a Knife, followed by the mega-hit Summer of 69 which predictably sent the crowd into a frenzy. Despite hailing from a comfortable background and having grown up in various countries -- his parents were diplomats -- Bryan Adams very much remains a salt-of-the-earth performer. Dressed in jeans and black sweatshirts, he and his five-piece line-up contrasted starkly with the glitzy crowd swaying and bopping in front of the stage. Non-Adams fans would have been hard-pressed indeed to remain cynical about his stage presence. He completely immersed himself in his performance, managing to establish and maintain an easy rapport with the 700 or so spectators in front of the stage. Ruggedly handsome with a certain granite-hewn allure, his appeal to members of the opposite sex that night was nothing if not palpable, a fact not lost on the main man himself who plucked a deliriously happy young woman from the audience for a duet. And so the concert rocked on for the best part of 80 minutes, which included several encores, but the crowd was reluctant to let him go. It was his second visit to Egypt, he said, and never, he told us, has he played in such a beautiful setting. For many fans, the 47-year-old rock star may be mellowing with the years, and his street credibility as a solid rock musician may be somewhat tarnished since releasing dubious numbers such as the faux-Spanish Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman. But no doubt for many of those attending that concert at the Pyramids, driving home with his gravely voice and hot guitar riffs ringing in their ears, he will always remain 18 'til I die.
